The Haines High School cross-country teams competed at the regional championship meet in Sitka last weekend, taking sixth on the boys’ side and seventh on the girls’ side. 

The teams are now done for the season, except for freshman Sophia Hedden who took 12th place, earning a trip to the state championship meet this weekend. Hedden was the top Haines finisher. 

Even beyond Hedden, coach Jordan Baumgartner said the team raced better than they have all season, with five of the seven Glacier Bears at the meet running season bests. 

From his vantage point along the course, Baumgartner said he was excited to see his runners gaining ground through the race, with a number of notable late-race efforts. 

Freshmen runners Kaeden Ganey and Spencer Baumgartner moved up multiple places during the race’s five kilometers, Baumgartner said, as did Hedden, who was in 18th place after the first mile before moving up to 12th. 

On the boys’ side, junior Brody Ferrin was Haines’ top finisher in 20th place, narrowly beating Glacier Bear freshman Yoa George by two seconds. 

Off the course, Ferrin and sophomore Anna Bell won regional sportsmanship awards at the meet.

The Glacier Bears have no graduating seniors, and Baumgartner said he expects the team to continue building off their progress into next year. Seven of the 10 total athletes who ran for Haines this season were freshmen, and a strong middle-school running program waits in the wings.

“Hopefully they enjoyed the season and continue to run over the summer,” Baumgartner said. 

As for the one Glacier Bear still running, Hedden will start the drive north to Anchorage on Wednesday and races on Saturday.