Haines teams reduced by student vacations finished toward the bottom of squads at the championship track meet held May 28-29 at Anchorage’s Dimond High School.
But coach Jim Stanford said his team of four showed enthusiasm and learned a lot. “The kids that went had a blast. It was an eye-opener for them. None of them had ever been to state before.”
Of about 11 Glacier Bears who qualified for the meet, only four athletes made the trip. Some members of relay teams missed the trip due to teammates’ vacations, Stanford said. “That was a bummer.”
With nine points, the Haines boys placed 14th of 19 teams, behind Southeast competitors Petersburg (4th with 48 points) and Sitka (7th, 38 points). Anchorage Christian School won the state small-school titles for both men and women.
The Haines girls placed 18th of 20 small-school teams, with 8 points. Southeast competitors included Petersburg (4th, 40 points), Sitka (12th, 14 points) and Thorne Bay (14th, 13 points).
Junior Casey Bradford led the Glacier Bears in scoring with five points, placing sixth in discus and the 400-meter run and seventh in the 200-meter dash, notching personal bests in his running events. “Casey was psyched. He was not intimidated at all. He was there to win,” Stanford said.
Bradford ran the 200 in 24.46, compared to event winner Jordan Sondegaard of Glenallen’s time of 23.30. His 54.70 time in the 400-meter event compared to 49.75 by winner Michael Todd of Anchorage Christian. His discus toss of 112-05 compared to 134-5 by winner Ben Zarlengo of Petersburg, although Bradford made a 125-foot toss that narrowly went out of bounds.
Teammate Matt Green placed fourth with a discus toss of 117-10.
For the Haines girls, the day brought points but fell short of personal records. Junior Bailey Stuart notched fourth in the discus with a 78-2 toss, but her previous bests have been over 90 feet, Stanford said. The event was won by Ashley Logan of Grace Christian with a throw of 108-5.
Junior Autumn Gross placed fourth in shot put with a throw of 28-6. Grace Christian’s Logan also won that event with a throw of 37-8.5.
The experience at the state meet should help hone the four athletes into leaders for next year’s team, which should be boosted by some strong underclassmen runners, Stanford said.
The meet was a notable one for several other schools. Nine state records were set during the 34 weekend events.