Haines High School cross-country runners get one chance to qualify for the state championship meet at Saturday’s Region V qualifying meet at Sitka’s Totem Park.
A state trip isn’t certain for the men’s or women’s teams, both defending Division II state champions. In cross-country, the finish-places of a team’s first five runners are tallied for a team score and this year’s teams lack the depth in speed of past championship squads.
“If a couple kids run the races I think they can, I think we can make it to state,” coach Jordan Baumgartner said of his men’s squad. “Especially if they run together in a pack and push themselves to faster times.”
At regionals, the top 15 individual runners and fastest two teams from each division qualify for state.
The Glacier Bear men aren’t expecting to catch a blazing Wrangell team but they’re hoping a boost from sophomore homeschooler Andrew Hansen will put them ahead of Petersburg.
Without the benefit of team leader and senior Luke Davis who took his allotted week off, the Glacier Bear men fell to the Vikings, 195-145, at last weekend’s Capital City Invitational in Juneau. Wrangell notched a scorching 61.
Hansen is a 15-year-old rookie who is running second on the squad but hasn’t competed since the Haines home meet a month ago.
His goal is to run the flat, winding Sitka course in 18:30. His time on the hills of Haines was 19:12.
“I’m thankful God has given me good legs,” Hansen said this week. “I’ll just push myself as fast as I can go and see what happens.”
Senior teammate Phoenix Jacobson, the team’s fifth runner this season, may also provide a boost. Jacobson lopped 30 seconds off his best time at last week’s meet in Juneau, finishing in 19:31. A comparable improvement – he’s hoping for another 30-second leap – might seal a state championship meet berth for the Glacier Bear men.
The men’s squad, in order of speed this season, includes senior Davis, sophomore Hansen, sophomore Dalton Henry, sophomore Phoenix Swaner, senior Jacobson, senior Eric Gillham and senior Griffin Culbeck.
Six Glacier Bear women heading to Sitka’s regional championship, in order of speed this season, include sophomore Ari’el Godinez-Long, senior Grace Long, senior Avari Getchell, senior Sal Chapell, sophomore Ila Nettleton and sophomore Ashlyn Ganey.
Haines women have been at the top of their division all season. But because Long, Getchell, and Chapell have been running together in a pack during races behind team leader Godinez-Long, the Glacier Bears may need Nettleton or Ganey to close the gap in order to get past Petersburg and Klawock, competitive squads.
“Our top four girls are consistently running in the top 10 in the region. That puts a little more pressure on our fifth and sixth runners,” coach Baumgartner said.
Nettleton this week said she’s confident she can improve on her best time of 26:28 but wasn’t making predictions.
Whatever happens, Baumgartner said he’s happy with this year’s squads and the improvements they’ve made through the season.
Haines women didn’t run last week. Men’s finishes in the 143-runner meet included: 45) senior Phoenix Jacobson, 19:31; 49) sophomore Phoenix Swaner, 19:40; 50) freshman J.C. Davis, 19:43; 64) senior Eric Gillham, 20:22; and 65) sophomore Collin Aldassy, 20:23.