In a sport of distance and endurance, the Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé Crimson Bears cross-country teams were just seconds and sprints away from capturing titles at the 2024 ASAA running state championships Saturday on the Bartlett High School Trails in Anchorage.
JDHS senior Ida Meyer placed second in the Division I girls championship race in 19 minutes and nine seconds, just five seconds behind sophomore race winner Hailee Giacobbe of Wasilla, and JDHS sophomore Erik Thompson was second in the DI boys race with a 16:33, just three seconds behind East Anchorage sophomore Katahdin Staples.
Meyer summed up her race by explaining what pure energy expenditure can do.
“I’ve just been sick for a couple weeks so I’ve got a lot of snot running down,” she said. “It was just a little bit uncomfortable out there.”
Meyer was in a small pack through 3k that included Giacobbe, Colony senior Ella Hopkins, South junior Mia Stiassny, Chugiak senior Alliyah Fields, junior Hannah Bodkin and defending state champ junior Hannah Shaha. Each was capable of winning the title.
“Strategy was just to try and stay at the front pack of girls and just hang on as much as I can,” Meyer said. “Just so I can position myself and then, yeah, just try. I’m pretty proud of my finish. I’m glad I could come out here and run. I was pretty nervous. I am so thankful that I can represent my team and get second. It’s just the best. It feels so good right now. And…this is my last year of high school cross-country, and it has just been great to work up the ranks and run with all the girls every year and see them again.”
Chugiak junior Hannah Shaha (151), Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé senior Ida Meyer (282, South junior Mia Stiassny, Colony senior Ella Hopkins, Chugiak senior Alliyah Fields (140) and Wasilla sophomore Hailee Giacobbe (531) race during the Division I 2024 ASAA cross-country running state championships Saturday on the Bartlett High School Trails in Anchorage. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)
The race at the front did not come easy for the title winner from Wasilla.
“It was incredible,” Giacobbe said. “I really worked for that win, and I know my team worked for their spot, too, and it is so incredible to see everyone out here. It is so incredible to have our team support, they are amazing people and I love my team, my coaches. I love everyone being out here and I appreciate you being out here, too.”
The JDHS girls placed fourth with 107 points. Chugiak repeated as team champions with 52 points, Colony 103 and Dimond 106. South placed fifth with 112 points followed by Wasilla 147, East 161, Soldotna 169, West Valley 231, Lathrop 236 and Ketchikan 319.
Crimson Bears sophomore Kaia Mangaccat (21:03) placed 22nd, freshman Nevah Lupro (21:04) 23rd, junior Della Mearig (21:36) 35th, junior Siena Farr (21:56) 46th, junior Lua Mangaccat (22:10) 50th and freshman Sunna Schane (22:35) 55th.
“The course was fun but big and intimidating,” said Lupro, who ran for Floyd Dryden Middle School last year. “My mom suggested I run in seventh grade and I liked it. Now I have learned so much from Ida and Della and the upperclassmen. Ida is fun and gives us lots of information. I bested my time from the state preview on this course.”
The Crimson Bears boys were poised to win the team title as Thompson and senior Nick Iverson (16:42) followed East’s Staples across the line.
“I’m sorry if I say anything that doesn’t make sense, I’m a little light-headed still,” Thompson said after finishing with a new personal best time. “When I was going through it, I was leading the pack and was like, ‘I don’t know if I’ll be able to hold this but I need to try.’ Basically going through my head was, ‘This is going to be the last time for a while that we can actually win state this year, so I really don’t want to be the reason why we don’t achieve that.’ So going through my head was that no one can pass me except my teammate.”
“Sadly one guy did end up passing me, but I think I did pretty good holding off the rest of them. It was hard. If he wasn’t there I wouldn’t have run that well at all. He came out of nowhere, I wasn’t expecting him this year. He ran 19:20s last year, so he has been putting the work in apparently. Oh my god, I have a feeling the next few years of racing him we are going to have some fun competitions.”
Division I boys begin the 2024 ASAA cross-country running state championships Saturday on the Bartlett High School Trails in Anchorage. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)
Thompson noted his journey has been strengthened by both the Crimson Bears teams.
“It feels amazing,” he said. “They are all super supportive, and we are always pumping each other up no matter what happens in the race or anything like that. It is just so great having all these teammates around. Since our schools have recently combined it is really great having all our friends together. Just talking to everybody is really fun.”
