Close finishes highlighted Saturday's season-opening Southside Tri-Meet at South High.
South's Ava Earl edged Service's Grace Fahrney by 1.4 seconds to win the girls 3-kilometer cross-country race, and Service's Sebastian Szweda-Mittelstadt nipped South's Kaleb Beloy by 2.7 seconds to win the boys 3K.
Boys team scores — Service 19, South 52, East 59.
Boys top 10 (3 kilometers) — 1. Sebastian Szweda Mittelstadt, Service, 10:18.34; 2. Kaleb Beloy, South, 10:21.04; 3. Xander Maurer, Service, 10:29.96; 4. Jacob Belanger, Service, 10:31.84; 5. Ryan White, Service, 10:45.64; 6. Joel Power, Service, 10:49.96; 7. Luke Howe, East,10:56.37; 8. Bryston Monrean, South, 10:58.15; 9. Beck Haywood, East, 10:59.66; 10. Jaylon Miller, East, 11:01.88.
Girls team scores — South 26, Service 30.
Girls top 10 (3 kilometers) — 1. Ava Earl, South, 12:00.36; 2. Grace Fahrney, Service 12:01.76; 3. Maggie Meeds, South, 12:03.94; 4. Madeline Maurer, Service 13:03.11; 5. Nadia Dworian, Service 13:24.10; 6. Lucy Young, South, 13:33.89; 7. Hannah Armbrust, South, 13:41.21; 8. Ann Gebauer, Service 13:57.99; 9. Maya Syren, South, 13:58.40; 10. Lindsey Western, South, 14:11.87.
ACS, Palmer runners set pace
Anchorage Christian's Bennett Blake and Palmer's Sophie Wright cruised to victories Saturday at the Colony Invitational cross-country meet.
Grace Christian swept the team titles.
Girls team scores — Grace Christian 24, Colony 41, Soldotna 67.
Girls top 10 (5 kilometers) — 1, Wright, Sophie, Palmer, 21:07.10. 2, Demientieff, Charlee, Grace, 21:40.10. 3, Ortiz, Lydia, Palmer, 21:56.50. 4, Arthur, Kellie, Soldotna, 22:09.70. 5, Kalytiak, Nina, Palmer, 22:10.60. 6, Morgan, Maddy, Grace,
22:13.50. 7, Novelli, Jazlynn, Colony, 22:13.90. 8, McLaughlin, Anna, Grace, 22:14.50. 9, Bell, Nicole, Colony, 22:15.70. 10, Annett, Grace, Grace, 22:20.20.
Boys team scores — Grace Christian 60, Anchorage Christian 78, Soldotna 83, Wasilla 88, Kodiak 96, Colony 101, Palmer 156.
Boys top 10 (5 kilometers) — 1, Bennett, Blake, ACS, 16:48.70. 2, Martin, Gabe, Grace, 17:14.90. 3, Block, Gavin, Colony, 17:17.60. 4, Fritzel, Luke, Grace, 17:27.30. 5, Hayes, Hunter, Wasilla, 17:33.20. 6, Merchant, Tristian, ACS, 17:33.80. 7, Robertson, Lev, Palmer, 17:50.40. 8, Chilton, Lance, Soldotna, 17:56.80. 9, Jones, Erik, Grace, 18:07.00. 10, Greathouse, Kaleb, Wasilla, 18:14.10.
Dimond, West split
Niko Latva-Kiskola of Dimond and Aubrey LeClair of West took home victories at a season-opening cross-country meet Friday at Kincaid Park.
West's girls edged Dimond by five points, and Dimond's boys topped West by seven.
Boys team scores — Dimond 24, West 31, Bartlett 85.
Boys top 10 (3 kilometers) — 1) Niko Latva-Kiskola (D) 9:47; 2) Ethan Davis (W) 9:51; 3) Santiago Prosser (D) 10:00; 4) Everett Cason (W) 10:00; 5) George Cvancara (D) 10:30; 6) Brycen Lynch (W) 10:32; 7) Dallin Gardiner (D) 10:32; 8) Kaden Denton (D) 10:37; 9) Sebastian Reed (W) 10:38; 10) Eli Seaver (W) 10:47.
Girls team scores — West 25, Dimond 30
Girls top 10 (3 kilometers) — 1) Aubrey LeClair (W) 11:59; 2) Kylie Judd (D) 12:09; 3) Ivy Eski (W) 12:13; 4) Ryann Dorris (W) 12:31; 5) Mary Reinbold (D) 12:38; 6) Maria Cvancara (D) 12:48; 7) Sophia Cvancara (D) 12:56; 8) Jania Tumey (W) 13:15; 9) Kelsey Johannes (W) 13:28; 10) Trophe Brandt (D) 13:36.
Eagle River boys dominate
Led by Jacob Bradley, the Eagle River boys boasted the top eight finishers in a Friday cross-country meet against rival Chugiak on the Beach Lake trails.
Emily Walsh of Eagle River grabbed the girls victory.
Top 10 boys (3 kilometers) — 1) Jacob Bradley, ER, 10:48;2) Michael Maddox, ER, 11:19;3) Karsten Senden, ER, 12:08;4) Dylan West, ER, 12:33;5) Logan Platz, ER, 12:49;6) Camden Ensign, ER, 12:55;7) Zachary Rinder, ER, 13:18;8) Pierce McMannus, ER, 13:32;9) Gabriel Gullett, Chu,13:33; 10) Rodney Crum, Chu, 13:42.
Top 10 girls (3 kilometers) — 1) Emily Walsh, ER, 12:15;2) Adrianna Proffitt, Chu, 12:21;3) Brooklynn Gould, Chu, 13:02;4) Brianna Day, Chu 13:09;5) Claire Nelson, ER, 13:20;6) Lindsay Gerlac, Chu, 13:24;7) Gwen Mueller, Chu, 13:25; 8) KayLee Manwaring, Chu, 13:40; 9) Ashley Walsh, ER,13:40;10) Kiara Sherman, ER, 14:00.