The Haines track team dominated the Thunder Mountain Falcons and Juneau-Douglas Crimson Bears at the home track meet May 13-14. The boys placed first in nine of 14 events. The girls placed first in four events and second in five.
Caleb Holm won the 200-meter dash with a time of 24.50 seconds. Holm beat the second-place runner by more than two seconds. Holm didn’t only dominate the track, he also took first in the field. Holm won the discus with a throw of 116 feet 5 inches, outthrowing second-place Eric Gilham by eight inches.
Gillham and Holm took first and second in the discus, respectively, at the Capital Invitational in Juneau from May 6-7. Gillham threw a season record with a distance of 121 feet and 2 inches at that meet. Gillham is the 2021 state champion for the discus.
Kaleb Jones won the 400-meter dash with a time of 58.82 seconds. Holm was a close second place, losing to Jones by 0.06 seconds. Holm and Jones will both be competing in the 400-meter dash at the regional meet.
“It’s very exciting to go into regionals running the 400-meter dash,” said Jones. “Even though it’s only my third time running it, I’m feeling good about the race and improving my time. I’m glad to be able to run with Caleb Holm and to see how we stack up, especially following our tight finish at the Haines meet.”
Luke Davis won the 800-meter run with a time of 2:12.26 seconds. Davis has yet to lose an 800- meter run in the finals. Davis also won the 1,600-meter run and the triple jump.
Phoenix Jacobson won the 300-meter hurdles, defeating the other runners by over two seconds. Jacobson has placed first for the hurdles at each meet this season. Jacobson will also be competing in the 110-meter hurdles at the regional meet.
The boys team ran a 4 by 100-meter relay for the first time this season. The team’s fluid handoffs helped them cross the finish line three seconds before the other teams and set a solid benchmark time of 49.47 seconds.
Emma Dohrn won both the discus and the shot put, with throws of 74 feet 2 inches and 26 feet one inch, respectively. Gracie Stickler placed third in both events.
Grace Long-Godinez won the long jump with a season record of 13 feet 8 inches. MacKenzy Dryden placed second with a jump of 13 feet and one inch. Long-Godinez and Dryden have a good chance of taking home gold and silver medals in the long jump at regionals.
“I’m really excited to see how (Grace and I) do at regionals,” said Dryden, “I’m hopeful that we will take first and second. This week we’ll be focusing a lot on getting good marks and mechanics. I think that it’s an amazing opportunity to be able to compete with Grace. Since our eighth-grade year, we’ve always competed in sports together and we’ve always used each other to better our performances.”
Grace Long-Godinez won the long jump with a season record of 13 feet 8 inches.
Ari’el Godinez-Long placed second in both the 800-meter run and the 1,600 meter-run. Avery Williamson gave the team another second-place finish with her performance in the 300-meter hurdles.
Both the girls’ and boys’ 4 by 400-meter relay dominated the Juneau teams. The boys ran a 3:57.88-minute relay, defeating the second-place team by 27 seconds. Each athlete ran a sub-60 second split. The girls ran a 4:52.69 in their relay, defeating the second-place team by over 34 seconds and finishing more than 200 meters in front of the other teams.
The Haines meet was the last invitational before regionals and state. The Haines track team will be heading to Ketchikan this weekend, May 20-21, to compete for a regional title and a chance to qualify for state. Times and placings can be accessed through athletic.net.
The team set 25 new personal records at the Capital Invitational in Juneau from May 6-7.