For East’s lone state qualifying runner Staples the enormity of his win still hadn’t set in as he was mobbed by schoolmates and fans, as the Thunderbirds have not had a XC boys champion since Alaska’s first Olympic runner Don Clary wore the school singlet in state titles in 1973 and 1974. East’s Betsy Haines won three consecutive girls titles from 1975-77. Olympic ski champion Kikkan Randall won consecutive XC state titles for East from 1998-2000 and the girls won team titles in 2002-03.
“I don’t know what to say right now,” Staples said. “I’m really happy, really relieved. I felt a lot of pressure this week and was happy just to get out in the race.”
Staples took the lead on the hill in the first 150 meters and had an 100 yard advantage over Thompson and Iverson at the same mark of the second lap but the two JDHS harriers closed the distance in the final 1k to see his singlet as the course finished.
Bettye Davis East Anchorage sophomore Katahdin Staples (213) sprints to the finish ahead of Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé sophomore Erik Thompson (285) in the Division I boys 2024 ASAA cross-country running state championships Saturday on the Bartlett High School Trails in Anchorage. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)
Chugiak High School thwarted the JDHS team title hopes by placing runners in fifth, eighth, 15th, 17th and 25th scoring 64 points. JDHS added senior scoring finisher Owen Woodruff (17:05) in 13th, senior Ferguson Wheeler (17:28) 20th and junior Elias Schane (18:04) 46th for 75 points.
“It’s a hard course, even after they changed it from years previous, it is still one of the harder course I have run on,” Iverson said. “But I think if you ask anyone they will say they really like it and it’s awesome for state. This race is not really something that you can kind of go into with much insight. So it is really just a mental game. And especially not being a very fast course you can’t really judge it off time much so it is just extremely mental. You have to stay sharp and tough up in the mind.”
JDHS senior Sage Janes (18:09) placed 49th and sophomore Logan Fellman (18:17) 54th.
“It was a pretty tough day, I knew it was going to be a toss-up, man,” JDHS’ Ferguson Wheeler said. “Mid-race I was like, ‘It could be any of us, it is going to be really tight, it is going to be by a point or two.’ I have never really had a race where I was this focused. It was the only thing on my mind for the last week. This is my first time here at state. This race, and watching the other races before it. You can’t really go based on what happened a week ago, or two weeks ago, or the whole season. State’s just a totally different game. The energy that is out here is something completely different that you never have to race. It’s really anybody’s game out there.”
South finished third with 79 points, Colony 123, West 131, Service 132, Kodiak 170, Wasilla 229, Ketchikan 231, West Valley 248 and North Pole 279.
The JDHS girls also won the Academic Team Award with a 4.0.
“This year is special,” JDHS co-coach Zach Bursell said. “We had two really strong teams come together and we are a team. I think that says a lot. These guys and girls were rivals last year and look at them, they love each other. What more can you say?”
Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé freshman Nevah Lupro (278) and sophomore teammate Kaia Mangaccat (279) race during the Division I 2024 ASAA cross-country running state championships Saturday on the Bartlett High School Trails in Anchorage. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)
The final finisher of the day was never considered a threat for the podium, but has been more than a winner through the whole season for South Anchorage High School.
Wolverines senior Evan Nicholson, a special-needs athlete, ran with abandon throughout the course. Nicholson was just starting his second and final loop when the first placers were about to sprint to the finish.
“Fun one,” Nicholson said of the course.
When asked what he loves about running, Nicholson picked himself up off the ground where he had collapsed after hitting his best time on the Bartlett course, 34:58.
“Don’t stop,” he said. “A PR. Running. Running and PRs.”
Of his teammates, he said, “Great! I like them!”
And that was evident as roughly 14 teammates who finished ahead of him, and other finishers and fans, awaited his arrival under the state arches with a resounding cheer.
“He was voted most inspirational by the team, by 140 runners,” South head coach Sarah Miller said. “He’s just out there, never complaining. I mean he just gives it his all the whole time, and you know how hard it is to run, and then to run at the back and do awesome is super. He’s great, his attitude is great. He is an inspiration to all the whole team and great to have around.”
