By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Sports Editor
Just a week before the regional cross country meet, local runners hit the accelerator and dropped significant amounts of time at the last regular meet of the season Saturday in Juneau.
One of many Sitka High athletes who dropped time in Juneau, Silas Demmert, finally broke the 17-minute mark in the five-kilometer event.
“I was really excited for the course, because there are a lot of hills… more than the courses we’ve run and more than the other courses in Southeast, and that’s just kind of what I was hoping for, to catch those guys on the hills,” Demmert said. He took first place in the boys’ race in 16:51, followed by his teammate, Annan Weiland in 17:00. Their chief competition, Ketchikan’s Mickey Lapinski, came in third.
Demmert said he was in disbelief when he crossed the finish line.
“Really good, just simply it goes with the disbelief and the shock. I wasn’t prepared for that,” he said.
With the regional meet in Ketchikan less than a week away, Demmert was ready for the competition.
“We’re all super stoked to have everybody there ready to compete,” he said.
Sitka’s Silas Demmert, left, holds his lead over Ketchikan’s Mickey Lapinski in the cross country race in Juneau, Saturday. Demmert took first place and runs again in the regional tournament this weekend. (Photo provided by Klas Stolpe)
For Sitka’s girls, Anna Prussian took second place and came within 3 seconds of her personal best time. She finished in 19:20, 13 seconds behind Thunder Mountain’s Kiah Dihle.
“I was extremely excited, I was three seconds away from breaking my PR, which was a really good feeling,” Prussian said. “And just knowing that I can hit that time, I really hope to drop into the low 19s by regions… It’s just great knowing it’s starting to pay off.”
As she ran Juneau’s course, complete with a variety of hills, Prussian said she tried to keep pace with Dihle.
“I went into that race trying not to think about the race itself, I just went into it knowing I would race my hardest,” she said. “And the girl ahead of me, Kiah Dihle, is someone I’ve raced with for the last several years and I know she’s a very strong runner, and so it was good trying to hold on her shoulder.”
Looking forward, she hopes one day to break the 19-minute barrier.
“Cross country is a huge mental sport too, and it’s great knowing I can make those times again... I’d love to break my PR (19:17) at regions, that’s a huge goal – one that I didn’t know if I would get to this year. And knowing that I can run these times right now, I was hoping I would love to go sub-19 at some point before graduating high school,” Prussian said.
Wolves coach Shasta Smith was proud of Prussian’s performance.
“Anna had a breakthrough in that she finally got close to her freshman PR – that’s been a monkey on her back as a junior,” Smith said.
Prussian and Demmert weren’t the only Wolves who improved their 5k.
Senior Colton Ewers dropped a full minute from his previous best time.
“It felt pretty good, it was the one race I didn’t run with my watch so I didn’t know what my time was going to be,” Ewers said. “Coming around that corner seeing that I was a whole minute ahead of what I was expecting, it felt pretty amazing. Just some dedication, running on-hours and running off-hours.”
He ran the course in 18:51, and in the process snagged a spot on the varsity squad at the regional meet. He hopes to keep improving there.
“This week is what determines who goes to regions – Colton had been eight, nine, there were four kids who were in that six, seven spot and Colton cut a minute from last week to qualify,” coach Smith said.
Sophomore Theo Everson also slashed a full minute from his previous best time.
“I felt really great, I didn’t actually see the time on the clock when I stopped, I was so tired. I knew I was going to do well because I beat some people on the team that I haven’t beat before… I thought I would PR by a few seconds, but not a minute. I felt really great, I was so amazed… I was really surprised I got top eight though,” Everson said.
He completed the course in 19:27. Everson added that in coming years, he’d like to continue improving and earn a spot on the varsity team at regions.
“He went a minute faster this week, and last week he also had gone a minute faster,” his coach said. “He’s putting it together, which is a bummer in some ways because that’s it, he’s done now. But I think he’ll be excited for track and cross country next year.”
