As Devin Light tries to soar to new heights at the state track and field meet up north this weekend, many of his teammates will be on their way Down Under.
Light, who graduated from Haines High School on Tuesday, will be the lone Glacier Bear competing at Dimond High School in Anchorage. Several other Haines athletes qualified for state with performances at last weekend’s Region V championship in Juneau but will be participating in a Venturer Scouts trip to Australia.
Light chose a fitting quote for the graduation program this week, by former NFL quarterback Steve Young: “The principle is competing against yourself. It’s about self-improvement, about being better than you were the day before.”
Head coach Jim Stanford said the team figured to have more than a dozen state qualifiers without the trip conflict. Now, the team’s state hopes rest on Light, who advanced to state in the 100 meters, 200 meters and high jump. He was the regional champion in the sprints, and runner-up in the high jump.
“It’s a bummer for us, because so many can’t go on,” Stanford said.
The team had a strong finish at the regional meet, claiming titles in boys’ and girls’ 4×100-meter relays among small schools. The boys’ relay included Light, seniors Chevy Fowler and Isaac Wing and freshman Mori Hays, while seniors Serena Badgley and Grace Jones, junior Jennie Humphrey and sophomore Bailey Stuart ran for the girls.
“I’m not sure we expected that,” Stanford said. “We expected the boys, maybe, to win, but the girls were a pleasant surprise.”
In overall team scoring among small schools, the Haines boys placed third, trailing Sitka and Petersburg. The ranking for girls’ teams was Petersburg, Sitka, Thorne Bay, Yakutat, Haines and Gustavus.
Among top-three individual finishers for Haines were Fowler, second in the boys’ long jump (18’8”) and third in the 110-meter hurdles (19.89 seconds); Stuart, second in the discus (82’4”); and Badgley, third in the girls’ triple jump (30’9”).
“With all the obstacles this year, we had a really successful track season,” Stanford said.