South's Boyer surprises while Chugiak girls cruise to Region IV cross-country crowns

Oct. 2—Cross Country, Running, Campbell Peterson, Cook Inlet Conference cross country race

The Chugiak High girls cross-country team was predictably jazzed after a dominant performance at the Region IV cross country meet Saturday at Bartlett.

The Mustangs placed all six of their runners in the top 10 and won the meet with a minuscule team total of 25.

But their toned changed when the conversation shifted to a potential repeat championship at the state meet next Saturday at the same Bartlett trails.

"We try not to think about it," said ninth-place runner Alliyah Fields.

"It's really anyone's day," said Allison Macy, who placed 10th.

"Anything can happen," said eighth-place finisher Skyler Belmear.

"We don't want to jinx it," said Petra Knox, who finished fifth.

Read: The Mustangs understand they still have a lot of work to do and aren't taking anything for granted. But on Saturday, they showed both the depth and the high-end talent that will make Chugiak a clear favorite.

Senior Campbell Peterson won the girls race in runaway fashion, topping senior teammate Addison Capozzi by 20 seconds. Peterson ran the race in 19 minutes, 17 seconds with Capozzi clocking in at 19:37.

Cross Country, Running, Campbell Peterson, Cook Inlet Conference cross country race

Upstart freshman Rose Conway from Bettye Davis East finished in third at 19:44.

The Chugiak team has been running as a pack near the top for much of the season.

"There are personal records, but everyone likes to run as a group and making each other better," Macy said.

South, Dimond and West rounded out the top four to advance to state.

Cross Country, Running, Campbell Peterson, Cook Inlet Conference cross country race, Reid Holten

While the girls race finished with a mostly predictable result, there was a bit of a surprise in the boys race.

South's Blaise Boyer pulled away from the pack to win in 16:29, vaulting his team into the top position with 66 points. Eagle River finished in second with 67.

Boyer said his teammates joked about him winning before the race, but he broke away on the area known as Separation Hill about a kilometer from the finish line.

"I honestly didn't think I even had a shot at getting first," he said. "I was really hoping to beat out (Dimond's) Max Johnsen for third. But I got to the bottom of Separation (Hill) and just felt really, I mean, I didn't feel good, but I didn't feel bad, which is unexpected. So I just kind of pushed up that hill and I just ran down the other side as fast as I could."

Boyer finished in the top 10 in both the 1,600 and 3,200 last spring at the state track and field meet, but put in plenty of work over the summer.

"I think in the past, I've thought that I was kind of like a big fish in a small pond," he said. "And then I realized this year that if I really pushed and I really trained then I could get onto, like a national level. I really just throw everything I have at it. And so I started training really hard this year."

West's Blakey Hanley and East's Ethan Howe both ran 16:41 to round out the top 3. Finishing behind South and Eagle River in the team competition were West (77 points) and Dimond (80).

Region IV Cross-Country Meet

At Bartlett

Girls Team Results

1. Chugiak 25; 2. South Anchorage 66; 3. Dimond 88; 4. West Anchorage 119; 5. Eagle River 134; 6. East Anchorage 137; 7. Service 138.

Boys Team Results

1. South Anchorage 66; 2. Eagle River 67; 3. West Anchorage 77; 4. Dimond 80; 5. Service 84; 6. East Anchorage 144; 7. Chugiak 147.

