Haines hosted the North Cross-Country Meet on Sept. 5, 2026, after the meet had to be moved due to state ferry dock problems in Skagway.
About 56 runners from Hoonah, Skagway and Juneau competed in Haines during the North Cross-Country Meet on Saturday.
The meet was originally set to be held in Skagway, but the community has been without state ferry service due to a damaged terminal, so Haines school staff agreed to host it locally.
The local team has had about three weeks to prepare, which is a later start than usual, said coach Jess Crowe.
“Normally the coaches try to start them earlier, like in the summer just after the fair,” Crowe said. “We started the first day of school.”
One other change was to the original trail Crowe had planned for the 5K.
“It was through the [Chilkoot Indian Association trails], then up to the new Schnabel subdivision, then down past Buster’s Pond and then to the disc golf course, then dropping into the fair. It was great,” she said. “But, because of the bears we had to stick to actual roads.”
The new course went up Fair Drive, through the CIA subdivision, two loops in the Schnabel subdivision and then straight back the way the runners came.
One upside to that new course, said Crowe, was that it was easier for people to come out and watch.
“A lot of people showed up, I think it helped that it was a nice sunny day. We had lots of people helping, we had to have people placed along the course,” she said. “There was lots of support, it was great.”
The runners were led by Haines school principal Alex Van Wyhe on his bike; wrestling coach Andus Hale was the sweeper, who runs behind the last racer to make sure no one has left the course. Ultimately, there were no problems with bears — though Crowe said there were signs of them.
“It’s funny though because I got up early Saturday morning to set the course, put the cones out and mark it a little better,” Crowe said. “There was a big pile of bear poop up above the CIA subdivision.”
Nine Chilkat Valley runners competed, including Sophia Hedden, who placed fourth in the girls race in 22:44.
Cora Hoffman placed 15th in 25:30
Violet Crowe placed 19th in 26:45
Anna Bell placed 20th in 27:00
Makayla Henry placed 21st in 27:06
Mary Bell placed 23rd in 28:15
In the boys race:
Yoa Galindo-George placed 10th in 18:51.
Luke Bell came in 19th in 20:45
Edgar Nash placed 35th in 29:01.
The local team is a mix of returning runners and new ones. Crowe said they’ve not had time to debrief since the race, but Crowe said they’d be focusing on running form and taking on hills as that was what she saw needed work.
“I feel like they’ve got great team spirit, everyone was very positive,” she said.
They’ll join cross-country runners from around Southeast on Sept. 12 during the Ketchikan Invitational.