Runners from across the bridge competed as well.
Mt. Edgecumbe High junior Elston Dock was happy to run in good conditions on a beautiful day.
“It was great, I was expecting the weather to be really bad, but it was nice and sunny, it was great,” Dock said.
He noted that his team frequently trains on hills, which helped on the Juneau course.
“We do a lot of hills, we do at least 20 minutes of hills, I was expecting hills. I love running hills… At first I was a little nervous, this is my first year running… After the first lap I felt really good, and kept a good pace,” he said. Dock ran the course in 22:09.
Senior Hailey Moses achieved a personal goal and broke the 30-minute mark by almost a minute.
“At first it was kind of intimidating because I had previously injured myself, and this course is kind of bumpy. But while I ran it I enjoyed running it… From the last race, so far I’ve just been trying to go under 30 minutes,” Moses said. She finished in 29:16.
MEHS coach Josh Arnold noted that his team has come a long way during the short season.
“We’re getting fast, we’ve had a couple of PRs on the course,” Arnold said. “We’re having fun, it’s great to get out and compete. That was our last chance to run against all of the small schools, so this coming weekend in Ketchikan of course we’ll be on the course with all the bigger schools and Sitka… That Ketchikan course is my favorite course in Southeast, just beautiful, you just run around Ward Lake.”
Runners from across Southeast compete in the regional tournament this Saturday in Ketchikan.
Boys Race
1 Silas Demmert 16:51 Sitka
2 Annan Weiland 17:00 Sitka
3 Mickey Lapinski 17:15 Ketchikan
4 Luke Davis 17:22 Haines
5 Matthew Johns 17:25 TM
6 Uriah Lucas 17:28 PSG
7 Aubrey Hekkers 17:34 JD
8 Will Robinson 17:42 JD
9 Rogan Hanson 17:43 Craig
10 Martin Holst 17:49 JD
11 Hank Maxwell 17:50 Sitka
12 Dominic Ross 17:51 Kake
13 Kaleb Jones 17:51 Haines
14 Trey Demmert 17:53 Sitka
15 Michael Durkin 17:54 PSG
16 Leo Wald 17:55 Haines
17 Eli Crupi 17:58 JD
18 Asa Dow 18:02 Sitka
19 Samuel Holst 18:03 JD
20 Edgar Vera Alvarado 18:05 JD
21 Tias Carney 18:09 JD
22 Joshua Reed 18:10 JD
23 Kona Atkins 18:10 Gustavus
24 Wilder Dillingham 18:18 JD
25 Casey Styles 18:20 Ketchikan
26 Kyle Congdon 18:20 Ketchikan
27 Evan Durco 18:21 Gustavus
28 Marley Kness 18:24 Klawock
29 Kael Nord 18:24 TM
30 Malachi Peimann 18:28 JD
31 Justus Paden 18:32 TM
32 Leif St Clair 18:33 JD
33 Connor Hitchcock 18:35 Sitka
34 Finn Kesey 18:38 JD
35 Colton Ewers 18:51 Sitka
36 Daniel Aspery 18:53 Craig
37 Sage Janes 19:05 TM
38 Quinn Quiroga 19:09 TM
