Five Su Valley cross country runners go on to State Championships

The Susitna Valley High School cross country running team posed for a end-of-the-season group photo with their coaches at the last Regional 2 meeting on Saturday at Su Valley High. Photo by Diana Haecker

Under an overcast sky, Region 2 cross country runners gathered at Su Valley for the last regional meet of the season last Saturday.

Twenty-six boys and 17 girls from nine schools competed for best times as the top ten runners earned a spot in the upcoming state championships.

Su Valley senior Michael Burke again improved on his personal best racing time and placed fifth with a time of 18:23. Bill Kelly finished in ninth place with a time of 18:50. The whole girls team also placed in the top ten. Bailey Stevenson finished in second place, Missy Scott in third and Morgan Michaels in eighth place.

A slight drizzle didn’t dampen the runners’ spirits as the awards ceremony got underway. The Su Valley girls team received the coveted Sportsmanship Award, Tri Valley’s Andrew Talerico won the boys division and also was voted the Most Valuable runner.

Next week, Su Valley seniors Mike Burke and Bill Kelly, and the girls team will head to the grand finale of the cross country running season, the state championships, held in Palmer on October 3.