JDHS XC boys win at Ketchikan, girls second

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Crimson Bears harriers run like rabbits around Ward Lake trail course

Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé's Sigrid Eller runs to the finish line, winning the Kayhi Invitational Cross Country Division I women's 5,000 meters race in 20:56.58 at Ward Lake on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026. (Christopher Mullen / Ketchikan Daily News)

By Klas Stolpe

Juneau Independent

The Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé Crimson Bears cross-country running team continues to be a force in the Region V Southeast Conference as the boys won the overall team results and the girls placed second Saturday in Ketchikan.

“In Ketchikan, for both the girls’ and boys’ races we previewed the race course and pointed out tough sections and tight quarters,” JDHS co-head coach Abby Jahn said. “The Ketchikan course is narrow on the backside of the lake and can be difficult to pass. We encouraged athletes to use visual cues to stay engaged in the race and identified sections where they can easily pass other competitors. There were some breakthrough days for many of the Juneau athletes.”

JDHS senior Erik Thompson won the boys’ race in 16 minutes 19.10 seconds, edging Region V Division III Craig senior Aulis Nelson, who placed second in 16:23.52. JDHS senior Logan Fellman ran third in 17:07.55, classmate Zach Bos fourth in 17:11.06 and DII Sitka senior Derek Wilson fifth in 17:35.15.

Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé's Erik Thompson (998) leads the pack, followed by teammate Logan Fellman (999) as they cross the Ward Creek bridge during the Kayhi Invitational Cross Country men's 5,000 meters race at Ward Lake on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026. Thompson won the Division I men's 5,000 meters in 16:19.10. (Christopher Mullen / Ketchikan Daily News)

“For the boys, Erik Thompson and Logan Fellman are really good at getting out at the front of the pack and racing hard from the beginning,” Jahn said. “Their confidence and experience with racing is really leading their team to step up. Zac Bos and Austin Huang continue to make progress and close the distance on Erik and Logan. Max Webster, Anderson Murray and others stepped up this week as leaders on the course, too. Oscar Lamb made a big leap this week. We saw him have a breakthrough in the workout earlier in the week, then at the race. He PR'd by over two minutes.”

JDHS junior Sigrid Eller topped the DI runners and placed third overall in 20:56.58. DIII Wrangell sophomore Jenna Meissner won the girls’ race in 20:41.61 with DII Sitka sophomore Novah Schmidt second in 20:42.22. Sitka sophomore Lola Hitchcock placed fourth in 21:12.85 and JDHS junior Nevah Lupro fifth in 21:23.30.

Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé's Nevah Lupro runs down the Ward Lake trail, finishing second in the Kayhi Invitational Cross Country Division I women's 5,000 meters race with a time of 21:23.30 at Ward Lake on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026. (Christopher Mullen / Ketchikan Daily News)

“For the girls, there is incredible depth on the team,” Jahn said. “Any of our top 14 runners could be on the varsity squad for regions and state. There is a consistent crew including Sigrid Eller, Nevah Lupro, Sunna Schane, Grace Rumsey and Maya Mothershead that are leading their team in races and improving their performances and confidence each race. Of note, Kaycee Parady is making leaps and bounds this season. She PR'd by three and a half minutes since last year and is unstoppable. Emmalynn LaPlante is also seeing big improvements and gaining confidence as a competitor. She is motivated and determined to contribute to her team and make improvements as a runner. It is really fun to watch her progress.”

Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé's Logan Fellman runs toward the finish line of the Kayhi Invitational Cross Country Division I men's 5,000 meters race, finishing second with a time of 17:07.55 at Ward Lake on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026. (Christopher Mullen / Ketchikan Daily News)

JDHS took 28 athletes to Ketchikan, while the remainder of the team raced a team time trial on Pioneer Road. JDHS travels to the Petersburg Invitational XC meet on Saturday. The girls’ race is at 10 a.m. and the boys at 10:45 a.m. The JDHS team members not traveling will compete in a race at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Eagle Beach.

