JDHS runners head to state championships in Palmer
- Klas Stolpe
- Oct 1
- 6 min read
Crimson Bears hunting ‘moose,’ other critters for bragging rights
By Klas Stolpe
Juneau Independent
Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé runners will get their second chance of this season to race along the Palmer High School trails as the Moose host the 2025 ASAA/First National Bank Alaska Cross Country Running State Championships on Saturday.
“It is a relentless three laps of hills and tight turns through the woods,” JDHS co-head-coach Zack Bursell said. “That combined with the huge number of racers at the state meet can be disorienting and overwhelming. Our challenge on this course is to keep a cool head and stay focused on our game plan amid all the distractions out there.”
Many of the Crimson Bears runners traveled to PHS’ George Plumley XC Invite on Sept. 6 for a taste of the course.
The JDHS boys placed seventh out of 32 varsity teams at the meet and the JDHS girls placed 12th out of 22. The Crimson Bears JV teams placed sixth out of 16 junior varsity teams and the Crimson Bears JV girls fourth out of 16.
“There might be a couple that didn't make it up to our Palmer trip earlier, but pretty much all of them got a chance to earlier in the year,” Bursell said. “You start on kind of this open grassy field and then it sort of funnels down after maybe 200 yards or so…There's three laps on the trail and it's really all over the place. I can't even give you an exact shape, but it's totally twisty turny all over the place. There's that part of it, like getting used to the course itself, but then also we've really been focusing on techniques for staying focused in your race during those challenging moments that come up. So having a honed skill set for those moments, I think, is really helpful too.”
JDHS girls state qualifying seniors Lua Mangaccat, Della Mearig, and Siena Farr, junior Kaia Mangaccat and freshman Maya Mothershead ran in the Palmer Invitational’s 179-strong girls varsity race, and sophomore Nevah Lupro in the JV field of 130. K. Mangaccat has the 13th fastest girls qualifying time across the state for Saturday’s meet, hitting 19.58 and sophomore Sigrid Eller has the16th fastest (20:18). Lupro has the 32nd (21:07), Mearig 33rd (21:10), Mothershead 35th (21:17), Farr 39th (21:29) and L. Mangaccat 61st (22:08)
Wasilla’s Hailee Giacobbe has the girls top state qualifying time of 19:19 in the field of 78 runners.
Crimson boys state qualifying senior Elias Schane, juniors Erik Thompson, Logan Fellman and Zach Bos, and sophomore Carson Kautz ran in the Palmer Invitational’s varsity field of 232, and JDHS juniors Angus Andrews and Austin Huang were in the 169 runners of the JV race. Thompson has the ninth fastest time in the state field for Saturday with 16:55 and Fellman the 11th (16:59). Bos has the 24th (17:16), Andrews 51st (17:52), Kautz 55th (17:59), Schane 57th (18:00) and Huang 79th (19:18).
Palmer’s Bodie Miller has the fastest boys state qualifying time of 16:12 among the field of 81 runners.
The Palmer High School Trail is similar to prior state championship races on the Bartlett High School Trails except Bartlett has bigger hills, so this year’s pace should be faster which can take runners out of their "game" plan.
“Well it's a championship race so those tend to go out really fast,” Bursell said. “So it throws people off their typical pace. Some people burn up after just the first half mile. There's a fast start, there's a lot of people, and I think just the whole moment of being in a race with a lot of competition — and it being the state meet — there's a lot of nerves that go into it. Just handling all of those factors and then on top of that performing in a race it takes a lot.”
Runners need to remember that the top five of their seven teammates score and the sixth is a tiebreaker, so they are involved in the race until they take their shoes off after crossing the finish.
“It’s such a big field that those number three, four or five runners are super important,” Bursell said. “Having depth is going to be key. Every position counts. A runner finishing in, say, 20th would be fantastic.”
Bursell noted that the Crimson Bears are in shape and ready to run, and the variables of travel, food and getting settled in up north will be ironed out.