39 Darin Tingey 19:10 TM
40 Justin Scussel 19:11 TM
41 John Magalhaes 19:11 TM
42 Breiland Willis 19:14 PSG
43 Keegan Hanson 19:14 Craig
44 Theo Everson 19:27 Sitka
45 Jacob Friske 19:27 MEHS
46 Eric Gillham 19:36 Haines
47 Dylan Crenna 19:36 Sitka
48 Chase Lister 19:38 PSG
49 Sam Bass 19:44 Craig
50 Owen Woodruff 19:46 TM
51 Jeremia Fergueson 19:49 Sitka
52 Dalton Henry 19:50 Haines
53 Tommy Bowman 19:55 TM
54 Valon Weathers 20:00 PSG
55 Gaelen Allen 20:05 Haines
56 Stephen Harmon 20:10 Sitka
57 James Helem 20:10 Sitka
58 Colin Rice 20:16 Craig
59 Logan Borcik 20:18 Haines
60 Caleb Lutomsky 20:21 PSG
61. Kieran Cabral 20:23 PSG
62. Wyatt Litster 20:25 PSG
63. Tosh Ratzat 20:47 Ketchikan
64. Ben Erickson 20:49 TM
65. Connor Journey 21:36 MEHS
66. Ethan Reichl 21:37 TM
67. Elias Ward 22:00 PSG
68. Elston Dock 22:09 MEHS
69. Miles Bourdikofsky 22:10 MEHS
70. Dylan Jackson 22:12 MEHS
71. Ashton McKeehan 22:16 Metlakatla
72. Dalton Wyzykowski 22:42 Klawock
73. Kurt Kohn 22:53 Thorne Bay
74. Nicholas Davis 22:55 Kake
75. Luke Peterson 22:57 MEHS
76. Clancy Thomas 23:01 Ketchikan
77. John Fisher Kelly 23:12 Gustavus
78. Jackson Long 23:27 Haines
79. Matias Canadas 24:08 Thorne Bay
80. Malcolm Fry 24:09 PSG
81. Ian Owen 24:18 Klawock
82. Jackson Benson 25:06 Metlakatla
83. Eric John 25:32 Thorne Bay
84. Kohyn Broncheau 25:36 Metlakatla
85. Dakwaneek Crookes 25:37 Kake
86. Daniel Bohlke 25:48 Gustavus
87. Emett Fairbanks 26:06 Klawock
88 Isaac Litster 26:20 PSG
89. Jacob Isaacs 27:05 Klawock
90. Jasper Booth 27:41 Metlakatla
91 Tanner Smith 27:44 Craig
92. Miles Nelson 27:58 Metlakatla
93. Declan Thomas 28:23 Ketchikan
94. Giovanni Arroyo 40:32 Metlakatla
Girls Race
1 Kiah Dihle 19:07 TM
2 Anna Prussian 19:20 Sitka
3 Clare Mullen 19:43 Sitka
4 Etta Eller 19:50 JD
5 Ariel Godinez-Long 19:51 Haines
6 Rayna Tuckwood 19:54 JD
7. Annika Schwartz 20:09 JD
8. McKenna McNutt 20:27 JD
9. Ella Goldstein 20:28 JD
10. Grace Sikes 20:45 TM
11 Ida Meyer 20:46 JD
12. Trinity Jackson 20:50 JD
13. Maisy Morley 21:23 JD
14. Celia Wheeler 21:34 JD
15. Grace Long 21:41 Haines
16. Paige Boehlert 21:42 Ketchikan
17. Carol Frey 21:43 Ketchikan
18. Ruby Rivas 21:43 JD
19. Kinley Lister 21:46 PSG
20. Skylar Tuckwood 21:50 JD
21. Mia Anderson 21:57 MEHS
22. Iris White 22:07 JD
23. Mamie Crooks 22:14 Kake
24. Avery Williamson 22:33 Haines
25. Kenai Holien 22:43 Klawock
26. Abigail Booton 22:44 TM
27. Mackenzie Olver 22:46 TM
28. Aliyah Overturf 22:47 TM
29. Addie Poulson 22:54 Sitka
30. Trisha Capps 22:55 Ketchikan
31. Avari Getchell 23:40 Haines
32. Sophia Owen 23:42 TM
