More than one tactic exists to win a distance race, as Bartlett's Fiona Pedrick and Dimond's Chandler Lokanin proved Friday afternoon in seizing Cook Inlet Conference titles in the 3,200 meters.
Pedrick, a junior, and Lokanin, a senior, employed two classic gambits. Pedrick immediately went to the lead, pushed the pace and dictated the race to capture her first conference girls title. Lokanin patiently followed pace-setting Derek Steele for seven laps before unleashing a last-lap kick to repeat as the boys champion of the longest race in high school track.
Pedrick and Lokanin prospered on the first day of the CIC Track & Field Championships at Dimond High on a sun-splashed day when champions were also crowned in three boys field events and three girls field events. Preliminary rounds were also held in running events.
Pedrick ran a personal record (PR) of 11 minutes, 42.1 seconds to win by nearly 10 seconds and Lokanin clocked 9:43.4 to win by more than five seconds.
As the top-seeded girl in the field – and that's been an ascent engineered largely by sheer work ethic since she was a freshman – Pedrick's game plan called for her to run in the lead and force the field to match her pace.
"I was a lot bolder in this race than I normally am,'' Pedrick said.
The only runner who stuck with Pedrick into the second half of the race was South freshman Maggie Meeds. Pedrick opened up a gap of about five meters on Meeds on the fifth of eight laps, but Meeds, feeling fresh after tapering for the meet, reduced the margin to about two or three meters on the sixth lap.
"I was just feeling really good,'' Meeds said. "This is the first week I haven't felt tired.''
But Pedrick quickly responded to Meeds' challenge, stretched her lead on the seventh lap and lengthened it to about 15 meters.
"I could hear the footsteps and breathing,'' Pedrick said. "That's when I knew I had to keep the lead.''
She did, and easily held off Meeds, who finished runner-up with a PR of 11:51.9. Eagle River's Peyton Young took third in 12:07.0.
Pedrick in the last year has improved her PR in the 3,200 by about two minutes, a staggering improvement. No secret there, Pedrick said – work, work, work.
"I'm putting in the work and I'm trying to inspire my teammates to do the same,'' Pedrick said. "I worked my way up to it. It's really rewarding to work for it. It's not a given.''
Lokanin and Steele said their duel was a repeat of last year, when Lokanin topped Steele by about one second.
Steele again pushed the pace, leading most of the way from the start through the seventh lap.
"I wanted to see if I could break Chandler,'' Steele said.
Lokanin moved to pass Steele early on the final lap and met resistance on the curve.
"That was the part that scared me,'' Lokanin said.
By the end of the curve, and heading into the backstretch, Lokanin seized the lead and kept pulling away.
"I like to get my space so I don't have to worry about him the last 100 meters,'' Lokanin said.
Still, Steele, who finished second in 9:48.9, ahead Eagle River's Jacob Walsh (9:52.3), didn't Lokanin off the hook.
"For this race, he definitely had to work for it,'' Steele said. "No regrets, for sure.''
Cook Inlet Conference Track & Field Championships
Friday's finals at Dimond High
Girls
3,200 – 1) Fiona Pedrick, Bartlett, 11:42.1; 2) Maggie Meeds, South, 11:51.9; 3) Peyton Young, Eagle River, 12:07.0; 4) Johanna Fleischman, West, 12:11.3; 5) Hannah Brown, South, 12:16.4; 6) KayLee Manwaring, Chugiak, 12:40.29.
Long jump – 1) Chrisalyn Johnson, Dimond, 17-0.75; 2) Emma Nelson, Chugiak, 16-1.50; 3) Cerina Bush, Chugiak, 16-1; 4) McKenzie Christian, South, 15-6; 5) Dreanna Owens, Eagle River, 15-4.25; 6) Allison, Gonzales, East, 15-0.25,
Shot put – 1) Amy Yi, South, 33-1; 2) Rose Lega, Bartlett, 31-5.50; 3) Alicia Washington, Bartlett, 30-3; 4) Kourtney Guthrie, East, 30-3; 5) Junnette Launiuvao, Dimond, 29-5; 6) Jenna Mixson, Dimond, 29-0.
High jump – 1) Ann Gebauer, Service, 5-0; 2) Zoey Keene, South, 5-0; 3) Emma Nelson, Chugiak, 4-10; 4) Taylir Kueter, Bartlett, 4-10; 5) Allison Gonzales, East, 4-8; 6) Kyra Percie, Dimond, 4-4.
Boys
3,200 – 1) Chandler Lokanin, Dimond, 9:43.4; 2) Derek Steele, South, 9:48.9; 3) Jacob Walsh, Eagle River, 9:52.3; 4) Riley Howard, Service, 9:57.6; 5) Spencer Mitton, South, 10:05.2; 6) Brian Durr, Bartlett, 10:14.0.
Long jump – 1) Parker Martin, East, 19-5; 2) Denzel Hogan, Service, 18-7.50; 3) Anthony Parker, Dimond, 18-6.25; 4) Levi Light, South, 18-2.50; 5) John Randall, Eagle River, 17-8; 6) Alex Culbert, Chugiak, 17-7.50.
Discus – 1) Jonathon Stevens, Service, 139-5; 2) Tarini Tosi, 131-3; 3) Cody Keith, Eagle River, 124-10; 4) Forest Perish, Chugiak, 119-7; 5) Chase Hawk, East, 118-7; 6) Alex Culbert, Chugiak, 111-11.
High jump – 1) Bryce Hellman, Bartlett, 6-4; 2) Tyler Blanch, South, 5-10; 3) Chase Hawk, East, 5-8; 4) Shane Ohms, South, 5-8; 5) Hagden Arend, South, 5-6; 6) Garrett Mcvey, Service, 5-4.
Reach reporter Doyle Woody at dwoody@alaskadispatch.com, check out his blog at adn.com/hockey-blog and follow him on Twitter at @JaromirBlagr