Chugiak girls, Eagle River's Michener shine at Big 8 cross-country invite

Chris Bieri, Anchorage Daily News, Alaska
·6 min read

Aug. 28—Cross Country Running, Cross Country, Elite 8, Running, Runners, Kincaid Park

The girls cross-country season may only be in its second weekend of competition, but Chugiak appears to once again be a force to contend with.

After taking state last year, the Mustangs had five runners place in the top 10 on Saturday at the Big 8 Invite, breezing to a team title with just 21 points.

Senior Campbell Peterson, coming off an impressive track and field season last spring, won the race in 19 minutes, 22 seconds, to pace Chugiak.

Cross Country Running, Cross Country, Elite 8, Running, Runners, Kincaid Park, Campbell Peterson

The team trained together for much of the summer, running, hiking and even swimming. Most of the squad even made the trip to Seward over the 4th of July to run Mount Marathon.

"It's really family-like," said Chugiak senior Addison Capozzi, who finished runner-up, 21 seconds behind her teammate. "We hang out at school, practice and outside school."

Following Peterson and Capozzi was defending state champ Robyn Miller from South and Chugiak junior Skyler Belmear. All four runners had sub-20 minute races.

Rounding out the Chugiak pack in the top 10 were sophomores Alliyah Fields (7th) and Allison Macy (9th).

"We have a lot of really good runners on our team and our training is coming together," Peterson said. "We start late July and just do some team bonding stuff. I think it helps us perform better when we are all united and cheer for each other and other schools too. Everyone who comes out here and runs these courses is amazing."

South was second with 56 points led by Miller and a 10th-place finish from Elizabeth Page.

Cross Country Running, Cross Country, Elite 8, Running, Runners, Kincaid Park, Marley Ireland,

Cross Country Running, Cross Country, Elite 8, Running, Runners, Kincaid Park, Avery Campbell, of Dimond and Ava Murphy, of South

In the boys race, Henry Michener's plan worked like a charm.

The senior from Eagle River hoped to get a lead early and maintain it. That's just what he did. Michener blasted off to a 200-foot lead on the field within the first mile and held it throughout, winning the race in 16:56.

"My plan initially was build up a lead quick and sort of take the downhills fast and be able to beat them early," he said. "I'm pretty happy with the result."

Cross Country Running, Cross Country, Elite 8, Running, Runners, Kincaid Park, Henry Michener,

Michener estimates he ran over 300 miles during the summer and also trained with Alaska Running Academy, run by former Bartlett standout Doug Herron. The academy group generally meets at the Bartlett trails, which is the host site of this year's state meet.

"It's really good practice practicing over there," Michener said. "It's mostly speed work. We do a lot of hills. Hills are pretty important for cross country on these types of courses. So it's speed work, hills and then we do a little recovery."

After a seventh-place finish at regionals and a top-25 finish at state as a junior, Michener believes he'll be a contender at state.

"I feel pretty good about it," said Michener, who finished 19 seconds ahead of the field.

Bolstered by three top-six finishers, West High took the team title with 45 points. Dylan Soberay, Liam Chisholm and Blake Hanley finished 4-5-6 to pace the Eagles.

Runner-up Dimond had 49 points and a top finisher with runner-up Max Johnsen and a time of 17:15.

