Glacier Bears turned in some top performances at their first and only home track meet despite unseasonably warm temperatures and a less-than-ideal dirt track.
Bears athletes had wins in the high jump, discus, long jump, 800-meter run and triple jump against two Juneau teams and Skagway.
“Overall it went really great. I think the kids had fun,” said coach Hailey Sanders.
Though he didn’t make the top step of the pedestal, Sanders highlighted a performance by junior Andrew Hansen in the 1600-meter run, where he posted a personal record of 5:14 and a second-place finish.
“I’m pretty happy with that. I think I’ll only get faster on a rubber track with spikes,” said Hansen.
Only a few PRs were achieved on the dirt track, even after the borough compacted it a few days before the meet, which Sanders said made it “way better.”
Even with his good form, Hansen’s performance in the 3,200 meters showed the challenges of the weekend. In that event, he finished nearly 30 seconds behind his personal best from last year, something he attributed to the dirt track, poor pacing, and the 65-degree heat.
“It was really hot that day and I was dehydrated. It didn’t help at all. I had a pretty dry mouth the whole time,” Hansen said.
Sanders also highlighted Lilly Robinson’s performances over the weekend. The junior took a season best time and a second-place finish in the 100 meters, third in the 200 meters, and personal best, second-place finishes in the high and long jumps.
On the throwing side, Emma Dohrn continued her unbeaten streak this season in the discus with a 100-foot throw. In second was freshman teammate Mary Bell, who threw a personal record 79 feet.
“There were solid marks all around. A couple of them didn’t perform quite where they wanted to, but I was certainly happy with what they were able to do,” said coach Tyrell Horton.
Horton said his crew of throwers has been hyper focused on technique and speed work to add distance to their throws.
“Most of our throwers are relatively small for the sport, so we’re having to not rely on power and strength,” said Horton.
While there were several top-notch performances, the meet was also an opportunity for athletes to try new events. Sanders said a 4×100-meter win was one example of that. The team was thrown together at the last minute and included senior Raven Hotch, who is participating in track and field for the first time this year, focused on throwing events.
“It was so much fun to watch them compete for the first time and succeed as much as they did,” said Sanders.
Other top performances of the weekend:
- Phoenix Swaner won high jump with a 5’ 4’’ jump, followed by teammate Alex Weersinghe with a 5’ jump. Swaner also finished second in the 200 meter dash;
- TJ Smith finished 2nd in 400 meters;
- JC Davis finished first in discus with a 116’ 9’’ throw. Davis also took second in the triple jump and 300 meter hurdles;
- Ari’el Godinez Long led a sweep of the triple jump with a 29’ 2’’ jump. She was followed by Lilly Robinson and Ashlyn Ganey;
- Haines girls swept the top five spots in the long jump, led by Ashlyn Ganey with a 13’ 3.5” leap, followed by Lilly Robinson and Ari’el Godinez Long.
- Freshman Sydney Salmon finished second in the 400-meter run with a personal best time of 1:17.
