Haines boys’ and girls’ teams each placed second behind Sitka at last weekend’s regional track championship in Juneau, where 15 Glacier Bears qualified for the state championship Saturday in Fairbanks.
Senior Jesse Piper scored 38 of Haines’ 124 points, winning the 110-meter hurdles, discus, shot and placing second in 200-meter dash. Piper tied for points with Skagway’s Mickey Wilson, who was named Athlete of the Meet.
Piper set personal records in the shot put (40’1.75″) and discus (128’9″).
Classmate Fran Daly won discus and shot and ran on winning relay teams in the 4-by-100 meters and 4-by-200 meters.
Daly’s discus toss of 117’7″ smashed her previous best, a throw of 111’ she made two years ago.
Freshman Caullen Taylor’s 12.15 finish in the 100 meters qualified him to compete at state. Others who qualified in individual events included senior Jordan Piper in high jump (4’4″) and sophomore Teolani Lynch in long jump (14’.25″).
Haines teams won six of eight relay races they entered and athletes scored personal records in nearly 40 events. “You can only ask kids to do their best,” said coach Greg Schlachter. “Many of our athletes had personal bests, so it was a phenomenal meet. Everybody seems to be peaking at the right time.”
Qualifying on relay teams for Haines were Taylor, Lynch, Daly, senior Brian Huntsman, freshman Jess Giddings, sophomore Anna Jacobson, sophomore Jackie St. Clair, freshman Jimmy Thomsen, junior Tyler Thomas, sophomore Marnie Rasmussen, junior Amanda Smalley, and sophomores Austin Badger and Esther Bower.
Schlachter said Haines won’t likely score high overall against larger Anchorage-area schools with more depth, but Glacier Bears could win several events. As opposed to the regional meet, where athletes entered up to four events, they’ll be specializing in Fairbanks, he said.
“They’re coming off some hard training so they should really start feeling good. Some will be running only one race at state, so they’ll be running fresh,” he said.
The Skagway boys’ team finished behind the Haines boys, scoring 96 points with four athletes.