Colony girls take third and fifth at Ted McKenney Invitational; Chugiak sweeps team titles
Colony girls and boys teams both placed second at the meet.
What you need to know:
- Colony High School runners Wren Spangler and Aubrey Virgin delivered top-five finishes at the Ted McKenney Invitational in Soldotna. Spangler placed third in 19:25 after moving up 12 spots in the second half, while Virgin finished fifth in 19:38.
- Colony’s girls placed second as a team with 64 points, just 12 behind champion Chugiak (52). Colony’s boys also earned a runner-up team finish, scoring 86 points behind Chugiak (62). Benjamin Aliberti led the Knights with a 10th-place finish in 16:46.
- The Chugiak Mustangs swept the team titles. The East Thunderbirds took third for girls and the West Eagles took third for boys.
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By Arielle Himelbloom
SOLDOTNA – More than 700 prep athletes representing 23 schools toed the line at the Ted McKenney Invitational in Soldotna, navigating the Tsalteshi Ski Trails over a 5-kilometer course Aug. 22.
Chugiak’s Claire Shaha kicked off her high school career with a win in 19 minutes, 15 seconds, leading the Mustangs to a sweep of the team titles while becoming the first freshman to win the race in a decade.
Shaha combined with teammate Maddison Kukuk (19:21) for a lethal 1-2 punch, as the Mustangs galloped to the team title with 52 points. Chugiak enters the season as the five-time defending state champions and currently owns a 12-meet win streak against in-state competition.
Colony’s Wren Spangler, the reigning Mount Marathon junior champion, took third in 19:25, after moving up a dozen spots in the second half of the race. Eagle River’s Ashlyn Paynter (19:32) took fourth, followed by Colony’s Aubrey Virgin (19:38) in fifth. Palmer's Karley Tichenor finished ninth (19:46).
Spangler and Virgin led the Knights to a runner-up showing with 64 points, followed closely by the East Thunderbirds (74) in third. The T-Birds put together one of their strongest performances in recent history, as all five scorers were inside the top-19.
Shaha, sister of 2023 state champion Hannah Shaha, is the first freshman to win the race since West Valley’s Kendall Kramer in 2016 and second since Kenai Central’s Allie Ostrander in 2011.
Both Kramer and Ostrander have continued their storied careers at the national and international levels, winning NCAA titles for UAF and Boise State, before competing professionally.
Earlier this year, Shaha reset Ostrander’s middle school record in the 1,600, lowering it from 5:15 to 5:02 while competing for Gruening. She also collected eight ASD Championship titles — two in cross country and six on the track.
Girls Top 10
- Claire Shaha, Chugiak, 19:15
- Maddison Kukuk, Chugiak, 19:21
- Wren Spangler, Colony, 19:25
- Ashlyn Paynter, Eagle River, 19:32
- Aubrey Virgin, Colony, 19:38
- Kendall Barnett, West, 19:42
- Fiona Selvik, Service, 19:42
- Rylee Ruggles, Chugiak, 19:46
- Karley Tichenor, Palmer, 19:46
- Madeleine Lojewski, East, 19:48
On the boys side, East’s Katahdin Staples won in a blistering 15:54 to defend his title, recording the fastest season opener at the meet since 2018.
The senior and two-time defending state champion was all business in Soldotna, leading wire-to-wire and winning by 16 seconds a week after taking the 3K at the Eagle River Quad Meet. Last fall, Staples capped an undefeated season and became the first back-to-back champion in more than a decade.
Chugiak’s Joe Laudermilch and Bennett Hamm led the Mustangs to the team title with 62 points, putting all five scorers in the top-17.
The Colony Knights finished runner-up with 86, led by Benjamin Aliberti in tenth, while the West Eagles (101) took third after placing a trio in the top-10.
Staples’ time is the fastest opener at Tsalteshi since Santiago Prosser’s 15:45 in 2018. Prosser, a Dimond High alum, later went on to compete at Northern Arizona, helping the Lumberjacks to the NCAA cross country title in 2022.
Mountain City Christian Academy’s Breyden Nottingham — the defending D2 state champion — took runner-up in 16:10.
West’s Atlin Frederick (16:26), Bethel’s Cole Iverson (16:35) and West’s Finn Dudley (16:38) rounded out the top-5. Iverson’s time is a 27-second personal best and the second-fastest in program history, just four ticks behind Ned Peters, who now runs for UAF.
Boys Top 10
- Katahdin Staples, East, 15:54
- Breyden Nottingham, MCCA, 16:10
- Atlin Frederick, West, 16:26
- Cole Iverson, Bethel, 16:35
- Finn Dudley, West, 16:38
- Joe Laudermilch, Chugiak, 16:40
- Peter May, South, 16:40
- Bennett Hamm, Chugiak, 16:42
- Arlo Jespersen, West, 16:44
- Benjamin Aliberti, Colony, 16:46
Around the state
- West Valley’s Miriam Armstrong defended her title at the North Pole Classic in 20:01, winning by 49 seconds and leading the Wolfpack to a sweep of the team titles with perfect scores (15). Monroe Catholic’s Myles Werle took the boys race in 18:04, winning by 0.1 seconds.
- Wrangell’s Jenna Meissner — the defending D3 state champion — won the Sitka Invitational in 21:27 by 12 seconds. Sitka’s Derek Wilson collected his first career cross country victory in 17:16, winning by 31 seconds. Juneau-Douglas and Ketchikan took home the team titles.