On Saturday the Valley of the Eagles Golf Course will host the Haines Glacier Bears as they attempt to claim the Region V cross-country title. Their competition will be submitting times raced on separate but equal courses from across Southeast in the first-ever virtual regional championship. The high school race starts at 10:30 a.m., followed by a middle school race at 11:15. Fans are encouraged to line the course to cheer on the athletes and are asked to wear a mask and socially distance.
The Glacier Bear girls and boys squads have followed up their 2019 state championships by dominating their two recent virtual races by entering larger rosters and posting faster times than rival teams. In their most recent race, the Glacier Bears were challenged with a hilly, winding course that started and finished on the Fort Seward parade grounds. The girls claimed the top three spots and had nine finishers in the top 10, while the boys took the top four spots with seven runners in the top 10. Once again, they were led by MacKenzy Dryden (21:06) and Luke Davis (18:24).
While there is no telling what the competition will do as the Glacier Bears race them from afar, the defending state champions are grateful to be in the game. “At the start of this I was afraid that we wouldn’t have the senior season we all anticipated,” said Haley Boron, “But the total opposite has happened. I’m so thankful we have had the opportunity to race and reach our goals. So many of our teammates have achieved things beyond what they thought they were capable of and that brings me tremendous joy.”
Another fourth-year varsity runner, Carson Crager, put things in perspective. “This year has been very different from my past three years in this sport, but what keeps me going is my love of running and just being active. Even if we aren’t competing in person, I still love to run and compete with our team and community. I just want to get better.”
As always, the season has been as much a mental as a physical endeavor. “This season has made me think hard about what running means to me. Now that the prospects of state and a normal regional race are dim, I’ve realized that what makes cross-country so special to me isn’t the medals or the titles or the Olive Garden feasts, it’s the team that I have run with for four years and I wouldn’t want to spend my last season with anyone else,” Boron said.
The Glacier Bears will run for the title against formidable but invisible competition, but they won’t run alone. Crager discussed his game plan. “My strategy for regionals is to keep on doing what I’ve been doing and stay healthy. It’s been nice to have teammates close to my speed because they really make me push myself. This will be my last regionals for cross-country, so I’m going to leave it all out on the course.”