Seawolves runners topple Nanooks
- Klas Stolpe
- Sep 15
- 3 min read
Juneau runners battle as UAA wins UAF Forest Frenzy
By Klas Stolpe
Juneau Independent
Edgar Vera Alverado, a 2024 Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé graduate and current sophomore for the University of Alaska Anchorage, placed sixth in the rematch cross-country running derby against the University of Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday.
Vera Alverado ran the 8.1-kilometer Forest Frenzy course in Fairbanks in 26 minutes 57 seconds.
“The team plan was to stick as a pack,” Vera Alverado said. “The three guys ahead of me found each other at some point in the race, but I kind of got lost in the middle and it was hard for me to move up on my own, so I ended up in no man’s land and staying there for all of the race…It wasn’t a great day for me, but during the race, my goal was to get through it for the team. Our hope for this race was to practice pack running and rely on each other, but we also didn’t have our top four runners so we were counting on everyone to do their best to still win, and I knew I had a job to do and I gave it all that I had that day, and we got it done.”
The Seawolves swept the team scores with the men outscoring the Nanooks 23-33 and UAA women topping the UAF women 22-35.
UAF freshman Delaney Dexter, from Winthrop, Washington, won the men’s race in 25:48; UAF junior Ben Dohlby, from Pewaukee, Wisconsin, ran unattached for second place in 26:15; and UAA sophomore Anthony Porter, from Colorado Springs, Colorado, was third in 26:26. UAF senior Finn Morley, a 2021 JDHS graduate, placed eighth in 27:19 and UAF freshman Nick Iverson, a 2025 JDHS graduate, placed ninth in 27:31.
“My strategy was similar to that of last weekend’s race in Anchorage, where I would go out sort of conservative but slowly work my way up picking people off during the race,” Iverson said. “I was excited to run again because I had a lot of fun last week as well, and considering this was our only home meet of the season, I wanted to do well. I would say the race went good, maybe not as good as I hoped, but I still had a great time and am looking forward to running at bigger meets in others states later in the season.”
UAF senior Clem Taylor-Roth, a 2019 JDHS graduate, placed 13th in 28:49 and UAF freshman Johnathyn Kestel, a 2025 JDHS graduate, did not finish.
UAF freshmen Sage Janes and Owen Woodruff, 2025 JDHS graduates, did not race.
On the women’s side, UAF skiing redshirt senior Rosie Fordham, from Sydney, Australia, won the 6K in 21:55, running unattached. Fordham ran for the cross-country team as a senior last season, exhausting her eligibility. UAF’s sophomore Lucca Duke, from Anchorage, was second in 23:15 and UAA freshman Gracie Puit, from Apple Valley, Minnesota, third in 23:30.
Among the field were UAF freshman Camelia Bell, a 2025 Haines graduate, placing 15th in 26:52; UAF sophomore Ava Newell, 2024 JDHS graduate, placing 18th in 27:46; UAF sophomore Jasmin Holst, 2021 JDHS graduate, placing 19th in 28:01; and UAF freshman Lydia Andriesen, a 2021 Haines graduate, 20th in 30:02. UAA junior Avery Williamson, a 2023 Haines graduate, did not start and UAA freshman Marina Dill, a 2025 Sitka graduate, did not race.
“It was not a PR, sadly,” Vera Alderado said. “It wasn’t a PR course to begin with. I believe there was about 500 feet of total elevation gain and it was also a bit long of a raise, but I was only 30 seconds off my last year PR, which I ran on a golf course. If I were to subtract 15 seconds from the extra 100 meters I was about 17 seconds off, which is pretty exciting considering how I was feeling.”
UAA will compete Sept. 27 at the Mike Johnson Classic hosted by Western Oregon University at the Ash Creek Preserve in Monmouth, Oregon.
• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@gmail.com.