“I think that's just it, just keeping it simple, covering all the basics,” he said. “I mean we've been able to hone our race plan for each athlete over these last couple races. We had our home meet and then the region meet to really start to dial things in for everyone so, yeah, just a matter of making sure these guys are confident and ready to execute.”
DI GIRLS STATE QUALIFIERS
19:19.0 Hailee Giacobbe Wasilla
19:23.1 Miriam Armstrong West Valley
19:24.0 Rosie Conway East Anchorage
19:33.0 Hannah Shaha Chugiak
19:33.2 Maddison Kukuk Chugiak
19:34.5 Ellie Stull Dimond
19:37.2 Fiona Selvik Service
19:41.6 Sophia Jedlicki Soldotna
19:44.4 Aubrey Virgin Colony
19:47.3 Rylee Ruggles Chugiak
19:49.5 Olivia Sandoval Chugiak
19:52.5 Tania Boonstra Soldotna
19:58.0 Kaia Mangaccat JDHS
20:06.7 Ellie Burnett West Valley
20:16.0 Solveig Finstad Lathrop
20:18.0 Sigrid Eller JDHS
20:19.1 Karley Tichenor Palmer
20:24.0 Talia Smith Service
20:32.2 Kathryn DeBardelaben Soldotna
20:33.7 Chloe Hayner West Anchorage
20:38.0 Ryan Elerding Ketchikan
20:39.3 Clara Sensabaugh Colony
20:40.7 Petra Knox Chugiak
20:44.9 Kendall Barnett West Anchorage
20:49.9 Kiysa LeCount Colony
20:53.0 Anna Green South Anchorage
20:55.7 Isela Austin Colony
20:57.7 Charlotte Knox Chugiak
20:59.0 Alise Elliott South Anchorage
21:00.7 Jayda Iniguez Colony
21:02.3 Kyra Walter Chugiak
21:07.0 Nevah Lupro JDHS
21:10.0 Della Mearig JDHS
21:11.2 Elsie LeCount Colony
21:17.0 Maya Mothershead JDHS
21:19.0 Ellie Abrahamson West Valley
21:20.3 Margaret Hamel Service
21:21.1 Madeleine Lojewski East Anchorage
21:29.0 Siena Farr JDHS
21:32.0 Madelin Lowen Dimond
21:32.0 Hannah Veltkamp Dimond
21:32.3 Celestina Branson West Valley
21:33.0 Molly McBride Dimond
21:33.0 Beatrix Brogan East Anchorage
21:33.8 Naomi Keller Soldotna
21:36.4 Breeze Buchanan Colony
21:37.6 Aubrey Hess Palmer
21:37.6 Cora Neroda Service
21:40.8 Rayne Personett West Valley
21:45.3 Gigi Leonetti Dimond
21:47.0 Alexa Pilon Lathrop
21:52.0 McKenzie Ray Wasilla
21:52.2 Siera Chadwick East Anchorage
21:54.7 Amelia Bindon Wasilla
21:54.9 Hazel Sutton West Valley
21:56.0 Jewel Gardner Wasilla
21:56.5 Addysen Paul Lathrop
21:59.7 Alivia Tiihonen Wasilla
21:59.8 Maryjane Baxter Dimond
22:02.0 Daria Mantei Lathrop
22:08.0 Lua Mangaccat JDHS
22:08.3 Quynn Campbell Dimond
22:08.6 Shiloh Zichko Soldotna
22:15.0 Livia Bond Service
22:16.0 Melody Mleschnitza Wasilla
22:23.5 Bella Winn Wasilla
22:24.1 Afton Luck Soldotna
22:26.9 Kylie Dickson Soldotna
22:33.7 Emi Wilson Service
22:42.7 Abi Howe East Anchorage
22:45.0 Sarah Kleeman Ketchikan
22:58.0 Madelyn Gass Ketchikan
22:58.7 Clara Robinson East Anchorage
23:15.7 Nina Varnell East Anchorage
23:16.5 Faith Harlamert Service
23:36.0 Marais Anderson Lathrop