33. Maggie Boehlert 23:45 Ketchikan
34 Kate Thompson 23:52 PSG
35. Clara Odden 23:54 Ketchikan
36. Alexus Sakamoto Quezon 24:07 PSG
37. Lexi Johnson 24:26 Klawock
38. Malia King 24:27 Ketchikan
39. Ashlyn Ganey 24:36 Haines
40. Aspen Bauer 25:00 Ketchikan
41. Jelsey Gologergen 25:04 MEHS
42. Maitlin Young 25:52 Sitka
43. Jayda Skeek 25:59 TM
44. Sally Chapell 26:00 Haines
45. Laney Green 26:28 MEHS
46. Mackenzie Lam 26:32 TM
47. Jillian Jackson 26:43 Kake
48. Ila Nettleton 26:48 Haines
49. Deirdre Toyomura 27:26 PSG
50. Sarah Nanouk-Jones 27:27 MEHS
51. Naomi Olver 28:36 TM
52. Isabella Hoppe 28:59 Klawock
53. Hailey Moses 29:16
MEHS
54. Gwendolynn Lockwood 29:36
TM
55. Ashley Rexford 30:43
MEHS
56. Clara Pablos 30:44
Thorne Bay
57. Hailey Hedges 30:52
Klawock
58. Izzy Jackson 31:36
MEHS
59. Athena Jordan 32:01
Metlakatla
60. Dionna Jackson 32:46
Kake
61. Nicole Mendonsa 39:23
Thorne Bay
62. Jasmine Aceveda 39:49
Kake
Junior Varsity Boys
1 Kyle Dusenberry 19:03 JD
2 Nick Iverson 19:04 JD
3 Ben Goldstein 19:34 JD
4 Colton Johns 19:36 JD
5 Shem Stitz 19:46 JD
6. Owen Costello 19:49JD
7. Oliver Zigmund 20:08 JD
8. Zayden Schijvens 20:27 JD
9. Robbie Gabel 20:27 JD
10. Sergio Carlos 20:42 Sitka
11. Phoenix Swaner 21:20 Haines
12. Mathias Paden 21:24 TM
13. Reed Maier 21:37 JD
14. Ferguson Wheeler 21:39 JD
15. Layne Cutnose 21:42 JD
16. Jack Schwarting 21:59 JD
17. Hayden Jimenez 22:01 Haines
18. Ahmed Mezel 22:08 JD
19. TJ Smith 22:10 Haines
20. Koa Doddridge 22:13 Haines
2 Edward Hu 22:25 JD
22. Jackson Harmon 22:46 Sitka
23. Merrick Hartman 22:46 TM
24. Ryan Thibodeau 22:51 JD
25. Alex Weerasignhe 22:54 Haines
26. Casey Knapp 22:58 TM
27. Collin Aldassy 23:02 Haines
28. Dashel Culbreth 23:36 JD
29. Bruno Malecha 23:38 TM
30. Kelton Griffith 23:46 JD
31. Jacob Weerasinghe 23:55 Haines
32. Benjamin Sikes 24:12 TM
33. Carvin Hass 24:36 TM
34. Jack Mickelson 24:41 Sitka
35. Elijah Levy 25:28 TM
36. Reece Dusenberry 32:04 JD
37. Michael Wittig 32:38 TM
38. Thomas Rice 34:25 TM
Junior Varsity Girls
1 Lizzie Stitz 22:55 JD
2 Ashlie Stringer 23:01 JD
3 Ellie Yerkes 23:02 JD
4 Lindsay McTague 23:28 JD
5 Natanya Reed 23:38 JD
6 Jayme Geary 23:51 JD
7 Serena Crupi 23:56 JD
8 Ava Newell 24:57 JD
9 Cara Hollingsworth 25:02 JD
10 Cerys Hudson 25:02 JD
11 Marina Lloyd 26:06 JD
12 Mary Johnson 28:06 JD
13 Acey Wall 28:46 JD
14 Adelyn Buss 28:48 JD
15 Talia Aparezuk-Schlosser 29:24 JD
16 Shaylen Montgomery 29:44 TM
17 Amy Lockwood 31:04 TM
18 Dorothy Germain 31:59 TM
19 Kaylee Karlson-Byers 32:07 JD
20 Violet Ricker 32:51 TM
21 Makayla Peter 32:58 JD
