Although Homer’s debut track and field meet was canceled  April 19-20 due to icy conditions, the Mariners were able to show off their brand new track last Saturday by hosting the Skyview Invite. Originally scheduled for Skyview High School, the Mariners hosted 10 other teams from around Alaska on short notice because some midweek snow melt settled on the Skyview track, forcing the meet to be moved.

The powerhouse Grace Christian Grizzlies of Anchorage took over the competition, tallying 123 points from women’s events and 88 from men’s, earning first place as a team for both genders. The Lady Mariners earned a fifth place finish with 47 points, while the Homer boys finished eighth with 27.5 points. 

Hurdles played to the Mariners’ advantage on Saturday as Mark McGregor and Connor Seay finished in first place in 100- and 300-meter hurdles respectively. “That’s one of their specialty events,” said Homer Head Coach Bill Steyer. 

Tayla Cabana earned second place in her 300-meter hurdles, finishing less than two seconds under the first place victor, Kayla Rowe of Grace Christian.

Senior Sam Reinert ran his first open 400-meter dash, coming in third place. 

“There were some big schools here and he ran a 55. That’s pretty impressive for the 400,” said Steyer.

Reinert finished with an exact time of 55.81 in his effort and also managed to jump 16 feet, five inches during the long jump event, securing fifth place.

Homer’s Aurora Waclawski enjoyed top five finishes in her solo and relay races, earning third place in the 400-meter dash as well as the 4×200 meter relay with teammates Crystal Crane, Cassidy Soistman and Tayla Cabana. Waclawski also teamed up with Casey Farrell, Molly Mitchell and Aziza Shemet-Pitcher to take fourth place in the 4×400 meter relay. 

“I haven’t even put together my best four by four,” said Steyer as he explained how the best was yet to come out of his female relay squads. Waclawski and Cabana, who have yet to team up on a relay squad, finished the 400-meter dash in third and fourth place, showing their potential on a future relay team.

During Tuesday’s Seward Invitational, the Lady Mariners placed fourth out of nine teams, with a team score of 53 points. The Grace Christian Grizzlies once again dominated competition with 173 total women’s points. The Mariner Men placed seventh out of 10 schools with 26 total points. Reinert stood out again in the 400-meter dash, beating his previous time and claiming second place with a time of 55.20 seconds. McGregor and Seay also proved their worth in the 300-meter hurdles, finishing one behind the other in second and third place. Waclawski ran well for the women, taking second place in both the 400- and 800-meter dash.  The 1,600-meter relay team of Tayla Cabana, Casey Farrell, Crystal Crane, and Waclawski finished with a time of 4:43.91 seconds and second place. 

Skyview Invitational 

at Homer High School Saturday

BOYS

Team scores:
1. Grace Christian, 88; 2. Kenai Central, 87; 3. Colony, 86; 4. Palmer, 65; 5. Soldotna, 44.5; 6. Nikiski, 40; 7. Glennallen, 32.5; 8. Homer, 27.5; 9. Skyview, 25; 10. Cook Inlet Academy, 12; 11. Wasilla Lake Christian, 8.

Homer Boys Results

100 meters — 12 Mark McGregor, 12.46 seconds; 22., David Wright, 13.46

200 — 10. Connor Seay, 25.50; 15. Jordan Reynolds, 26.27; 26. David Wright, 28.34; 30. Kyle Carrol, 29.16

400 —3. Sam Reinert, 55.81; 9. Jordon Reynolds, 58.71; 20. Kyle Carrol, 1:03.87

110 hurdles — 1. Mark McGregor, 16.92

300 hurdles — 1. Connor Seay, 45.31

Shot put — 10. Mark McGregor, 34-04.00; 14 . David Wright, 31-11.75

Long jump —5. Sam Reinert, 16-05.00

GIRLS

Team Scores:
1. Grace, 123; 2. Colony, 86; 3. Kenai, 59; 4. Soldotna, 50; 5. Homer, 47; 6. Skyview, 46; 7. CIA, 44; 8. Palmer, 42; 9. Nikiski, 8; 10 (tie). Ninilchik, Glennallen, 6.

Homer Girls’ Results

100 — 19. Crystal Crane, 15.20; 20. Elsa Simmons, 15:32

200 — 11. Azizza Shemet Pitcher, 29.92; 20. Crystal Crane, 31.87; 

400 —3. Aurora Waclawski, 1:05.30; 4. Tayla Cabana, 1:06.30; 7. Azizza Shemet Pitcher, 1:07.65

800 — 13. Abigale Brant, 2:49.72; 16. Mattea Peters, 2:54.33; 18. Valerie Mastolier, 2:56.08; 20. Sakota Mitchell, 3:05.04

1,600 — 10. Molly Mitchell, 6:03.71; 14. Valerie Mastolier, 6:12.72; 16. Abigale Brant, 6:23.23

3,200 —4. Casey Farrell, 12:46.58; 6. Barae Hirsch, 12:59.56; 14. Mattea Peters, 15:10.12; 15. Sakota Mitchell, 17:39.95

300 hurdles —2. Tayla Cabana, 52.29

800 relay —3. Homer, 1:59.03 (Crystal Crane, Tayla Cabana, Cassidy Soistman, Aurora Waclawski)

1,600 relay — 4. Homer, 4:39.55 (Azizza Shemet Pitcher Molly Mitchell, Casey Farrell, Aurora Waclawski)

3,200 relay —3. Homer, 10:52.07 (Casey Farrell, Molly Mitchell, Azizza Shemet Pitcher, Barae Hirsch)

Shot put (4kg) — 16. Abigale Brant, 20-06.75; Valerie Mastolier, 17-10.25

Long jump — 3. Tayla Cabana, 13-11.00; 14. Crystal Crane, 12-07.00

Triple jump — 4. Cassidy Soistman,  29-09.75; 7. Aurora Waclawski, 29-00.00