Dahl, Jordan Lead Peninsula Runners at George Plumley Invitational

PALMER — Soldotna's Ollie Dahl raced to second place, and Seward's Olive Jordan finished fifth Saturday to lead a strong collection of Kenai Peninsula performances at the George Plumley Cross-Country Invitational. Homer supplied the Peninsula's top boys team performance, placing third with 93 points. On the girls' side, only 15 points separated Kenai, Soldotna, and Homer in the team standings. Dahl completed the boys' race in 17 minutes, 12.79 seconds. Colony senior Josiah Herrick pulled away during the second lap and won in 16:58.87, finishing nearly 14 seconds ahead of Dahl. Dahl's runner-up finish came one week after the Soldotna standout placed 11th at the State Preview meet. Behind individual champion Herrick, Colony also claimed the boys team title. West Valley finished second, Homer third, Soldotna fifth with 146 points, and Kenai ninth with 242. Homer's third-place showing was built around a tight scoring pack. Elijah Williams led the Mariners in 12th place at 17:45, followed by Rio Waltenbaugh in 17th at 17:58.85 and Yuki Bacher in 19th at 18:06.42. Charlie Rustand placed 24th in 18:23.10, and Rhys Borland completed Homer's scoring five one position later in 18:23.88. Only about 39 seconds separated Williams and Borland. Waltenbaugh, Bacher, Borland, and Micah Bunker each ran at least 19 seconds faster than their posted State Preview times. Bunker finished 29th Saturday in 18:40.87, while Rubis Gervais placed 44th in 19:03.72. Soldotna's scoring group included Dahl, Paul Wertanen, Collin Abel, Caleb Abel and Paxton Roach. Wertanen placed 28th in 18:35.81, Collin Abel was 32nd in 18:44.71, Caleb Abel took 46th in 19:06.02, and Roach finished 52nd in 19:16.73. Kenai was led by Noah Pancoast, who placed 36th in 18:52.17. Jackson Hibberd and Brock Ala crossed together in 19:16.33, officially placing 49th and 50th. Gage Ivy and Liam Wilshusen completed Kenai's scoring five. Seward did not have enough runners to earn a boys team score, but Luke Elhard delivered a top-20 performance. Elhard placed 20th in 18:09.63. Complete boys results Jordan, Garvey finish in girls' top seven Jordan paced the Peninsula girls by placing fifth in 20:20.24. Homer's Ariela Garvey followed in seventh at 20:33.18, improving by approximately 54 seconds from her State Preview time. West Valley's Miriam Armstrong won the individual championship in 19:01.63. Although Seward lacked the five runners necessary for a team score, the Seahawks placed two athletes inside the top 20. Tirzah Brueckner joined Jordan by finishing 18th in 21:36.02. Kenai earned the Peninsula's best girls team result, placing sixth with 153 points. Soldotna finished seventh with 158, and Homer followed in eighth with 168. Colony won the team championship with 47 points. Ruby Davis led Kenai in 20th place with a time of 21:44.85. Teresa Fallon finished 28th in 22:20.43, Sophia Haseltine was 36th in 22:54.63, Sofia Tews took 49th in 24:32.49, and Emily Taylor completed the Kardinals' scoring group in 57th at 25:05.13. Kylie Dickson paced Soldotna in 31st place at 22:33.49. Kathryn DeBardelaben and Naomi Keller finished consecutively in 38th and 39th, recording times of 22:58.61 and 23:19.68. Hazel Ostraff placed 42nd in 23:33.70, and Abigail Ostrom completed Soldotna's scoring five one position later in 23:37.47. Homer placed two runners among the first 13, with Etta Bynagle joining Garvey after completing the course in 21:14.33. Porter Lawrence, Kahleah Butters, and Ilsa Gutschow rounded out the Mariners' scoring group. Colony swept the boys and girls team championships at the Palmer meet. Meet and team-title recap Ingalls makes collegiate debut Seward graduate Juniper Ingalls made her collegiate debut for Alaska Anchorage at Saturday's Blue and Gold Race in Fairbanks. The Seawolf freshman placed eighth in the women's six-kilometer race, finishing in 24:13. Ingalls was the sixth UAA runner across the line as the Seawolves defeated Alaska Fairbanks 22-36 in the team scoring. UAA will race again Saturday, Sept. 12, when it hosts the Seawolf Throwdown in Anchorage. UAA season-opening recap The next confirmed high school meet involving Peninsula programs is Friday, Sept. 11, in Seward. Homer is also scheduled to compete Saturday at the Grace Christian meet.