RESULTS
Division I Girls:
1. Hailee Giacobbe, Wasilla 19:04.5 2. Ida Meyer, Juneau-Douglas Yadaa.at Kale 19:09.0 3. Ella Hopkins, Colony 19:14.9 4. Mia Stiassny, South Anchorage 19:17.4 5. Alliyah Fields, Chugiak 19:34.2 6. Hannah Bodkin, Chugiak 19:42.6 7. Hannah Shaha, Chugiak 19:44.7 8. Solveig Finstad, Lathrop 19:48.7 9. Rosie Conway, East Anchorage 19:52.7 10. Avrey Campbell, Dimond 20:00.8 11. Ellie Stull, Dimond 20:02.5 12. Petra Knox, Chugiak 20:03.5 13. Miyana Kam-Magruder, Service 20:07.3 14. Fiona Selvik, Service 20:14.3 15. Aubrey Virgin, Colony 20:20.9 16. Tania Boonstra, Soldotna 20:22.3 17. Madeleine Lojewski, East Anchorage 20:31.8 18. Miriam Armstrong, West Valley 20:41.6 19. Karley Tichenor, Palmer 20:42.6 20. Rachel Danz, Colony 20:55.2 21. Talia Smith, Service 20:57.5 22. Kaia Mangaccat, Juneau-Douglas Yadaa.at Kale 21:03.6 23. Nevah Lupro, Juneau-Douglas Yadaa.at Kale 21:04.0 24. Meadow Bailly, South Anchorage 21:10.2 25. Alise Elliott, South Anchorage 21:10.5 26. Ryleigh Ervin, Chugiak 21:15.8 27. Charlotte Knox, Chugiak 21:16.2 28. Hayden Kumfer, SWDP 21:19.6 29. Olivia Sandoval, Chugiak 21:22.8 30. Molly McBride, Dimond 21:29.2 31. Madelin Lowen, Dimond 21:32.5 32. Elsa Henderson, Eagle River 21:33.6 33. Kathryn DeBardelaben, Soldotna 21:34.4 34. McKenzie Ray, Wasilla 21:35.8 35. Della Mearig, Juneau-Douglas Yadaa.at Kale 21:36.4 36. Elsie LeCount, Colony 21:36.7 37. Annie Burns, Soldotna 21:37.0 38. Adele Matthews, South Anchorage 21:43.9 39. Amelia Bindon, Wasilla 21:44.4 40. Maryjane Baxter, Dimond 21:45.5 41. Addysen Gasser, South Anchorage 21:46.2 42. Kinley Bruno, Wasilla 21:47.0 43. Hazel Sutton, West Valley 21:47.8 44. Olivia Collins, North Pole 21:48.5 45. Eva Marley-Jester, East Anchorage 21:54.1 46. Siena Farr, Juneau-Douglas Yadaa.at Kale 21:56.0 47. Isela Austin, Colony 22:00.1 48. Elliot Sensabaugh, Colony 22:05.3 49. Kathryn Cox, Soldotna 22:06.0 50. Lua Mangaccat, Juneau-Douglas Yadaa.at Kale 22:10.0 51. Shayla Lee, South Anchorage 22:14.6 52. Abi Howe, East Anchorage 22:24.9 53. Daria Mantei, Lathrop 22:30.4 54. Ellie Abrahamson, West Valley 22:34.1 55. Sunna Schane, Juneau-Douglas Yadaa.at Kale 22:35.9 56. Evelyn Bindon, Wasilla 22:36.2 57. Luci Wright, Colony 22:41.1 58. Emma Lyons, Lathrop 22:41.7 59. Ryan Elerding, Ketchikan 22:45.8 60. Quynn Campbell, Dimond 22:46.1 61. Siera Chadwick, East Anchorage 22:55.3 62. Sasha Brott, Soldotna 22:57.4 63. Cierra Norris, Dimond 23:00.5 64. Fiora Graziano, East Anchorage 23:03.5 65. Kinsey Garlick, Ketchikan 23:12.2 66. Lilian Coy, South Anchorage 23:13.4 67. Alivia Tiihonen, Wasilla 23:15.1 68. Aliyah Glover, Ketchikan 23:17.3 69. Anna Bailey, Soldotna 23:22.6 70. Clara Robinson, East Anchorage 23:23.6 71. Salak Crowe, West Valley 23:24.2 72. Alder Deal, Palmer 23:28.3 73. Alexa Pilon, Lathrop 23:34.6 74. Addysen Paul, Lathrop 23:37.5 75. Sakaia Fischer, West Valley 23:49.6 76. Natalie Bastien, West Valley 23:50.6 77. Isabella Foland, West Valley 23:57.8 78. Shiloh Zichko, Soldotna 24:11.7 79. Madeline Schrecengost, Wasilla 24:22.6 80. Lorraine Mullins, Lathrop 24:57.0 81. Madelyn Gass, Ketchikan 25:18.1 82. Allison Oestrich, Lathrop 25:38.2 83. Lauren Tucker, Ketchikan 25:44.7 84. Sarah Kleeman, Ketchikan 26:14.5.