Varsity Girls

1. Campbell Peterson, Chugiak 19:17 2. Addison Capozzi, Chugiak 19:37 3. Rose Conway, East Anchorage 19:44 4. Ava Trembath, Eagle River 20:01 5. Petra Knox, Chugiak 20:08 6. Elizabeth Page, South Anchorage 20:08 7. Emily Erickson, Dimond 20:14 8. Skyler Belmear, Chugiak 20:18 9. Alliyah Fields, Chugiak 20:18 10. Allison Macy, Chugiak 20:20 11. Ava Murphy, South Anchorage 20:36 12. Mia Stiassny, South Anchorage 20:36 13. Avrey Campbell, Dimond 20:40 14. Addison Bailey, South Anchorage 20:45 15. Zoe Rodgers, West Anchorage 20:46 16. Marley Ireland, East Anchorage 20:46 17. Molly McBride, Dimond 20:58 18. Emily Moore, Chugiak 20:59 19. Madeleine Reckmeyer, Service 21:11 20. Berit Meyers, West Anchorage 21:14 21. Linnea Gray, Eagle River 21:16 22. Adria Wuerth, Service 21:22 23. Madison Dahlstrom, South Anchorage 21:22 24. Scarlet Parr, West Anchorage 21:22 25. Maryjane Baxter, Dimond 21:26 26. Katie Mackin, Bartlett 21:27 27. Maia McCormack, Dimond 21:27 28. Nora McBride, Dimond 21:28 29. Karly Ellis, Service 21:36 30. Piper Sears, West Anchorage 21:37 31. Ruthie Richardson, Service 21:39 32. Lilah Klieforth, West Anchorage 21:40 33. Kadence Barnett, West Anchorage 22:00 34. Lauren Dorris, West Anchorage 22:18 35. Abi Howe, East Anchorage 22:21 36. Arianna Espindola, Eagle River 22:28 37. Anita Walsh, Eagle River 22:33 38. Elliana Zock, South Anchorage 22:39 39. Ashley Mann, Eagle River 22:47 40. Mika Bell, Service 22:51 41. Alana Lim, Service 23:00 42. Brynn Rathert, East Anchorage 23:03 43. Claire Mackin, Bartlett 23:09 44. Madelin Lowen, Dimond 23:18 45. Amanda Wright, East Anchorage 23:30 46. Anna Deaton, Eagle River 23:32 47. Maryn Lusk, Eagle River 23:35 48. Emily DuVall, Service 23:55 49. Svea Thomas, East Anchorage 24:07 50. Robyn Miller, South Anchorage 26:55

Varsity Boys

1. Blaise Boyer, South Anchorage 16:29 2. Blake Hanley, West Anchorage 16:41 3. Ethan Howe, East Anchorage 16:41 4. Aaron Power, Service 16:50 5. Henry Michener, Eagle River 16:52 6. Max Johnsen, Dimond 16:56 7. Elias Soule, Service 16:57 8. Josh Penfield, Eagle River 16:58 9. Oliver Wright, West Anchorage 16:58 10. Jarrett Jackson, Dimond 17:05 11. Vebjorn Flagstad, South Anchorage 17:07 12. AJ Glover, Dimond 17:08 13. Damien Borchardt, Eagle River 17:13 14. Owen Young, South Anchorage 17:15 15. Dylan Soberay, West Anchorage 17:20 16. Jack Molloy, Eagle River 17:26 17. Rowan Robinson, South Anchorage 17:26 18. Garret Simon, Service 17:27 19. Owen Hayes, Chugiak 17:32 20. Axel Kiskaddon, West Anchorage 17:34 21. Levi Knickerbocker, Service 17:34 22. Grant Weber, Dimond 17:36 23. Jaxon Henrie, South Anchorage 17:37 24. Nolan Miller, South Anchorage 17:39 25. Caleb Szajkowski, Eagle River 17:41 26. Mason Newell, Chugiak 17:41 27. Walker Battreal, East Anchorage 17:45 28. Caleb Sharrock, East Anchorage 17:49 29. River Johnson, Chugiak 17:49 30. Brodie O'Hara, Dimond 17:54 31. Eliot Garton-Barendregt, West Anchorage 17:55 32. Luke Shaw, Eagle River 17:56 33. Owen Saltzman, Dimond 17:58 34. Dylan Autrey, Service 18:01 35. Owen Kirkland, Service 18:06 36. Kaiden Bodkin, Chugiak 18:11 37. Aaron Mehl, Chugiak 18:14 38. Max Kiskaddon, Service 18:18 39. Elias Johnson, Chugiak 18:18 40. Ethan Eski, West Anchorage 18:22 41. Keenan Vedros, Eagle River 18:30 42. Liam Albertson, East Anchorage 18:33 43. Parker Larson, Chugiak 18:33 44. Nathan Rehberg, East Anchorage 18:38 45. Dash Dicang, Dimond 18:41 46. Luca Driscoll, West Anchorage 18:53 47. Kyle Fischer, South Anchorage 19:45 48. Julio Ramirez, East Anchorage 19:49 49. Holten Reid, Bartlett 19:49 50. Jonathan Church, East Anchorage 19:50