Anchorage high school runners get a snow day at CIC cross country championships

Boys varsity runners are covered in mud after racing through snow and slick trail conditions during the Cook Inlet Conference cross-country championships at Bartlett High on Saturday. (Emily Mesner / ADN)

With Saturday’s snow making the cross-country trails at Bartlett High School slippery and muddy, footwear played a role in the Cook Inlet Conference cross-country championships.

Dimond’s Jared Gardiner won the boys 5-kilometer race while wearing a pair of new shoes with spikes that arrived Thursday. He ordered them online to replace a pair that had a rip in them, and his only choice was a pair of pink and white shoes.

By the time he crossed the finish line, the shoes were brown with mud and Gardiner was a conference champion.

Dimond’s Jared Gardiner talks with his mom, Kristy Gardiner, about trail conditions after the race. (Emily Mesner / ADN)

Gardiner won the boys race by 19 seconds on a day when four schools celebrated CIC championships.

The Dimond Lynx had Gardiner. The South Wolverines boasted the girls winner in Robyn Miller, who earned her second title in three years. The West Eagles won the boys team championship, and the Chugiak Mustangs won the girls team championship.

The snow lent a playful nature to the meet. Runners tossed snowballs and built snowmen, and some of the spectators teamed up to build a couch made of snow near the finish line.

The snow was less fun on the race course, which turned slick with a few muddy spots. Corners were best taken wide, because it was too slippery for sharp turns.

Bartlett High School teacher Rebecca Vano shovels snow from the track near the finish line on Saturday. (Emily Mesner / ADN)

Mud flies into the air after a girls varsity runner steps in a puddle during the race. (Emily Mesner / ADN)

Fallon Prince sits on a pile of snow he made into the shape of a couch and watches as racers run toward the finish line. (Emily Mesner / ADN)

“It was pretty brutal conditions today,” said West High senior Payton Smith, who placed third in the girls race.

Smith ran in a pair of light blue socks that have been her go-to pair ever since her freshman year. The West High coach promised the Eagles donuts if they won the girls race at the 2018 Steel Bucket Relay, an annual dual between West and Dimond, and Smith ran a strong opening leg to help secure the victory and the donuts. Ever since, she has raced in a pair of socks with donuts on them.

Miller, who is a junior, won the girls race by 16 seconds to reclaim the conference championship she claimed as a freshman. Last year, she finished fifth.

South’s Robyn Miller leads the pack as Chugiak’s Campbell Peterson runs behind. (Emily Mesner / ADN)

West’s Payton Smith smiles as she crosses the finish line in third place after coming from behind. "I was in shock," she said. "I wasn't expecting that." (Emily Mesner / ADN)

Second place went to Campbell Peterson, one of five Chugiak girls to finish in the top 10. Skyler Belmear was sixth, Emily Moore eighth, Addison Capozzi ninth and Kiley Dennis 10th as the Mustangs scored 35 points to take the team title.

South, which got a fourth-place finish from Elliana Zock, took the runner-up trophy with 55 points.

In the boys competition, the West Eagles took the team title with 42 points, a 20-point edge over second-place Service.

Isaac Main placed second to Gardiner to lead the Eagles. He nipped third-place Aaron Power of Service by 1.1 seconds and was one of six West runners in the top 15.

Gardiner, who placed eighth at last year’s CIC championships, gave Dimond its third individual boys champion in five years; Sonny Prosser won titles in 2019 and 2017.

“The whole race I felt strong, from start to finish,” Gardiner said.

Service’s Justin Lucas crosses the finish line. (Emily Mesner / ADN)

Prairie Daugherty reacts as her daughter crosses the finish line in the girls junior varsity championships. (Emily Mesner / ADN)

West High School cross country runner Peter Hobbie kisses a snowman built along the race course before leaving the stadium. (Emily Mesner / ADN)

The cross-country season wraps up next Saturday with the state championships at Bartlett.

Boys team scores — West 42, Service 62, Dimond 88, South 97, Chugiak 120, Eagle River 128, East 185.

Girls team scores — Chugiak 35, South 55, West 59, Service 109, Eagle River 120, Dimond 158, East 201.

