Craig’s Nelson, Wrangell’s Meissner win DIII boys’ and girls’ region titles

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Wrangell boys tip Skagway and Craig, Petersburg girls top Wrangell and Craig

Craig senior Aulis Nelson wins the boys' Division III race during the Region V Cross Country Running Championships at Juneau's Treadwell Historic Mine Trail on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Independent)

By Klas Stolpe

Juneau Independent

Craig senior Aulis Nelson and Wrangell sophomore Jenna Meissner won the Division III boys and girls Southeast Region V individual championships Saturday at Juneau’s Treadwell Historic Mine Trail. The Wrangell boys and Petersburg girls topped the team standings for the Southeast crowns.

“I am happy with it,” Nelson said. “I am really happy with our team, too, more importantly. We pushed really hard this season and we grew so much. Craig has not had quite as dedicated a squad as this in a few years. The girls and boys have a really good shot at going to state, so I am eagerly waiting for the results.”

Nelson blazed around the course in the fastest time across all three divisions, navigating the hilly, rainy and muddy course in a personal best 16 minutes 31 seconds for the Juneau course.

“I am happy that I closed out my Region V season with a win,” Nelson said. “And I PR’d on this course, which is exciting and I am happy with it. I feel like I could have dug more. The coach was screaming at me and people were screaming at me. I always feel like I could have dug a little more and dropped a few seconds on those turns.”

Meissner clocked 20:32 to win the DIII girls’ race.

Wrangell sophomore Jenna Meissner sprints unchallenged to the individual title of the girls' Division III race during the Region V Cross Country Running Championships at Juneau's Treadwell Historic Mine Trail on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Independent)

“I think it is just amazing to be out here with our team,” Meissner said. “Especially since we have a couple seniors and we want to make them proud and give them all we got because they are graduating and just have a blast. The weather is nasty but you have to give it your all… Our seniors just give us all they have, like, the best season ever.”

The top 15 individual placings and all members of the top three teams qualify for the state championships next weekend.

Meissner said her mindset was “just pretty straightforward, you just run. I am not really thinking about anything during the race. I am just thinking about, this is where I am going and give it all I have got because it is regions, why not? Our coach says, just give it your best and never give up. There is nothing to lose. It is regions, so just go out there and have fun and try not to think about everything because you might blow up if you try to think too hard about it.”

Petersburg juniors Arielle Tucker and Cadence Flint gave Petersburg a strong standing in the early point totals, crossing in second and third with 20:53 and 21:44, respectively. The top three runners from a DIII team are scored for team placing.

Craig senior Rayne Fraley, Wrangell senior Alana Harrison and Petersburg junior Arielle Tucker move through Juneau's Treadwell Historic Mine Trail during the girls' Division III race during the Region V Cross Country Running Championships, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Independent)

“I think it is really a special thing,” Tucker said. “I know that the team title was our goal this whole season, and we have new freshmen that have never raced in high school before, and I think it is just really important for our team chemistry. I am just really excited to go to state with this team right here...Personally, I really like this course. I think it is just really good terrain. The hills are really nice to use. So mentally I think I was pretty prepared. I knew that there were a lot of really fast girls and I could try to pace with them…It feels really good having this team around me because the only person I want to see if I look behind me is my own teammates, obviously, pushing me. And watching Cadence come in right behind me was really cool. She is really fast.”

The two Petersburg girls provided just enough grit to push their Vikings’ teammates to the title.

“It meant a lot because our team is really strong,” Flint said. “I think we have had such good team chemistry and it was amazing to see it all pay off. We knew that Jenna (Meissner) was a really strong racer and so we focused on pacing off of her instead of pacing with her. And it was a great race to be able to compete so close as a team.”

Craig sophomore Jayla Edenshaw placed fourth in 21:52, Wrangell senior Alana Harrison fifth 22:02 and Petersburg freshman Arya Holmgrain sixth 22:30 to place the Vikings first.