“All athletes are doing a great job gaining experience as athletes and learning how to prepare for, race and recover from a 5K,” Jahn said. “There were so many highlights from a coaching perspective, but most importantly we have a large group of committed athletes who are chipping away at racing and learning along the way. They are mentoring our freshman and helping them navigate competition. It is wonderful to see, and I am looking forward to more progress this coming weekend in Petersburg and at home at Eagle Beach.”

Following are the Ketchikan Invitational boys’ and girls’ team placings and individual results.

BOYS TEAM SCORES

1. JDHS 36; 2. Ketchikan 57; 3. Sitka 65; 4. Skagway 105; 5. Wrangell 125; 6. Craig 154; 7. Mt. Edgecumbe 180.

GIRLS TEAM SCORES

1. Sitka 33; 2. JDHS 34; 3. Petersburg 76; 4. Ketchikan 105; 5. Craig 118; 6. Mt. Edgecumbe 165.

BOYS RACE

1. JDHS sr Thompson 16:19; 2. CRG sr Nelson 16:23; 3. JD sr Fellman 17:07; 4. JDHS sr Bos 17:11; 5. SIT sr Wilson 17:35; 6. KTN fr Ben Thompson 17:43; 7. JDHS sr Austin Huang 18:03; 8. KTN sr Henry Vail 18:11; 9. SIT so Owen Mork 18:12; 10. WRG sr Jackson Carney 18:13; 11. SKG jr Logan Rupprecht 18:13; 12. SIT so Silas Marley 18:22; 13. PSG so Andi Mihai 18:24; 14. KTN jr Isaac Evison 18:25; 15. KTN jr Maxton Glover 18:31; 16. SKG jr Zane Coughran 18:33; 17. KTN fr Paul King 18:46; 18. WRG so Ryder Ritchie 18:47; 19. KTN sr Blaine Garlick 18:51; 20. SIT jr Andrew Mullin 18:53; 21. SIT jr Silas Todd 18:53; 22. JDHS sr Max Webster 18:54; 23. KTN jr Ezra Roskam 19:00; 24. SIT so Cedar Starbuck 19:01; 25. WRG jr Lucas Stearns 19:08; 26. SKG jr Julius Thole 19:11; 27. SKG sr Luca Tronrud 19:18; 28. JDHS jr Anderson Murray 19:19; 29. SKG jr Dane Ames 19:20; 30. SIT jr Calvin Strong 19:28; 31. JDHS Niklas Uschmann 19:34; 32. KTN so James Armstrong 19:38; 33. JDHS jr Lucas Nelson-Vallejo 19:42; 34. WRG jr Carter Howell 19:46; 35. MEHS fr Duke Walcott 19:48; 36. SKG jr Arthur Aribam 19:58; 37. MEHS jr Arthur Barr 20:06; 38. KTN fr David Berntson 20:08; 39. CRG so Jack Conatser 20:11; 40. MEHS sr Benjamin Balluta 20:32; 41. MEHS jr Connor Hamilton 20:40; 42. JDHS sr Sam Buttner 20:45; 43. CRG so Allen Trimmer 20:50; 44. KTN so Copeland Westergard 20:53; 45. CRG so Alex Trimmer 20:56; 46. JDHS so Oscar Lamb 21:09; 47. KTN sr Gavin Alderson-Bell 21:12; 48. HNH sr Lawrence Howland 21:18; 49. CRG jr Roanin Durgan 21:24; 50. MEHS jr Theodore Westlake 21:26; 51. PSG sr Waylon Jones 21:37; 52. JDHS jr Finnan Kelly 21:40; 53. SKG jr Maddox Tracy 21:40; 54. WRG fr Quinton Davies 21:45; 55. JDHS jr Porter Goudie 21:49; 56. CRG so Matthew Gardner 21:55; 57. PSG fr Declan Olsen 22:01; 58. WRG sr Aadyn Gillen 22:19; 59. JDHS fr Soren Richards 22:38; 60. CRG so Jaxon Deniger 23:10; 61. HNH jr James Erickson 23:25; 62. HNH jr Riley Neal 23:29; 63. JDHS fr Wesley Swanson 24:31; 64. JDHS fr Fisher Goetz 24:45; 65. KLW sr Raymond Fairbanks 25:23; 66. KLW jr Emmit Aboudara 26:05; 67. MET fr Josh Williams 26:26; 68. PSG so William Desposato 26:27; 69. MET sr Xavier Olsen 26:30; 70. KLW so Russell Peele 27:17; 71. SKG so Jaden Young 27:33; 72. HNS fr Edgar Nash 37:07; 73. Craig fr Chance Hansen 39:18

