Sitka Freshman Clare Mullin leads the pack in the two-mile race in Juneau Saturday ahead of Juneau-Douglas' Etta Eller and teammate Anna Prussian. Mullin took first place in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 meter races. (Klas Stolpe/KINY Photo)
By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Sports Editor
Saturday was a red-letter day for Sitka High freshman Clare Mullin, who won the girls half-mile, mile and two-mile races at a track meet in Juneau, posting the fastest time in the state and a school record with her 2:19.42 finish in the half-mile.
Teams from across Southeast took part in the Capital City Invitational, where the Sitka High boys took first in team scores and the girls placed third. It was the final regular season track and field meet before the regional meet at Ketchikan May 20 and 21.
Mullin spoke to the Sentinel Monday about her record-breaking run in Juneau.
“It feels pretty surreal,” she said. “Everyone was like, ‘You just broke the school record.’ And I was like, ‘I don’t know, I just ran.’ It didn’t feel groundbreaking or anything. I just ran a race… I just really appreciate all the support I get from my teammates and my coaches, my parents. All the cheering, and it’s just really motivating to have them all there,”
Her first place times in the three distance races were personal bests. She finished the mile in 5:21, and her 11:39 time in the two-mile was just a third of a second shy of the Sitka High record in that event.
In the 800, Mullin holds the top spot for girls this season, with a 4 second margin over Zoe Chang of Service High in Anchorage.
After a solid two-mile performance in Friday’s preliminary race, Mullin said she had high hopes going into Saturday.
“I had run the prelims the day before, and after my two mile I was half a second or so away from (the record). I wasn’t expecting that time,” she said. “I went out a lot faster than I thought I was going to go out. But I felt good at the end of it. They told me that I was close to the record, so that was exciting. Then I knew going into finals the next day, I really had that goal in mind.”
Coach Jeremy Strong put Mullin’s times in perspecitve. “She beat the school record by two seconds in the 800. And that record was established in 1986,” he said.
In the 200 meter sprint, Addie Poulson took fourth and Lady Wolves sophomore Maitlin Young claimed fourth in the 400. Both ran personal best times in those events. In the two mile, Sitka’s Anna Prussian was third in 11:57, yet another PR, and Poulson took third in the 100 and 300 meter hurdles.
In the shot put, freshman Elise Brady took third and in discus Ava Brady took second. Both notched PRs as well.
The Wolves men’s team earned first place in team scoring, with numerous personal records and consistent performance despite few first place finishes in individual events.
Annan Weiland surprised himself and ran a PR in the 800 in 2:14.
“I’m looking forward to this regional (meet),” Weiland said. “I’m going to focus on the 800 more and I don’t think I’m going to do the 400. I’m kind of focusing more on the 800 now because I don’t think I’ve ever mainly focused on the 800, it’s always the 400… I was really surprised with that (800 meter time). I was happy. Super happy about it, but I think I can do a lot better.”
With only two weeks left until the regional meet in Ketchikan, the sophomore hopes to push his 800 time below 2:10.
In the 400, he claimed fourth in 55.80, another personal best. And he’s also begun training in long jump.
Sitka sophomore Dezi Olney-Miller finished fourth in the 200 meter and fifth in the 400. Like many of his compatriots, his times in those events were PRs.
Hank Maxwell edged out Weiland in the 800 in 2:12 to take second place and secured yet another personal best time.
Freshman Trey Demmert finished fifth in the mile in 4:53 – a personal best. His older brother Silas took second in the two-mile in 10:21.
David Davis cleared the 100 meter hurdles in only 19.37, taking first with a new personal best time for the event, and finished third in the 300 meter hurdles.
In the four-by-100 meter relay, Caleb Hutton, Angelo Elefante, Rex Adres and Justine Agullana finished fourth, but in the four-by-400, Dezi Olney-Miller, Dylan Crenna, Annan Weiland and Hank Maxwell claimed second.
Trey Demmert, Weiland, Maxwell and James Helem took first in the long four-by-800 relay.
Caleb Hutton took fourth in shot put and seventh in discus.
In the high jump, Felix Myers claimed fifth place with a new personal best, setting personal best distances also in the long and triple jumps. Right beside Myers, Rowan Olney-Miller finished sixth in the high jump, followed by Trey Demmert in seventh. Both scored new personal records. Angelo Elefante scored personal bests in the long and triple jumps as well.
The Wolves track and field team doesn’t compete this coming weekend, but will be training for the Southeast regionals late next week.
Coach Strong was upbeat about the closing weeks of the season.
“With the training, our kids are getting faster every time we race. There were a lot of PRs this weekend. My guess is that we’ll continue to have PRs and more school records,” Strong said. “We’re just in a good part of the season where all the growth is really coming together. We just keep having solid practices and good effort and attitudes, and good things are going to happen for us.”