Petersburg junior Cadence Flint and Craig sophomore Jayla Edenshaw move through Juneau's Treadwell Historic Mine Trail during the girls' Division III race during the Region V Cross Country Running Championships on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Independent)

Craig senior Rayne Fraley finished seventh in 22:46, Haines sophomore Sophia Hedden eighth in 22:51 and Petersburg’s junior Zia Hulebak and senior Maria Toth ran 23:11 and 23:16, respectively, finishing as fourth and fifth Vikings runners before any team had their third runner cross.

Haines freshman Violet Crowe placed 11th in 23:30, Petersburg freshman Devyn Flint 12th in 23:32, Wrangell freshman Erika Jabusch 13th in 23:47, Kake junior Aurora Davis 14th in 23:55 and Hoonah senior Easton Ross grabbed the final individual state qualifying position in 15th with 24:46.

“Today was awesome, our girls pretty much all ran either personal or season bests today,” Petersburg coach Kayleigh Lenhard said. “I am so proud of how they embraced the weather conditions, pushed each other, and left it all out on the course. The boys also all ran either personal or season bests. Small boys team this year, but I’m really proud of everything that they overcame today. Andi Mihai placed 3rd overall, which I think gave him a lot of confidence heading into State. We’ll continue to taper and try to enjoy our last week of practice before we hit it hard next weekend. The girls are ready to go after another win and Andi is excited to take on his first state meet. So proud of all these young runners.”

The Petersburg girls scored 11 points, Wrangell 19 and Craig 26 to earn state. Haines placed fourth with 40, Skagway fifth with 58, Kake sixth with 74 and Yakutat seventh with 80.

Haines sophomore Yeshey Galindo-George edges Craig junior Roanin Durgan for 15th place and a trip to state in the Division III boys' race during the Region V Cross Country Running Championships at Juneau's Treadwell Historic Mine Trail, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Independent)

“I just tried to tell the team to do their best,” Haines first-year coach Jess Crowe said. “Have team spirit and have fun. That was the biggest part for us. They all gave it their all. That is all we could ask. We qualified three runners for state, my daughter Violet, Sophia Heden and a boy runner Yoah (Yeshey Galindo-George).”

Wrangell senior Jackson Carney placed second in the boys’ race with 17:59, Petersburg sophomore Andi Mihai third in 18:11, Wrangell sophomore Ryder Ritchie fourth in 18:30 and Wrangell junior Carter Howell fifth in 18:37 to give the Wolves the team title.

Skagway placed juniors Zane Coughran sixth in 18:39, Logan Rupprecht seventh in 18:52, Julius Thole eighth in 18:53 and senior Luca Tronrud ninth in 19:00. Kake senior Xzavier Munoz-Torres placed 10th in 19:06, Skagway junior Dane Ames 11th in 19:09, Wrangell junior Lucas Stearns 12th in 19:23, Skagway junior Arthur Aribam 14th in 19:27 and Haines sophomore Yeshey Galindo-George grabbed the last individual state qualifying spot with 19:43.

The Wrangell boys scored 11 points, Skagway 21 and Craig 29 to earn state. Petersburg scored 48, Kake 59, Hoonah 82, Klawock 91 and Metlakatla 101.

Runners start the girls' Division III race during the Region V Cross Country Running Championships at Juneau's Treadwell Historic Mine Trail on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Independent)

DIII Girls:

1. Meissner so WRG 20:32; 2. Tucker jr PSG 20:53; 3. Flint jr PSG 21:44; 4. Edenshaw so CRG 21:52; 5. Harrison sr WRG 22:02; 6. Holmgrain fr PSG 22:30; 7. Fraley sr CRG 22:46; 8. Hedden so HNS 22:51; 9. Hulebak jr PSG 23:11; 10. Toth sr PSG 23:16; 11. Crowe fr HNS 23:30; 12. Flint fr PSG 23:32; 13. Jabusch fr WRG 23:47; 14. Davis jr KAK 23:55; 15. Ross sr HNH 24:46; 16. Saranne Stonecipher so CRG 25:09; 17. Aurora Woods jr SKG 25:28; 18. Ashlynn Smith sr CRG 25:44; 19. Mackenzie Mixon jr SKG 25:56; 20. Madison Conatser sr CRG 26:15; 21. Alli Demmert so CRG 26:15; 22. Cora Hoffman sr HNS 26:18; 23. Anna Bell jr HNS 26:30; 24. Abigail Holcomb fr YAK 27:14; 25. Mackenzie Williams sr MET 27:34; 26. Ella Rauscher so SKG 27:39; 27. Makayla Henry so HNS 27:57.5; 28. Ivy Elliott fr HNS 27:57.7; 29. Britta McBroom fr YAK 28:15; 30. Mina Yee sr SKG 28:43; 31. Madison Padgett sr KAK 29:13; 32. Avery Jensen fr YAK 29:39; 33. Jacqueline Fairbanks fr KLW 31:52; 34. Elizabeth Olsen so MET 33:23; 35. Emma Cook fr KAK 37:53; 36. Alyssa Jeffrey jr KLW 38:01.

