By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Sports Editor
Competing in their first cross country meet of the season, the Sitka High men’s team took first place overall and swept five out of the top six spots in the five-kilometer race, Saturday in Petersburg.
For junior Annan Weiland, the meet was a good opening for the season.
“Seeing all of us succeed – and most of the guys got (personal records) – it just made us incredibly happy. It was a fast course,” he said.
Lady Wolves’ sophomore Clare Mullin runs far ahead of the pack in the Petersburg cross country race on Saturday. Mullin won the women’s race by more than a two-minute margin. (Photo provided by Orin Pierson/ Petersburg Pilot)
Weiland was first across the finish line in 16:42, closely followed by his teammate, Silas Demmert, in 16:47.
Though this is his third year running for the Wolves, Weiland is unaccustomed to leading the pack.
“Just incredible. I have no experience really beating the pack. I’m not used to getting first at all,” he said. “I felt like I was on top of the world, like on top of a peak.”
On the women’s side, the Lady Wolves fielded a full squad, which was a welcome relief for sophomore Clare Mullin.
“It was really awesome that we have a girls team now. Last year Tawny (Smith) was out, so we only had four and we couldn’t really score as a team,” Mullin said over the phone on Tuesday. “And I feel like it’s really good, there’s like a good connection between the team this year.”
She led the women’s race, finishing first in 19:46 – more than two minutes ahead of any other runner. Looking forward to the remainder of the season, she hopes to improve her pacing.
“Pacing is a big thing for me, too. In track season, I worked a lot on pacing and getting consistent splits, but it’s definitely a lot harder on a cross country course because you don’t always know exactly where you are,” she said.
While Weiland and Mullin are veteran runners, Sitka freshman Natalie Hall is new to the team. She said her first cross country meet was a good experience.
“It’s a really great environment, especially since it was my first race... It’s so personal when everyone finishes,” Hall said.
As a new runner, she was unsure how to pace herself, but did what she could to stay competitive with those around her.
“I honestly had no idea what I was going to place. I didn’t know how the other girls ran and I didn’t know how hard to push myself. But I just put myself by somebody and told myself to beat her. And I don’t know, it just kind of worked out from there.”
The strategy paid off. Hall placed fourth out of 56 runners in 22:24. She was Sitka’s second runner across the finish line.
Like Mullin, Hall hopes to improve her ability to pace herself on the course.
“I don’t want to feel comfortable when I’m running, but I also just don’t want to burn out,” the freshman said. “So I try to focus on a girl that I know is at a similar pace, sticking with her and being with her and I just want to push myself to get in front of her.”
The Lady Wolves took third place in the meet out of 13 teams present.
Sitka High wasn’t the only local team running in Petersburg over the weekend. The Mt. Edgecumbe High Braves were on the trail as well.
Senior co-captain Jelsey Gologergen thinks her team is off to a solid start.
“I think with all of us working together and starting the season strong right from when we started school helped us a lot, especially when we went to Petersburg,” she said. “Because in the first couple of weeks, we got to see how everyone ran and got to know each other and really encouraged each other.”
Gologergen finished 24th in 25:09 out of 56 runners.
Most of all, Gologergen, of Nome, is happy for the chance to experience a more normal school year than she has before.
“I’m excited that we finally get to be back in a normal school year. So you don’t have to wear masks… It’s nice to just relax a little bit,” she said.
Through the month-long season, she hopes to improve her ability to run hills.
“I can really work on uphills and downhills and strengthen my legs,” she said. “But for us as a team, I think just strongly encouraging each other. And getting to know everyone and being at practice. I like it when I have a little competition.”
Edgecumbe’s other co-captain, Connor Journey, is happy that other runners on the team will have an opportunity this year to experience a full cross country season without large-scale COVID restrictions.
“I’m excited to see that everybody’s going to have what I experienced my freshman year in the beginning, because it was probably my favorite year,” he said. “It was more organized and there was less chaos. And I’m just excited to see everybody experience what I experienced.”
Journey is a senior from St. Mary’s. He ran the Petersburg course in 22:02 to take 46th place out of 71 competitors.
MEHS coach Josh Arnold was pleased with his team’s season opener.
“It’s a very short season. We’re going to be racing regions in less than a month. And our goal of course is for the kids to just get faster, and what we want is consistency with their daily workouts… I was really pleased with some of the results that we saw in Petersburg this weekend. I was floating on a cloud after that race,” Arnold told the Sentinel.
Both teams compete again this weekend in Ketchikan. Meet results from Petersburg are below.
Men’s Results
1. Annan Weiland 16:42.93 Sitka
2. Silas Demmert 16:47.36 Sitka
3. Trey Demmert 17:25.88 Sitka
5. Connor Hitchcock 17:57.02 Sitka
6. Hank Maxwell 18:40.86 Sitka
9. James Helem 18:58.56 Sitka
12. Jacob Friske 19:15.77 Mt Edgecumbe
13. Jeremia Fergueson 19:16.02 Sitka
46. Connor Journey 22:02.81 Mt Edgecumbe
47. Colton Paul 22:03.26 Mt Edgecumbe
58. Hunter Payenna 24:32.88 Mt Edgecumbe
59. Brayden Jackson 24:33.54 Mt Edgecumbe
61. Elston Dock 25:05.54 Mt Edgecumbe
Women’s Results
1. Clare Mullin 19:46.55 Sitka
3. Tessa Anderson 22:22.73 Mt Edgecumbe
4. Natalie Hall 22:24.45 Sitka
9. Aliyah Merculief 23:21.99 Sitka
23. Aries Bioff 25:08.70 Mt Edgecumbe
24. Jelsey Gologergen 25:09.31 Mt Edgecumbe
31. Helena Slats 26:28.48 Mt Edgecumbe
32. Sarah Bahnke 26:50.50 Mt Edgecumbe
34. Sarah Nanouk-Jones 26:53.16 Mt Edgecumbe
37. Leilynn Swain 27:25.22 Sitka
38. Olivia Skan 27:25.80 Sitka
43. Breana Nelson 28:01.98 Mt Edgecumbe
50. Marina Marley 30:15.39 Sitka
