by Delta Discovery Staff
The Soldotna High School cross country team hosted the Ted McKenney XC Invitational this past Saturday August 24th, 2024, running on the Tsalteshi Ski Trails 5K race course at Skyview Middle School.
The moderately difficult course featured groomed and packed dirt over rolling terrain with up and down hills.
The varsity races featured runners hailing from Bethel, Colony, East Anchorage, Wasilla, Chugiak, Soldotna, Service, Unalakleet, Dimond, Palmer, South Anchorage, Homer, Nome, Grace Christian, Seward, West Anchorage, Eagle River, Kenai, Kodiak, Juneau-Douglas, Redington, Newhalen, and Mountain City Christian.
Unalakleet’s junior Ourea Busk nearly cracked the top ten with her 11th place finish. She crossed the finish line with a time of 20:27.
Nome runner and last year’s Region I Big West DII champion Awaluk Wookie Nichols finished the race in 28th position, her time was 21:41.
Freshman Claire Dyment of Bethel ran the race in 22:16, her new PR, finishing in 45th place. Her sister Rosemarie Dyment, a junior, was the second fastest Lady Warrior to finish in 76th with a time of 23:19.
Kyana Harpak, also of Bethel, came in 87th. Her time was 23:59. Other Bethel runners finishing included 117th Sally Peters 25:28, 130th Riley Boney 26:30, 144th Hannah Leinberger 27:59, 148th Ashlynn Lonewolf 28:38, and 150th Kaitlyn Wade 28:58.
The girls varsity race had 161 runners. The Bethel Lady Warriors placed 13th in a field of 17 teams.
In the boys’ varsity division, Bethel’s Ned Peters celebrated a top ten finish. He crossed the finish line in 9th position with a time of 17:06.
Nome’s Orson Hoogendorn, a senior, finished in 24th place. His time was 17:44.
Cole Iverson of Bethel, a freshman, placed 42nd at 18:03. His teammate senior Sheldon Smith finished with a time of 18:24 in 57th place.
Also finishing for the Bethel Warriors were 66th Jackson Iverson 18:38, 101st Ethan Wheeler, 19:19, 115th Aidan Crow 19:39, 117th Alvino Vasquez 19:45, 137th Liam Phelan 20:15, and 170th Dalen Hoffman 22:46.
There were 180 runners in the boys varsity division. The Bethel Warriors placed 10th overall in a field of 20 teams.
Soldotna XC Invitational
August 24th, 2024
Girls Team Results
1. Chugiak 65, 2. Colony 86, 3. Soldotna 98, 4. Dimond 100, 5. East Anchorage 146, 6. South Anchorage 164, 7. Wasilla 173, 8. Service 192, 9. Eagle River 270, 10. West Anchorage 279, 11. Palmer 292, 12. Grace Christian 309, 13. Bethel 344, 14. Kenai Central 398, 15. Kodiak 435, 16. Juneau-Douglas Yadaa.at Kale 488, 17. Redington 521.
Boys Team Results
1. South Anchorage 50, 2. Colony 115, 3. Chugiak 135, 4. Service 141, 5. Kodiak 158, 6. Grace Christian 173, 7. West Anchorage 210, 8. Dimond 231, 9. Eagle River 243, 10. Bethel 258, 11. Wasilla 261, 12. Homer 262, 13. East Anchorage 318, 14. Soldotna 338, 15. Palmer 397, 16. Nome-Beltz 447, 17. Juneau-Douglas Yadaa.at Kale, 498 18. Bartlett 575, 19. Unalaska 591, 20. Kenai Central 604.
Next up is the Sand Pit Invitational Race in Bethel on August 31st.