GIRLS RACE

1. WRG so Jenna Meissner 20:41; 2. SIT so Novah Schmidt 20:42; 3. JDHS jr Sigrid Eller 20:56; 4. SIT so Lola Hitchcock 21:12; 5. JDHS jr Nevah Lupro 21:23; 6. PSG jr Arielle Tucker 21:38; 7. WRG sr Alana Harrison 21:48; 8. SIT so Mari Fujioka 22:00; 9. JDHS fr Grace Rumsey 22:05; 10. SIT so Grace Hall 22:09; 11. JDHS jr Sunna Schane 22:17; 12. KTN sr Ryan Elerding 22:17; 13. PSG jr Cadence Flint 22:18; 14. JDHS so Emmalynn LaPlante 22:27; 15. CRG so Jayla Edenshaw 22:40; 16. KTN sr Sarah Kleeman 22:42; 17. SIT fr Ruby Richter 22:43; 18. JDHS fr Coralynn Nelson 22:46; 19. HNS so Sophia Hedden 22:49; 20. PSG fr Arya Holmgrain 22:51; 21. CRG sr Rayne Fraley 22:51; 22. SIT fr Elizabeth Crosias 22:55; 23. JDHS so Maya Mothershead 22:58; 24. JDHS sr Kaycee Parady 22:58; 25. PSG jr Zia Hulebak 23:26; 26. JDHS sr Sabinę Auger 23:44; 27. JDHS jr Larkyn Woltring 23:49; 28. JDHS sr Ellie Jo Wall 23:53; 29. PSG sr Maria Toth 24:09; 30. PSG fr Devyn Flint 24:19; 31. CRG so Saranne Stonecipher 24:36; 32. HNS fr Violet Crowe 24:44; 33. SIT so Cedar Bethune 24:54; 34. KTN sr Maddy Gass 24:58; 35. KTN so Chloe Beach 25:23; 36. SKG jr Mackenzie Mixon 25:26; 37. HNS jr Anna Bell 26:11; 38. KTN so Becky Fields; 39. MEHS so Audrina Dull 26:24; 40. WRG fr Natalie McGee 26:28; 41. MEHS jr MaryKay Evon 26:33; 42. CRG sr Madison Conatser 26:39; 43. CRG so Alli Demmert 27:03; 44. HNS so Makayla Henry 27:05; 45. MEHS jr Macey Langlie 27:49; 46. JDHS sr Jillian Levy 27:52; 47. KTN sr Piper Caskey 28:56; 48. SKG so Ella Rauscher 28:57; 49. KTN jr Amelia Westergard 29:02; 50. KTN fr Vada Headley 29:37; 51. MET so Elizabeth Olsen 29:42; 52. MET sr Mackenzie Williams 29:59; 53. KTN jr Khloe Nordlund 30:55; 54. MEHS jr Anya Tinker 30:55; 55. MEHS Ursula Mangrobang 30:58; 56. KLW fr Jacqueline Fairbanks 31:06; 57. JDHS sr Raegan Adams 33:48; 58. KLW jr Alyssa Jeffrey 36:29; 59. KTN jr McKinley Scott 39:55