MEN’S RESULTS
100 Meters
8. Caleb Hutton 13.32 Sitka
200 Meters
4. Dezi Olney-Miller 25.39 PR Sitka
7. Sergio Carlos 26.37 Sitka
8. Rex Adres 26.95 Sitka
400 Meters
4. Annan Weiland 55.80 PR Sitka
5. Dezi Olney-Miller 55.91 PR Sitka
800 Meters
2. Hank Maxwell 2:12.71 PR Sitka
3. Annan Weiland 2:14.71 PR Sitka
7. James Helem 2:20.57 Sitka
1600 Meters
5. Trey Demmert 4:53.91 PR Sitka
9. Connor Hitchcock 5:08.81 PR Sitka
12. James Helem 5:11.22 PR Sitka
14. Jeremia Fergueson 5:14.21 PR Sitka
Silas Demmert NT Sitka
3200 Meters
2. Silas Demmert 10:21.45 PR Sitka
7. James Helem 11:02.89 PR Sitka
8. Jeremia Fergueson 11:04.96 PR Sitka
9. Connor Hitchcock 11:06.04 PR Sitka
110m Hurdles39”
1. David Davis 19.37a PR Sitka
4. Rowan Olney-Miller 23.11a Sitka
300m Hurdles36”
3. David Davis 46.86 PR Sitka
Rowan Olney-Miller NT Sitka
4x100 Relay
4. Caleb Hutton, Angelo Elefante, Rex Adres, Justine Agullana 50.60
5. Jomar Molina, Cayden Brenner, Bae Barkhoefer, David Davis 54.13
4x200 Relay
3. Sergio Carlos, Rex Adres, Dezi Olney-Miller, Dylan Crenna 1:43.33
5. Justine Agullana, Bae Barkhoefer, Jomar Molina, Kaiden Papoi 1:55.05
4x400 Relay
2. Dezi Olney-Miller, Dylan Crenna, Annan Weiland, Hank Maxwell 3:46.29
4x800 Relay
1. Trey Demmert, Annan Weiland, Hank Maxwell, James Helem 9:12.42
2. Sergio Carlos, Connor Hitchcock, Jeremia Fergueson, Camden Young 10:05.06
Shot Put12 lb
4. Caleb Hutton 34-06.75 Sitka
5. Alex Johnson 33-02.75 PR Sitka
14. Edward Richards 28-05.50 Sitka
18. Ryatt LaRose 27-04.00 PR Sitka
19. Logan Kluting 27-03.50 Sitka
24. Dane Evans 23-00.50 PR Sitka
28. Dmitri Bennett 21-01.50 PR Sitka
30. Jack Mickelson 14-07.00 Sitka
Discus 1.6kg
7. Caleb Hutton 95-10 PR Sitka
14. Alex Johnson 80-10 Sitka
17. Ryatt LaRose 76-06 PR Sitka
18. Edward Richards 70-00 Sitka
19. Logan Kluting 69-01 Sitka
22.Dane Evans 64-08 PR Sitka
30. Dmitri Bennett 51-02 PR Sitka
High Jump
5. Felix Myers 5-02.50 PR Sitka
6. Rowan Olney-Miller 5-02.25 PR Sitka
7. Trey Demmert 5-02.00 PR Sitka
Long Jump
7. Angelo Elefante 16-04.25 PR Sitka
11. Felix Myers 16-01.75 PR Sitka
18. David Davis 14-09.00 SR Sitka
31. Jack Mickelson 9-09.00 PR Sitka
Triple Jump
2. Felix Myers 36-01.50 PR Sitka
4. Angelo Elefante 35-02.50 PR Sitka
WOMEN’S RESULTS
200 Meters
4. Adelaide Poulson 28.76 PR Sitka
400 Meters
4. Maitlin Young 1:08.03 PR Sitka
Anna Prussian NT Sitka
800 Meters
1. Clare Mullin 2:19.42 PR Sitka
1600 Meters
1. Clare Mullin 5:21.56 PR Sitka
3200 Meters
1. Clare Mullin 11:39.87 PR Sitka
3. Anna Prussian 11:57.86 PR Sitka
5. Emma Gassman 13:03.21 Sitka
100m Hurdles33”
3. Adelaide Poulson 17.92 PR Sitka
300m Hurdles30”
3. Adelaide Poulson 51.14 SR Sitka
4x100 Relay
3. Deszerei Chong, Hayla Trigg, Gwen White, Jamison Dunn 57.65
4x200 Relay
Deszerei Chong, Maitlin Young, Kanen Alley-Jarquin, Gwen White DQ
4x400 Relay
2. Adelaide Poulson, Maitlin Young, Marina Dill, Clare Mullin 4:30.36
Shot Put4kg
3 Elise Brady 27-04.25 PR Sitka
5. Kanen Alley-Jarquin 24-08.00 PR Sitka
8. Meriedi Morrison 23-04.50 PR Sitka
12. Desirae Hutton 19-05.00 PR Sitka
Emily Blackmon DNS Sitka
Ava Brady DNS Sitka
Discus 1kg
2. Ava Brady 76-10 PR Sitka
3. Kanen Alley-Jarquin 74-07 PR Sitka
6. Jessica Christner 69-03 PR Sitka
9. Meriedi Morrison 61-02 Sitka
12. Desirae Hutton 57-04 PR Sitka
16. Elise Brady 52-01 Sitka
Emily Blackmon DNS Sitka
High Jump
3. Ada Parker 4-02.25 PR Sitka
Long Jump
7. Marina Dill 12-10.50 PR Sitka
10. Jessica Christner 11-10.25 PR Sitka
