ALASKA STATE CROSS COUNTRY MEET

Colony Boys Go 1-2-3 For Team Win, Chugiak Girls Repeat In Alaska's D1 Finals

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Colony's boys shot to the top of Alaska high school cross country this season and put together a 1-2-3 finish on Saturday in the state's cross country finals. Senior Matthew Rongitsch made an immediate impact for a team that was seventh last year. 

Rongitsch, who moved to Alaska this year, was seventh at the North Dakota state meet for Red River of Grand Forks. 

Rongitsch won the title in 16:13 and was followed to the line on a muddy day at Bartlett Trails by teammates Zac Cheyette (16:29) and Tobias Buchanan (16:39). 

Jayden Rice and Colby Marvin also factored into Colony's 43 points and state title. South Anchorage was second with 69 points. 

Chugiak defended its girls title by scoring the same 42-point total as last year, defeating Juneau-Douglas (72) and South Anchorage (79). 

Campbell Peterson moved up one spot from second in 2021 to first on Saturday, running 19:16. Teammate Addison Capozzi was third. 

The Grace Christian boys repeated as the Division II champions but had to sweat out a two-point victory over Sitka, 47-49.  David Sliwinski won his second straight title for Grace Christian in 15:55 and the team got a third-place finish from Robbie Annett. Sliwinski was pressed to the finish by Seamus McDonough of Homer, was second in 15:57. 

Seward won the girls DII title despite a 1-2 finish for Sitka, with Anna Prussian (20:01) and Clare Mullin (20:02) controlling the action up front. Seward scored 56 points to knock out defending champion Grace Christian (68).

In Division 3, the Haines girls put four in the top 11 and hung on to beat Glenallen 48-51 to retain the team title. Freshman Taylor Eddington from Tri-Valley won the race in 20:29.

With four in the top seven, the Wrangell boys cruised to a team win with 22 points. Sophomore Daniel Harrison (17:30) led the way for the Wolves. 

Team Champions - 

Division 1 - Colony boys 43 points, Chugiak girls 42 points - RESULTS

Division 2 - Grace Christian boys 47 points, Seward girls 56 points - RESULTS

Division 3 - Wrangell boys 22 points, Haines girls 48 points - RESULTS