Randy Stichert and Piper Blackdiehl were some of the first to finish the Under Thunder trail on Monday evening during a Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé cross-country team practice run.

The two juniors who originally ran for Thunder Mountain High School said they feel welcomed onto their newly merged team.

“It feels like people have been making friends and I’ve met some new people,” Stichert said.

There are 96 athletes on the combined cross-country team. They recently took a retreat to the Eagle River United Methodist Camp for a bonding experience.

“I feel like the coaches have done a lot to be able to mesh that really well,” Blackdiehl said. “That’s definitely what they strive for. Leading by example.”

Stichert and Blackdiehl said they are feeling nervous for the start of school this week, but they hope knowing some of their teammates will ease their transition.

Piper Blackdiehl and Randy Stichert (front) finish their practice race on Monday. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)

The Sayéik Invitational at Savikko Park begins at 9 a.m. Saturday. Jon Stearns, cross-country coach, said it’s a community alumni race. Alumni from JDHS and TMHS will race against the merged high school team. Stearns said Skagway and Haines plan to attend the Capital City Classic in September.

Zack Bursell said he started the tradition of the alumni race because during the early season meets Southeast teams don’t always travel to Juneau. He said there’s a strong culture among past student athletes who have continued running together, and last year he and his friends thought it would be fun to race the current students.

“A lot of alumni are helping coach the team and so I think them seeing us all together — and have the camaraderie and just the spirit of the sport — I think we’re setting the example of the success of this merger,” Stearns said.

He said the coaches brought professional counselors out to Eagle Beach during the team’s retreat to discuss the merged team with students.

“It’s OK to go through the stages of anger and denial,” he said. “You gotta go through it. It’s OK to feel like that. We did it as coaches. We had to sit down with both the counselors. We went through it and found immense value in it.”

Dori Germain, an incoming senior at JDHS and team captain, said having a bigger team means they can challenge each other more as the season becomes more competitive and runners vie for varsity spots.

“I definitely think that there is some awkwardness to it, but it’s also been really cool just to see all the people coming together,” she said. “We can acknowledge it, but then still move past it and still be welcoming to everyone. I think that this team is doing a really good job on that of being welcoming and just having it be a bigger community so you can have more friends.”

Germain said she looks forward to this Saturday’s 5K. She said the team’s goal is for the newer runners to find their pacing.

“Getting an idea of what it’s like to have a race, especially because it’s just gonna be us,” she said. “So getting that idea of what a race is like and knowing how your body reacts to it is pretty big because if you’ve never run a 5K before for time, it’s a new experience.”

The team’s first official race is next weekend. 15 boys and 15 girls will race in Petersburg, and 10 boys and 10 girls will race in Soldotna. The cross-country team is also planning its annual fundraising Pledge Relay on Sept. 2 in Douglas.

• Contact Jasz Garrett at jasz.garrett@juneauempire.com or (907) 723-9356.