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Bristol Bay runners excel in cross country championships

Amanda Luiten

Congratulations to all the athletes who ran over the weekend! We’re so proud of all of you.

Cross country athletes ran in the state championships on Saturday, and the unofficial results are in.

Bristol Bay athletes ran for Dillingham, New Stuyahok, and the Sockeye Co-op teams – which includes Bristol Bay Borough, Newhalen, Kokhanok and Port Alsworth.

A total of seventy-seven athletes ran in the Division III girls race.

Two Tanalian Lynx runners from the Sockeye Co-op barreled across the finish line only one second apart – Malea Voran of Port Alsworth just outpacing Ellah Wardell to claim seventh place at 21:50. Wardell was eighth. Voran says the tight finish reflected the entire season.

“It was pretty intense. It was pretty good. We’d been running really close together all season, and it’s kind of been back and forth,” Voran said. 

Newhalen’s Faith Clark ran to 12th place, and Aileen Lester was 14th. Alianna Voran of Port Alsworth was 24th.

Credit Erica Tweet

From the Dillingham team, Wolverine Arriana Woods came in 26th. Jean Krause was 45th. Raegan Finkenbinder was only four places behind her, coming in at 49th place.

New Stuyahok Eagle Taniesha Gust came in at 52nd, and Cheryl Blunka was 63rd.

Eighty-one runners participated in the Division III boys race.

Tanalian Coleson Voran, running for the Sockeye Co-op Team, placed third. His time was 17:29.

The Bristol Bay region’s runners competed against other 1A and 2A schools, which have fewer students, and Voran said that was a lot more fun.

“I thought that was kind of unique, in being able to have our own race," he said. "It was different ‘cause the spacing was a little bit different than normally. The race wasn’t as condensed, which was kind of nice, especially for the start.”

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Daniel Wardell, also a Tanalian, placed fifth. He liked the course, despite some inclement conditions.

“It was pretty crazy, ‘cause it rained all night so it was kind of slippery, but you were able to run on it, and so I think it was still a really good course, and I enjoyed it a lot,” Wardell said.

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Of the Wolverines, Demetry Hoseth placed seventh, Zach Kolbe was 19th, Ethan Jenkins placed 35th and Wyatt Williams was 40th.

Dillingham was followed by Sockeye co-op runners Smitka Delkittie of Kokhanok, who came in 54th. Bristol Bay Borough Angel Pete Hill was just a few seconds behind, coming in 57th. Phillip Christopher of New Stuyahok placed 60th. Rounding out the pack, Jaden Tretikoff of Newhalen, running for the co-op, was 76th.

Credit Eric Wardell

Girls 5000 meters:

7. Malea Voran - Port Alsworth - 21:50

8. Ellah Wardell - Port Alsworth - 21:51

12. Faith Clark - Newhalen - 22:49

14. Aileen Lester - Newhalen - 23:02

24. Alianna Voran - Port Alsworth - 23:14

26. Arriana Woods - Dillingham - 23:45

45. Jean Krause - Dillingham - 25:31

49. Raegan Finkenbinder - Dillingham - 26:03

52. Taniesha Gust - New Stuyahok - 26:20 

63. Cheryl Blunka - New Stuyahok - 28:39

Credit Amanda Luiten

Boys 5000 meters:

3. Coleson Voran - Port Alsworth - 17:29

5. Daniel Wardell - Port Alsworth - 17:44 

7. Demetry Hoseth - Dillingham - 17:52

19. Zach Kolbe - Dillingham - 18:50

35. Ethan Jenkins - Dillingham - 19:51

40. Wyatt Williams - Dillingham - 20:10

54. Smitka Delkittie - Kokhanok - 20:57

57. Pete Hill - Bristol Bay Borough - 21:04

60. Phillip Christopher - New Stuyahok - 21:19

76. Jaden Tretikoff - Newhalen - 24:34

 
Contact the author at isabelle@kdlg.org or 907-842-2200

Izzy Ross is the news director at KDLG, the NPR member station in Dillingham. She reports, edits, and hosts stories from around the Bristol Bay region, and collaborates with other radio stations across the state.
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