23:55.2 Selah Hoop Lathrop
24:01.2 Allison Oestrich Lathrop
DI BOYS STATE QUALIFIERS
16:12.8 Bodie Miller Palmer
16:24.5 Trygve Vang-Thompson Colony
16:27.0 Katahdin Staples East Anchorage
16:31.8 Weston Roberts Kodiak
16:41.7 Vebjorn Flagstad South Anchorage
16:45.5 Gabriel Black Colony
16:47.2 Henry Pysher Kodiak
16:52.6 Justin Dalitsch Wasilla
16:55.0 Erik Thompson JDHS
16:57.4 Loch Johnson North Pole
16:59.0 Logan Fellman JDHS
16:59.7 Arlo Jespersen West Anchorage
17:00.4 Atlin Frederick West Anchorage
17:02.5 Maksim Millwood Dimond
17:06.0 Will McMahon West Anchorage
17:10.0 Jakob Long Chugiak
17:13.8 Aksel Flagstad South Anchorage
17:14.9 Leif Anderson Lathrop
17:15.1 Theodore Stamoolis Colony
17:15.2 Owen Tracy Chugiak
17:15.2 Luke Shaw Eagle River
17:15.2 Tian Sandvik Service
17:15.7 Raven Spangler Colony
17:16.0 Zach Bos JDHS
17:19.3 Clayton White Dimond
17:20.3 Ollie Dahl Soldotna
17:22.2 Beck Harth South Anchorage
17:23.0 Carter Phillips Ketchikan
17:23.0 Owen Harth South Anchorage
17:23.2 Ethan Elliott South Anchorage
17:23.8 Kieran Kaufman West Valley
17:25.2 Gabriel Carey Wasilla
17:25.7 Julian Kiefer Kodiak
17:25.7 William Edgerton Wasilla
17:28.2 Joseph (Joe) Laudermilch Chugiak
17:29.0 Henry Vail Ketchikan
17:32.1 Nathan Stapley Wasilla
17:32.6 Finn Dudley West Anchorage
17:34.3 Elias Williams West Anchorage
17:37.7 Rowan Alley Colony
17:39.7 Kohen Galloway Chugiak
17:41.2 Thomas Armbruster West Valley
17:41.2 Reid Merrill West Valley
17:42.7 Zane Gerlach South Anchorage
17:43.7 Josiah Herrick Colony
17:47.0 Olson Reese South Anchorage
17:48.0 Cameron Posey Dimond
17:48.7 Maxim Macy Chugiak
17:50.0 Gabriel Koehler Kodiak
17:50.8 Dausen Loughman Chugiak
17:52.0 Angus Andrews JDHS
17:53.5 Stokely Williams Kodiak
17:54.3 Levi Beck Student Wrestler Development Program (SWDP)
17:57.0 Noah Robbins Ketchikan
17:59.0 Carson Kautz JDHS
17:59.6 Braden Thomas Wasilla
18:00.0 Elias Schane JDHS
18:01.3 Kevin Foster Kodiak
18:04.8 Jaxson Cook Chugiak
18:06.9 Wyatt Crabb West Valley
18:08.7 Canyon May West Valley
18:10.0 Ezra Roskam Ketchikan
18:10.1 Denis Prosser Dimond
18:10.7 Kyler Bartlett North Pole
18:14.4 Kodiak Coleman Dimond
18:15.5 Noah Odell Wasilla
18:15.6 Merrick Zook West Valley
18:15.8 Brayden Bonin Lathrop
18:16.3 Richard Strick Wasilla
18:19.7 Otto Barbour West Valley
18:20.3 Eric Litzow Kodiak
18:30.9 Tate Skinner Dimond
18:33.8 Elias Carosso Lathrop
18:35.3 Silas Hartlieb Dimond
18:44.7 Henry Dickinson Lathrop
18:58.2 Louis Dugal West Anchorage
19:05.8 Mark Yang Lathrop
19:08.8 Nicholas Shearer West Anchorage
19:18.0 Austin Huang JDHS
19:18.5 Kadin Carter Lathrop
19:22.2 Elijah Hoop Lathrop
• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@gmail.com.