Runners start the boy's Division III race during the Region V Cross Country Running Championships at Juneau's Treadwell Historic Mine Trail, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Independent)

DIII Boys:

1. Nelson sr CRG 16:31; 2. Carney sr WRG 17:59; 3. Mihai so PSG 18:11; 4. Ritchie so WRG 18:30; 5. Howell jr WRG 18:37; 6. Coughran jr SKG 18:39; 7. Rupprecht jr SKG 18:52; 8. Thole jr SKG 18:53; 9. Tronrud sr SKG 19:00; 10. Munoz-Torres sr KAK 19:06; 11. Ames jr SKG 19:09; 12. Stearns jr WRG 19:23; 13. Fithian so CRG 19:23; 14. Aribam jr SKG 19:27; 15. Galindo-George so HNS 19:43; 16. Roanin Durgan jr CRG 19:43; 17. Jack Conatser so CRG 19:52; 18. Allen Trimmer so CRG 20:30; 19. Alex Trimmer so CRG 20:35; 20. Quinton Davies fr WRG 20:38; 21. Waylon Jones sr PSG 20:40; 22. Erik Davis so KAK 20:52; 23. Charlie Roberts fr KLW 21:07; 24. Lawrence Howland sr HNH 21:09; 25. Aadyn Gillen sr WRG 21:11; 26. Declan Olsen fr PSG 21:11; 27. Matthew Gardner so CRG 21:31; 28. Maddox Tracy jr SKG 22:06; 29. Andre Bean fr KAK 22:34; 30. Riley Neal jr HNH 22:51; 31. Gabriel Contreras so HNH 23:03; 32. James Erickson jr HNH 23:05; 33. Tyler Wolf jr YAK 23”06; 34. Benjamin Ridley so MET 25:15; 35. Raymond Fairbanks sr KLW 25:31; 36. Sam Charles jr MET 26:20; 37. Xavier Olsen sr MET 27:13; 38. Emmit Aboudara jr KLW 27:31; 39. Edgar Nash fr HNS 28:07; 40. Russell Peele so KLW 28:22

REGION V DIVISION III AWARDS

Good Sport: Craig - Alex Trimmer and Saranne Stonecipher; Haines - Sophia Hedden and Yoa Galindo-George; Hoonah - Easton Ross and Riley Neal; Kake - Erik Davis and Madison Padgett; Klawock - Alyssa Jeffrey and Emmit Aboudara; Metlakatla - Mackenzie Williams and Xavier Olsen; Petersburg - Waylon Jones and Arielle Tucker; Skagway - Samuel Munson and Ella Rauscher; Wrangell - Jackson Carney and Jenna Meissner; Yakutat - Delaney Holcomb and Tyler Wolf.

All Academic: Craig - Ashlynn Smith, Madison Conatser, Rayne Fraley and Aulis Nelson; Haines - Cora Hoffman; Hoonah - Easton Ross and Lawrence Howland; Kake - Xzavier Munoz-Torres and Madison Padgett; Klawock - Raymond Fairbanks; Metlakatla - Mackenzie Williams; Petersburg - Maria Toth and Waylon Jones; Skagway - Samuel Munson; Wrangell - Alana Harrison and Jackson Carney.

Klawock earned the team Sportsmanship Award.

The ASAA/First National Bank Alaska Cross Country Running State Championships are next Saturday at Anchorage’s Bartlett High School Trails.