Division I Boys:
1. Katahdin Staples, East Anchorage 16:30.0 2. Erik Thompson, Juneau-Douglas Yadaa.at Kale 16:33.2 3. Nick Iverson, Juneau-Douglas Yadaa.at Kale 16:42.9 4. Vebjorn Flagstad, South Anchorage 16:44.4 5. David Penfield, Chugiak 16:47.0 6. Elias Oswald, Service 16:47.1 7. Coby Marvin, Colony 16:50.2 8. Thomas Ringsmuth, Chugiak 16:56.5 9. Trygve Vang-Thompson, Colony 16:57.1 10. Nathan Vandelugt, West Valley 17:03.4 11. Jaxon Henrie, South Anchorage 17:04.1 12. Arlo Jespersen, West Anchorage 17:04.5 13. Owen Woodruff, Juneau-Douglas Yadaa.at Kale 17:05.4 14. Springer Moore, Service 17:08.1 15. Dausen Loughman, Chugiak 17:11.0 16. Loch Johnson, North Pole 17:15.7 17. Mason Newell, Chugiak 17:17.8 18. Noah Robbins, Ketchikan 17:22.9 19. Finn Adams, Palmer 17:25.5 20. Bradley Otis-Goodman, South Anchorage 17:28.7 21. Ferguson Wheeler, Juneau-Douglas Yadaa.at Kale 17:28.7 22. Owen Harth, South Anchorage 17:29.5 23. Joseph Hathaway, Kodiak 17:30.0 24. Weston Roberts, Kodiak 17:32.7 25. Kohen Galloway, Chugiak 17:34.5 26. Blaze Rubeo, Wasilla 17:34.6 27. Maximilian Erickson, West Anchorage 17:38.8 28. Parker Larson, Chugiak 17:39.3 29. Marcus Walsted, West Anchorage 17:39.6 30. Zane Gerlach, South Anchorage 17:40.4 31. Carter Phillips, Ketchikan 17:42.2 32. Luke Shaw, Eagle River 17:42.4 33. Jarrett Jackson, Dimond 17:44.0 34. Levi Knickerbocker, Service 17:45.6 35. Gus Olson, South Anchorage 17:47.5 36. Thomas Coombs, Colony 17:48.7 37. Liam Dudley, West Anchorage 17:48.8 38. Braxton Thornley, South Anchorage 17:50.5 39. Elias Williams, West Anchorage 17:51.4 40. Logan Cuddy, Service 17:52.8 41. Raven Spangler, Colony 17:53.5 42. Brayden Bonin, Lathrop 17:56.4 43. River Johnson, Chugiak 17:57.6 44. Julian Kiefer, Kodiak 17:58.9 45. Theodore Stamoolis, Colony 18:04.2 46. Elias Schane, Juneau-Douglas Yadaa.at Kale 18:04.5 47. Joshua Hathaway, Kodiak 18:06.1 48. Nathan Stapley, Wasilla 18:08.8 49. Sage Janes, Juneau-Douglas Yadaa.at Kale 18:09.6 50. Atlin Frederick, West Anchorage 18:13.4 51. Paxson Williams, Kodiak 18:14.7 52. Stephen Hafen, Wasilla 18:16.6 53. Oliver Casurella, Service 18:17.0 54. Logan Fellman, Juneau-Douglas Yadaa.at Kale 18:17.6 55. Maxwell Richardson, Service 18:18.0 56. Henry Vail, Ketchikan 18:19.2 57. Kieran Kaufman, West Valley 18:19.6 58. Miles Grimes, Kodiak 18:24.1 59. Gabriel Koehler, Kodiak 18:26.9 60. Finn Dudley, West Anchorage 18:29.3 61. Noa Kam-Magruder, Dimond 18:32.9 62. Gabriel Carey, Wasilla 18:36.6 63. Corbin Wilson, Colony 18:40.9 64. Barret Malouf, Service 18:42.1 65. Braden Thomas, Wasilla 18:57.1 66. Reid Merrill, West Valley 18:57.6 67. Ammon Seims, Wasilla 19:01.8 68. Merrick Zook, West Valley 19:06.8 69. Cavan Malone, North Pole 19:18.3 70. Ezra Roskam, Ketchikan 19:19.5 71. Levi Beck, SWDP 19:28.1 72. Elias Carosso, Lathrop 19:29.3 73. Thomas Armbruster, West Valley 19:35.0 74. Noah Rockhold, North Pole 19:46.6 75. Kyler Bartlett, North Pole 19:47.2 76. Mason Gryga, North Pole 19:49.9 77. Hayden May, West Valley 19:51.8 78. Jack Styles, Ketchikan 19:51.8 79. Simon Connolly, North Pole 20:07.4 80. Canyon May, West Valley 20:16.0 81. Tobias Shreve, Wasilla 20:54.2 82. Sam Bull, North Pole 21:45.3 83. Ryker Riggs, Service 23:12.9 84. Evan Nicholson, South Anchorage 34:58.3.
