Senior Marirose Evenden and juniors Brennan Palmieri and Lydia Andriesen victoriously parade through Haines Monday.
High school runners made Glacier Bear history last weekend, sweeping top individual and team awards at the state championship meet.
Avery Williamson and Siyel George were the fastest individual runners in the small schools’ division, leading both Haines’ girls and boys teams to championships. No Glacier Bear cross-country team had ever won at state. The girls team received the academic award for having the highest collective GPA among their division.
Second place is the closest either team came to winning state in Glacier Bear history. In 2005 and 2006 the girls cross-country team placed second. The highest scoring record of the boys team is fifth place in 2006 when current coach Chandler Kemp placed second individually.
Williamson is the first female runner to place first. In 2007, J.J. Lende placed second. In 1993 and 1995, Carl Blackhurst placed first before Siyel George placed first in 2017 and 2018.
Community members, students and parents lined Main Street Monday morning as two firetrucks carried smiling team members and coaches dressed in green. Some onlookers ran alongside the parade as it turned down Second Avenue and up the Haines Highway before returning to the school.
The athletes disembarked the firetrucks and ran into the gymnasium filled with the sound of cheering students and live pep band music. The crowd quieted when the runners settled in front of the crowd and speakers took turns presenting.
Mayor and Glacier Bear alumna Jan Hill said she is proud of the athletes’ success. “We have a saying, ‘Once a Glacier Bear, always a Glacier Bear.’…Thank you for representing our community so well,” she said.
Sen. Dan Sullivan unexpectedly joined the assembly during his one-day visit to Haines. “(These are) the smartest and fastest athletes in all of Alaska,” he said. “I am going to be bragging about this team for a long, long time.”
Speakers also included head coach Chandler Kemp, assistant coach Ben Bard, and team captains Brennan Palmieri and Marirose Evenden.
On Saturday morning, teams from across the state gathered at Bartlett High School in Anchorage.
The five-kilometer course curved around sharp corners and up short steep hills. Golden leaves blanketed the dirt path that winds through a tunnel of yellow birch trees. It was impossible for onlookers to observe every part of the race. Parent chaperones recall listening to the announcer track the athletes’ progress over loudspeaker.
Kelly Wiliamson said she heard the announcer state that her daughter, Avery Williamson, passed the first runner.
Avery Williamson later said this was the best moment of the entire trip because she got to see everyone’s face as she passed.
Williamson’s grandfather, John Hamilton, watched Williamson cross the finish line. “It seemed like she was just strolling,” he said.
“Avery ran her first 5K when she was three,” her mother later said. At the time, Williamson had been racing with her daughter in the stroller. During one race, three-year-old Williamson hopped out and ran. “And she’s been running ever since,” her mother said.
Williamon came in first place at 21:08 followed 43 seconds later by Grace Long.
Next, Dori Getchell watched her sister, Avari, cross the finish line.
“I was screaming and crying,” she later said.
Getchell was followed by Hannah Boron, Lydia Andriesen, Haley Boron and Marirose Evenden.
“Lydia said it was the first time she cried with joy,” her mother, Lisa Andriesen, later said.
Williamson later described the moment she crossed the finish line. “I’m going to remember that moment for a long time… no one can take that win from me…but it didn’t compare to how it felt when they announced that the team won.”
The girls team received 35 points, putting them 20 points ahead of the runner up, Sockeye Co-Op Team.
In the boys’ race, senior Siyel George crossed the finish line first with a time of 16:59.
Chaperone Thom Andriesen watched George’s finish. “He looked like he had a lot of gas left,” Andriesen recalled.
George was followed by Kirby Faverty and Luke Davis. Mark Davis and Carson Crager arrived next with just 0.6 seconds between the two of them. Jayden Hotch and Arik Miller followed.
This is the third year in a row that George won state. He later said, “It was a really good feeling to win a race that I’ve always held in high regard…but the award ceremony was the best moment when I got to stand up there with the rest of the team.”
Team captain Brennan Palmieri echoed this sentiment. “It’s not just about ourselves when we’re running,” he said. “We run for each other…we all ran together with Siyel.”
The boys received 41 points, putting them nine points ahead of Petersburg.
After the race, Thom Andriesen drove one of the vehicles full of athletes back to Haines. He described periods of silent sleeping and other moments of enthusiastic singing. “They were having a good time,” he said with a smile.
Girls’ Results:
1. Avery Williamson 21:08
3. Grace Long 21:25
9. Avari Getchell 21:52
12. Hannah Boron 22:38
15. Lydia Andriesen 22:52
20. Haley Boron 23:08
29. Marirose Evenden 24:13
Boys’ Results
1. Siyel George 16:59
11. Kirby Faverty 18:08
18. Luke Davis 18:49
21. Mark Davis 19:05
22. Carson Crager 19:06
52. Jayden Hotch 20:50
55. Arik Millier 20:59