Cross Country Running, Cross Country, Elite 8, Running, Runners, Kincaid Park

Cross Country Running, Cross Country, Elite 8, Running, Runners, Kincaid Park,

2022 Big 8 Meet

Team results

Boys

1. West 45; 2. Dimond 49; 3. Kodiak 78; 4. South 79; 5. Service 138; 6. Chugiak 141; 7. East 143.

Girls

1. Chugiak 21; 2. South 56; 3. Dimond 86; 4. East 107; 5. West 117; 6. Service 141.

Individual results

Boys

1. Henry Michener, Eagle River 16:56 2. Max Johnsen, Dimond 17:15 3. Blaise Boyer, South Anchorage 17:16 4. Dylan Soberay, West Anchorage 17:21 5. Liam Chisholm, West Anchorage 17:26 6. Blake Hanley, West Anchorage 17:34 7. Damien Borchardt, Eagle River 17:35 8. Walker Battreal, East Anchorage 17:38 9. Jarrett Jackson, Dimond 17:40 10. Bengt Anderson, Kodiak 17:42 11. Oliver Wright, West Anchorage 17:47 12. AJ Glover, Dimond 17:51 13. Dash Dicang, Dimond 17:53 14. Kyle Fischer, South Anchorage 17:55 15. Owen Hayes, Chugiak 18:00 16. Elias Litzow, Kodiak 18:04 17. Garret Simon, Service 18:09 18. Maxwell Robinson, Kodiak 18:13 19. Levi Knickerbocker, Service 18:15 20. Rowan Robinson, South Anchorage 18:17 21. Joseph Hathaway, Kodiak 18:17 22. Owen Saltzman, Dimond 18:18 23. Joshua Hathaway, Kodiak 18:18 24. Jaxon Henrie, South Anchorage 18:20 25. Liam Albertson, East Anchorage 18:21 26. Ethan Eski, West Anchorage 18:22 27. Gus Olson, South Anchorage 18:23 28. Eliot Garton-Barendregt, West Anchorage 18:23 29. Jacob Sarnowski, Kodiak 18:26 30. Miles Grimes, Kodiak 18:31 31. Mason Newell, Chugiak 18:32 32. Caleb Sharrock, East Anchorage 18:35 33. Dylan Autrey, Service 18:36 34. River Johnson, Chugiak 18:37 35. Kaiden Bodkin, Chugiak 18:39 36. Elias Johnson, Chugiak 18:44 37. Parker Larson, Chugiak 18:45 38. Brodie O'Hara, Dimond 18:47 39. Max Kiskaddon, Service 18:48 40. Owen Kirkland, Service 18:52 41. Maxwell Richardson, Service 18:55 42. Mason Card, South Anchorage 19:06 43. Nathan Rehberg, East Anchorage 19:19 44. Paul Hlasny, Service 19:28 45. Julio Ramirez, East Anchorage 19:29 46. Forrest Rodgers, West Anchorage 19:59 47. Eli Lammers, Chugiak 20:26.

Girls

1. Campbell Peterson, Chugiak 19:22 2. Addison Capozzi, Chugiak 19:43 3. Robyn Miller, South Anchorage 19:52 4. Skyler Belmear, Chugiak 19:57 5. Rose Conway, East Anchorage 20:10 6. Ava Trembath, Eagle River 20:13 7. Alliyah Fields, Chugiak 20:46 8. Marley Ireland, East Anchorage 20:47 9. Allison Macy, Chugiak 20:51 10. Elizabeth Page, South Anchorage 20:52 11. Emily Erickson, Dimond 20:56 12. Zoe Rodgers, West Anchorage 21:03 13. Ava Murphy, South Anchorage 21:07 14. Avrey Campbell, Dimond 21:07 15. Emily Moore, Chugiak 21:11 16. Ella Atteberry, South Anchorage 21:15 17. Nora McBride, Dimond 21:15 18. Mia Stassny, South Anchorage 21:16 19. Madison Dahlstrom, South Anchorage 21:24 20. Berit Meyers, West Anchorage 21:27 21. Maia McCormack, Dimond 21:32 22. Maya Tirpack, South Anchorage 21:33 23. Madeleine Reckmeyer, Service 21:33 24. Ellen Kruchoski, Chugiak 21:35 25. Ruthie Richardson, Service 21:53 26. Adria Wuerth, Service 21:57 27. Natalie Bader, East Anchorage 22:03 28. Maryjane Baxter, Dimond 22:04 29. Scarlett Parr, West Anchorage 22:10 30. Linnea Gray, Eagle River 22:15 31. Abigail Harver, Kodiak 22:19 32. Merridy Littell, West Anchorage 22:24 33. Kadence Barnett, West Anchorage 22:25 34. Piper Sears, West Anchorage 22:37 35. Alana Lim, Service 22:44 36. Brynn Rathert, East Anchorage 23:01 37. Madelin Lowen, Dimond 23:06 38. Claire Jong, West Anchorage 23:13 39. Svea Thomas, East Anchorage 23:16 40. Abi Howe, East Anchorage 23:24 41. Liza Alderson, Service 23:30 42. Hannah McCarthy, Kodiak 24:04 43. Talia Day, Service 24:21 44. Cassidy Foster, Kodiak 24:33 45. Amanda Wright, East Anchorage 24:54 46. Oceana Brockman, Kodiak 27:33.