The Glacier Bears boys’ and girls’ cross-country teams each placed third at the first Yakutat invitational Saturday, behind Juneau and Sitka, respectively.
The race, started by a policewoman firing a shotgun, followed a gravel road along Monti Bay. “How can you even describe the beauty of running next to the water, on a sunny day with Mount St. Elias in the distance?” asked coach Liam Cassidy.
Haines squads topped teams from Thunder Mountain and Mount Edgecumbe and the girls topped Skagway by a slim, five-point margin. Skagway boys and Yakutat boys and girls didn’t field full teams.
Experience paid off for junior Quinn Asquith-Heinz, who led the Haines boys with a 10th-place finish in 18:05. “It’s better to go with my instincts than look for a constant pace, when you feel good, go for it,” he said.
He was followed by senior Blake Hamilton (14th, 18:14); sophomore Corey Piper (20th, 18:38); sophomore Patrick Henderson (21st, 18:40); sophomore Chris Olsen (29th, 19:47); junior Devin Braaten (31st, 20:20), and senior Hunter Badgley (35th, 21:46).
Even with the shoe he lost during last week’s meet, Henderson couldn’t catch teammate Piper this week, but it wasn’t for lack of trying, said assistant coach Heather Lende. “Patrick had his best time of the season. The top four boys really ran well, and were fairly bunched together, which is what we like to see for optimum scoring.”
With Olsen or Braaten pushing toward that pack, the boys could give Sitka a real race, she said.
Senior Jolene Lemieux regained her state-qualifying form after a disappointing race last week, finishing 11th in 22:55. “At the start of the race, I made a goal to pass five people, and right at the beginning I’d already passed six or seven. I used the girls in front of me to run faster and pass more people.”
Freshman Serena Badgley placed second for the Bears (23rd, 24:27) a step ahead of teammate junior Maggie Daly (24th, 24:28). Coach Lende said it was great to see the pair running together. “They push each other, and encourage each other to go faster, and that’s so helpful.”
Junior Jess Giddings finished 26th in 25:40, followed by sophomore Elena Horner (32nd, 26:28) in her first race. Tia Heywood rounded out the girls’ squad (33rd, 26:46.)
Juneau’s Zach Bursell led all boys in an impressive 16:50. Skagway’s Kaitlyn Surdyk led the girls in 20:38.
Coach Cassidy said he has high hopes for both squads as they head to Juneau this weekend and then to the regional championship Sitka on Sept. 25, where the top three 3A teams will qualify for the state meet in Anchorage on Oct. 2, as well as 15 individual finishers.
Before Tuesday’s practice, a run out to Battery Point, Cassidy told the team, “The first priority is for everyone to remain healthy. The second is to get everyone to run as strong as possible so you can accomplish something, and of course, as always, continuing to focus on camaraderie and teamwork.”
He said for the next two weeks he’ll concentrate on pacing. “Keeping a steady pace in practice will help runners maintain certain times,” He’s taking seven boys and seven girls to Juneau. The meet is Saturday at the Sandy Beach trail in Douglas.