Boys 5K

1. Jared Gardiner, Dimond 16:35.5; 2. Isaac Main, West 16:54.5; 3. Aaron Power, Service 16:55.6; 4. Ethan Howe, East 16:59.8; 5. Justin Lucas, Service 17:04.3; 6. Ethan Eski, West 17:08.0; 7. Henry Michener, Eagle River 17:08.8; 8. Elias Soule, Service 17:13.2; 9. Quinn Smith, West 17:18.0; 10. Nicholas Prosser, Dimond 17:18.2; 11. Max Johnsen, Dimond 17:19.1; 12. Mikhail Turchaninov, West 17:27.4; 13. Liam Chisholm, West 17:33.2; 14. Owen Young, South 17:34.5; 15. Hatcher Menkens, West 17:36.3; 16. Kyle Fischer, South 17:37.7; 17. Oliver Wright, West 17:39.4; 18. Nolan Miller, South 17:43.3; 19. Blaise Boyer, South 17:45.3; 20. Will Gerlach, Chugiak 17:46.8; 21. Chris Hines, Service 17:49.4; 22. Blake Brukardt, Chugiak 17:51.0; 23. Jack Molloy, Eagle River 17:51.9; 24. Owen Hayes, Chugiak 17:51.9; 25. Dylan Autrey, Service 17:54.7; 26. Porter Blei, Chugiak 17:58.0; 27. Jevin Lim, Service 18:04.5; 28. Benjamin Ringsmuth, Chugiak 18:06.0; 29. Joshua Penfield, Eagle River 18:07.8; 30. Jason Hutchinson, South 18:09.1; 31. AJ Glover, Dimond 18:10.2; 32. Keenan Vedros, Eagle River 18:10.2; 33. Rowan Robinson, South 18:13.0; 34. Ryan Smith, South 18:13.2; 35. Jarrett Jackson, Dimond 18:19.0; 36. Owen Saltzman, Dimond 18:19.4; 37. Joshua Baker, Eagle River 18:20.8; 38. Damien Borchardt, Eagle River 18:24.5; 39. Aaron Mehl, Chugiak 18:25.7; 40. Noa Kam-Magruder, Dimond 18:27.6; 41. Paul Hlsany, Service 18:31.5; 42. Gunnar Sackerson, Eagle River 18:33.2; 43. Luis Rasgado, Bartlett 18:41.8; 44. Walker Battreal, East 18:49.9; 45. Owen Smedley, Chugiak 18:50.4; 46. Liam Albertson, East 19:05.9; 47. Nathan Rehberg, East 19:18.4; 48. David Schweizer, East 19:34.5; 49. Julio Ramirez, East 19:40.8; 50. Ater Deng, East 19:45.4.

Girls 5K

1. Robyn Miller, South 19:23.9; 2. Campbell Peterson, Chugiak 19:39.9; 3. Payton Smith, West 19:41.6; 4. Elliana Zock, South 19:43.8; 5. Ava Trembath, Eagle River 19:46.4; 6. Skyler Belmear, Chugiak 20:07.8; 7. Meredith Schwartz, Service 20:08.3; 8. Emily Moore, Chugiak 20:12.4; 9. Addison Capozzi, Chugiak 20:19.3; 10. Kiley Dennis, Chugiak 20:21.5; 11. Natalie Hood, West 20:30.8; 12. Zoe Rodgers, West 20:36.8; 13. Ina Kraus, Eagle River 20:37.2; 14. Maggie Keffalos, South 20:42.0; 15. Lily Pannkuk, West 20:51.1; 16. Ella Atteberry, South 20:53.2; 17. Madeleine Reckmeyer, Service 20:58.1; 18. Berit Meyers, West 21:02.8; 19. Ada Burrup, Chugiak 21:12.9; 20. Elizabeth Page, South 21:14.9; 21. Lauren Dorris, West 21:16.1; 22. Ava Murphy, South 21:17.8; 23. Linnea Gray, Eagle River 21:18.8; 24. Sophia Mayers, West 21:34.3; 25. Brooklyn Adams Sherban, Service 21:46.4; 26. Joss MacKay, Dimond 21:52.4; 27. Cameryn Kauffman, South 21:53.5; 28. Bailey Peterson, Chugiak 21:57.3; 29. Ruthie Richardson, Service 21:59.5; 30. Nora McBride, Dimond 22:03.4; 31. Alana Lim, Service 22:12.6; 32. Avrey Campbell, Dimond 22:17.3; 33. Anna Halsey, Dimond 22:26.0; 34. Adria Wuerth, Service 22:36.7; 35. Brynn Rathert, East 22:37.8; 36. Natalie Bader, East 22:39.7; 37. Katelynn Seibert, Dimond 22:50.3; 38. Maia McCormack, Dimond 22:51.4; 39. Riley Wilson, Eagle River 23:04.6; 40. Jacey Spencer, Eagle River 23:08.2; 41. Thea Offrink, East 23:21.7; 42. Anna Deaton, Eagle River 23:25.1; 43. Nora Simon, Service 24:03.4; 44. Lucy Atkinson, Bartlett 24:10.6; 45. Maddie Sivils, East 24:43.6; 46. Amanda Wright, East 24:48.7; 47. Svea Thomas, East 24:58.0.

An early version of this story incorrectly reported what grade Robyn Miller is in. She is a junior.