By KLAS STOLPE
Sentinel Staff Writer
The Sitka High track and field team will defend their boys and girls Region V Championships beginning Friday on the Thunder Mountain Falcons track in Juneau. The meet runs through Saturday.
The field events begin at 11 a.m. on Friday and 8:30 a.m. on Saturday. The running events begin at 3 p.m. on Friday and 11 a.m. on Saturday.
Last year, Ketchikan won the DI (4A) boys meet, Thunder Mountain won the DI (4A) girls title and Sitka swept the DII (1A/2A/3A) crowns.
Leading the Wolves charge again is recent University of Alaska Anchorage signee senior Joei Vidad, who earned region titles last year in the 100 meters (12.61) and 200 meters (26.60), personal bests at that time. She would go on to run to second and third place finishes at state.
Sitka senior Joei Vidad, shown at the Capital Invite in Juneau, is a favorite to win Region V titles in the 100 and 200 meter dash. (Sentinel Photos by Klas Stolpe)
Senior Haley Bartolaba won region titles in the 100 hurdles (17.02) and 300 hurdles (47.99) in personal bests and then won those events at the state championships.
Sitka’s 4x400 relay teams, shown at the Capital Invite on Juneau’s Thunder Mountain Field, are favorites to win 1/2/3A Southeast Region V Championships this weekend. Front, left to right, are senior Haley Bartolaba, sophomore Lindsey Bartolaba, freshman Tawny Smith, and senior Joei Vidad. Back, senior Tabor Buxton, junior Dominic Baciocco, senior Jacob Gagner, and senior Skyler McIntyre. (Sentinel Photos by Klas Stolpe)
Senior Aedon Dumag won the boys long jump (19-00.25) and the triple jump (38-08), both personal bests last year.
Seniors Garrison Lass (5-06) and Mattey Stroemer (4-08) won the boys and girls, respectively, high jumps, and Lass tied for first at state but lost, not by height, but by attempts.
The Sitka boys and girls also swept the 400 meter runs. The girls graduated first place finisher Tatum Bayne (1:03.14) and return second place finisher senior Bailey Clifton (1:03.59 PR) and third place finisher sophomore Lyndsey Bartolaba (1:03.56 PR).
The boys graduated first place finisher Kincaid Parsons (55.13), and return second place senior Tabor Buxton (55.97 PR).
Senior Joe Pate won the 800 (2:00.42 PR) with senior Asa Demmert third.
Junior Dominic Baciocco and senior Skyler McIntyre, another UAA signee, placed first and second, respectively, in the 3200 (9:51.39 & 10:03.64) and the 1600 (4:38.34 & 4:44.22).
The Sitka girls won the 4x400 relay (4:20.65) and 4x200 (1:51.68) and return senior Haley Bartolaba, Clifton, and Vidad to the lineup that graduated Bayne. Sophomore Lyndsey Bartolaba has joined them on the 400 team and has also joined them on the defending region 4x100 relay (53.10) that graduated Camryn Grant and Sophia Eastham. The girls 4x400, 4x200, and 4x100 went on to win state as well last season.
The Sitka boys won the 4x800 (8:42.80) and have Baciocco, McIntyre, and Pate back after graduating Derek Bartlett; the 4x400 (3:40.99) with Buxton and Pate back; and the 4x100 (48.04) with Dumag and senior John Arce back.
Senior Jessica Davis is looking to defend her Region V title throws in the shot (31-04.75) and discus (99-03).
Sitka coaches did not respond to Region tourney preview questions by press time. The Wolves will enter athletes in events to best gather points for a team championship and provide a consistent push for the state meet the following weekend.
Following are the top Southeast event times and/or Sitka placers in the top five for this season across both D1 and DII boys/girls:
100 - 1st soph. Ali Beya TMHS 11.29, 4th sr.Thomas Bailey SIT 11.81 / 1st Vidad 12.66.
200 - 1st Beya 23.83, 3rd soph. Carson Grant 24.66 / 1st Vidad 26.46, 3rd L. Bartolaba 27.94.
400 - 1st sr. Jacob Gagner 54.94, 2nd Buxton / 1st soph. Hannah Deer TMHS 1:00.47, 2nd Vidad 1:00.48.
800 - 1st sr. Dalton Hoy JDHS 2:04.25, 2nd McIntyre 2:05.38, 3rd Baciocco 2:05.96, 5th Gagner 2:10.65 / 1st jr. Katherine McKenna JDHS 2:32.83, 2nd fr. Tawny Smith SIT 2:36.81.
1600 - 1st McIntyre 4:32.62, 3rd Baciocco 4:34.82 / 1st jr. Sadie Tuckwood JDHS 5:17.86, 4th Smith 5:48.97.
3200 - 1st McIntyre 9:34.50, 2nd Baciocco 9:35.18 / 1st Tuckwood 11:22.56, 4th so. Kathleen Sweeney SIT 14:59.14.
110/100 hurdles - 1st sr. Chris Carlson KTN 17.57 / 1st soph. Iayanah Brewer TMHS 16.37, 3rd H. Bartolaba 17.42.
300 hurdles - 1st sr. Ivers Credito KTN 44.16 / 1st H. Bartolaba 49.48.
4x100 - 1st JDHS 47.47, 3rd SIT (Dumag, Jemar Diga, Rheece heim, Aidan Bailey) 48.85 / 1st SIT (Clifton, H. Bartolaba, L. Bartolaba, Vidad) 53.82.
4x200 - 1st SIT (Levi Danielson, Gaige Rosas, Carson Grant, Buxton) 1:41.96 / 1st SIT (Alyssa Henshaw, Razie Guillory, Tayler Clifton, Mia Skultka) 2:10.50.
4x400 - 1st SIT (Buxton, Baciocco, Grant, Gagner) 3:44.99 / 1st SIT (H. Bartolaba, L. Bartolaba, Clifton, Vidad) 4:19.64.
4x800 - 1st JDHS 9:01.39 / 1st JDHS 10:36.49, 2nd SIT (Guillory, Audrey Saiz, Olivia Wilcox, Sweeney) 12:24.40.
Shot - 1st soph. Wesley Verhamme HNS 45-4 / 1st Davis 32-2.75, 4th so. Morgan Feldpausch SIT 26-3.
Discus - 1st Verhamme 126-5 / 1st Davis 107-6, 5th soph. Jocelyn Brady SIT 79-6.
High Jump - 1st Lass 6-01 / 1st soph. Sophia Harvey TMHS 4-7, 4th Stroemer, Saiz 4-4.
Long Jump - 1st soph. Dawson Hickok JDHS 19-01, 3rd Dumag 18-6.5, 4th Heim 17-8.5, 5th Diga 17-7 / 1st sr. Bailey Wery Tagaban JDHS 15-3.25.
Triple Jump - 1st Heim 39-4.5, 2nd Dumag 38-3 / 1st Tagaban 33-8.5, 3rd T. Clifton 29-11.
The state championships will be held at Palmer High School. The Moose will host the state meet in Palmer on May 24-25. Sitka won its first ever state track girls team title last season and the boys finished as state runners-up to Anchorage Christian.