Juneau state cross-country team placings and top individuals:
1995 – Juneau girls win state championship.
2002 – JDHS girls 4th, boys 7th,Tristan Knutson-Lombardo 9th.
2003 – JDHS boys won state championship, Tristan Knutson-Lombardo 5th. JDHS girls 3rd, Greta Thibodeau 8th.
2004 – JDHS boys win state championship, Tristan Knutson-Lombardo 2nd, Tyler Dinnan 3rd, Wesley Dinnan 8th. JDHS girls 2nd, Lexi Garvey 6th.
2005 – JDHS boys 3rd, Tyler Dinnan wins state title, Wesley Dinnan 4th. JDHS girls 5th, Katie Krehlik 5th.
2006 – JDHS girls 3rd, Leah Francis wins state title. JDHS boys placed 3rd, Andrew Flansaas 6th.
2007 – JDHS girls 2nd, Leah Francis wins state title. JDHS boys 5th, Hunter Brown 8th.
2008 – JDHS girls 4th, Leah Francis wins state title. JDHS boys 6th, Zach Bursell 10th.
2009 – JDHS boys 2nd, Sage Thibodeau 6th, Zach Bursell in 8th. JDHS girls 8th.
2010 – JDHS boys 4th, Sage Thibodeau 4th. JDHS girls 10th.
2011 – JDHS boys 4th, David Francis 3rd, Jesse Miller 8th, Tal Norvell 10th. JDHS girls 10th.
2012 – JDHS boys 8th, Tal Norvell 4th. Thunder Mountain girls 10th, Maddie Hall 8th.
2013 – JDHS boys 7th. TMHS girls 10th, Maddie Hall 3rd.
2014 – JDHS boys 8th. JDHS girls 10th. TMHS’ Naomi Welling 7th.
2015 – JDHS boys 10th, girls 10th. TMHS’ Naomi Welling 4th.
2016 – JDHS girls 8th, Sadie Tuckwood wins state title, TMHS’ Erin Wallace 5th, JDHS’ Anna Iverson 11th. JDHS boys 10th, Arne Ellefson-Carnes 15th.
2017 – JDHS girls 7th, Sadie Tuckwood 3rd, Anna Iverson 12th. JDHS boys 10th, Arne Ellefson-Carnes 12th.
2018 – JDHS girls win state title, Sadie Tuckwood 2nd, Anna Iverson 12th. JDHS boys 6th, Arne Ellefson-Carnes 5th.
2019 – JDHS girls 3rd, Sadie Tuckwood finishes 2nd, TMHS’ Kiah Dihle 8th. JDHS boys 4th, Finn Morley 9th, Tim Degener 12th.
2020 – (COVID year, no team titles) TMHS’ Kiah Dihle 8th, JDHS’ Tim Degener 4th, Finn Morley 14th.
2021 – JDHS girls 3rd, TMHS’ Kiah Dihle 3rd, JDHS’ Etta Eller 11th. JDHS boys 9th.
2022 – JDHS girls 2nd, Etta Eller 4th, Ida Meyer 6th. JDHS boys 5th, Kona Atkins 7th, Edgar Vera Alvarado 15th.
2023 – JDHS girls 2nd, Ida Meyer 5th, Rayna Tuckwood 9th, Etta Eller 10th. JDHS boys 5th, Edgar Vera Alvarado 10th.
2024 – JDHS boys 2nd, Erik Thompson 2nd, Nick Iverson 3rd, Owen Woodruff 13th. JDHS girls 4th, Ida Meyer 2nd.
• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@juneauempire.com.
