Sports

UAA signs Galena running standout Korta, two gymnastics champions

Speedy Galena runner Kaleb Korta and a pair of champion gymnasts are headed to UAA for the 2016-2017 seasons.

The gymnastics duo — Athena Cottrell from Greenwood, Indiana, and Sophia Hyderally from Daphne, Alabama, — signed their National Letters of Intent on Thursday. Korta signed Friday.

"We are excited to have one of the best high school runners in Alaska join our program," said UAA cross country/track and field coach Michael Friess in a release from the school. "Kaleb is a state champion and we look forward to developing his talents here at UAA."

Korta is a two-time Class 1-2-3A state champion in cross country and a three-time state champion in track and field. He will compete in both sports for the Seawolves.

Korta competes in track and field for Galena despite not having a track to practice on. For training, he sometimes runs laps around the airstrip in Galena while his father, Jon Korta, holds the stop watch and offers instruction.

Some of Korta's best times include 15 minutes, 48.7 seconds in the 5,000-meter race, 9:50 in the 3,000 and 4:24.49 in the 1,600.

He joins a UAA team that ranks third in the nation going into the Division II national championship Saturday in Joplin, Missouri.

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Meanwhile, the gymnastics signees join a UAA squad on the rise. The Seawolves set 20 program records last season.

Cottrell is a two-time Level 10 Region 5 championships qualifier and two-time Level 9 Eastern nationals qualifier, placing fifth in the all-around both times. She is a senior at Center Grove High School, but she competes for Wright's Gymnastics Academy, which she helped to a Level 9 state title.

"Athena is an exceptionally strong and powerful," UAA gymnastics coach Paul Stoklos said in a release from the school. "She should find herself as a top competitor on vault and bars for us."

Hyderally, a senior at Bayside Academy, competes for Planet Gymnastics at Level 10. She finished first in floor and beam and second in the all-around at the 2015 Alabama state championships.

"Sophia has a fantastic dance background," Stoklos said. "We would expect her to excel on floor and balance beam, and to be to a solid all-around competitor for us."

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