JDHS senior Iverson wins two state track titles and athlete of the meet honor

Published 9:30 pm Sunday, June 1, 2025

Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé senior Nick Iverson had a relaxing weekend run in Anchorage — two, in fact.

Iverson ran away with two state titles during the ASAA/First National Bank Alaska Track and Field State Championships over the weekend, winning the 1,600 meters in a personal record 4:22.29 and the 800 meters in 1 minute 57.57 seconds.

“I am kind of glad to have my two main ones over with,” Iverson said. “Going into the 800, I was less nervous than I was going into the 1,600 because I felt like I already had a solid race in, so I was just trying to have fun. I was pretty beat from the mile regardless, but it was fun out there.”

[Results from the ASAA Track and Field State Championships]

In the 1,600, Iverson said his plan was a copy of the regional race.

“Sit back and not take the lead, and in the last lap let her rip and see what I can do,” he said. “The first lap I got pushed into first. It was fine and I was, ‘OK, it’s not the end of the world,’ and then the lead got taken over and I let her rip. That was sort of the plan, stay patient until that last lap. I didn’t know if it was going to work. It was a fun race.”

JDHS coaches noted Iverson had “trained like Rocky” the past two winters in the weight room, often in the auxiliary gym alone though sometimes with teammates, to prepare for this moment. He took off on the last lap and kept building distance to the finish.

Next season he plans to attend and run at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, along with classmates Owen Woodruff and Sage Janes.

“I’m really excited,” he said. “It’s going to be fun up there. The key to distance running is hard work. Discipline, but also having fun and telling myself it wouldn’t be this hard if I wasn’t having fun. So, I guess, passion, really, is the word I would give it.”

Iverson was also selected by attending coaches as the male athlete of the state meet. The honor not only goes to a good competitor, but also to someone who has great sportsmanship, is nice to the competition and represents the sport positively.

“I had no idea I was going to get it,” he said. “I wasn’t even on the field when they announced it, so I had to run down from where our team tent was to receive it. But it was super cool to be recognized like that, considering I hadn’t ever really been a prominent force at state track meets in the past.”

Juneau freshman Bella Connally set a new JDHS record in her state title winning 100-meter race time of 12.46, a personal best.

“I’m just so excited,” Connally said. “I’m surprised, too. I didn’t expect this at all. It means a lot. I just know that I’m going to be getting better throughout my high school seasons and knowing there is more work to be done to get faster.”

The time now replaces the 12.48 on the Crimson Bears’ record wall previously held by Jenelle Billingslea, set in 1996, and puts Bella’s name next to the men’s school record of 10.64 set in 2022 by her brother James. The two had worked together when he was home from Eastern Oregon University the past two years.

“He is my inspiration,” Connally said. “My goal for this season was to get my name up right next to his on our school records. I got that and I’m just so happy… Soon as I get to my phone I’m going to call him. I’m just going to tell him I’m the state champion.”

Connally said the key before getting into the 100 starting blocks is her positive mindset.

“I just have to focus and know that I have what it takes to win the race,” she said. “That I just need to remember my mechanics, know how to get out of the blocks to finish the race…It pushes me more when I see competitors out of the corner of my sight. I just know that I have to go faster, I have to push it more and accelerate all the way through…I need to work on my blocks more, to reach my top speed faster, work on strides and my steps…This is amazing. I didn’t think this would happen. I want to thank coach Duskin, my brother, my parents and I want to thank my team for supporting me throughout this whole season.”

Connally also placed fifth in the 200 meters in 26.59 (1. South junior Anna Green 26.24) and ran the anchor leg for the girls 4×100 fifth-place finish in 51.44 (1. Soldotna 50.14)

Chugiak senior Alliyah Fields was selected as the DI female athlete of the meet as she placed first in the 400 meters with 57.85, the 800 meters in 2:16.03 and was part of the Mustangs winning 4×400 relay team.

The DII female and male athletes of the meet were Tri-Valley junior Taylor Eddington and Grace Christian senior Robbie Annett.

The girls’ selection raised some eyebrows on the voting process. Selections are made by coaches in a year stacked with some individual school accomplishments but many overlooked Sitka senior Clare Mullin earning her 13th state title (11 in track, two in cross-country) with wins in the 800 meters in 2:13.58 — eight seconds ahead of the second placer, Grace Christian junior Tagan Rinner — and the 1,600 meters in 5:17.61 — again eight seconds faster than the next placer, Delta Junction junior Iris Haas — and the 3,200 meters in 11:49.35 — five seconds faster than Haas. For four consecutive years she has dominated the DII distance events.

Eddington won the 200 meters in 26.17 (2. Unalakleet junior Ourea Busk 27.26), won the 300-meter hurdles in 45.10 (2. Sitka junior Natalie Hall 48.71), placed second in the 100 in 12.90 (won by Homer senior Gracie Miotke in 12.73) and second in the 400 meters in 59.99 (1. Busk 58.11).

If anything, Miotke could be considered a winner as well. In her region meet Miotke was injured and was disqualified in her hurdle specialties but helped Homer win state relay titles.

Annett took the 800 in 1:59.30 (second Wrangell junior Boomchain Loucks 1:59.67), the 1,600 in 4:22.89 (2. Grace senior Colton Merriner 4:25.34) and the 3,200 in 9:47.95 (2. Sitka senior Connor Hitchcock 9:48.57). A three-peat of finishes, much like Mullin.

Mullin said she had gone into the state meet with the intent of breaking the state record in the 800, but being sick the past two weeks didn’t allow her to have the legs she needed. She will get another crack at the top time at the Brian Young Invitational in Kodiak next week. Only eight athletes from Southeast earned that invitation.

“I’m really looking forward to that,” Mullin said. “And I’ll race at the Nike Outdoor Nationals in a few weeks (June 19-22, part of the USATF U20 Championships) but this is the last time with my full team so that is special to me.”

Since the 800 was her final ASAA race, she used whatever was left in her legs.

Looking back at her career she stated, “This year is extra special because it is my last one, but I definitely have so many good memories of being on this track, being in Palmer, being with my team, it is definitely something special being here in Alaska that we have.”

Mullin looked over to the stands for Sitka coach Jeremy Strong as she came past on her final home stretch.

“I kind of looked over, I could see some people out of the corner of my vision,” she said. “Sometimes if I’m hanging back in the race I’ll give him a quick look and be like, ‘What am I doing?’…My community is so supportive of me, our whole team. I get good wishes all the time from down south. It means a lot to be able to represent them here, you know, hopefully make them proud.”

Mullin plans to run for Gonzaga University next season.

“When I went there I loved the culture, I loved the girls there, I really liked the coach,” she said. “And I really feel like they saw the potential in me that I have and they recognized that too and I think we’ll be a good team and I’ll just be able to see what I can do in those conditions with all the nice facilities.”

Joining Mullin with the Zags will be JDHS senior Ida Meyer.

“I picked Gonzaga as a school because its community is close-knit and the energy and school spirit there is amazing,” Meyer said. “I have family that attended there and they really enjoyed their professors and adventuring in the surrounding area. I am excited to run for their running program because the coach seems to really know how to develop athletes, particularly Alaskans like Sadie Tuckwood, who graduated from JD a bit ago. The team seems really kind and dedicated as well. I am ready to challenge myself to run on a higher level and I know Gonzaga is a place that will push me to not only be a better runner and student but a better person… They said, ‘Have fun your last season and we’ll take care of you when you come.’”

Meyer placed seventh in the 3,200 meters in 11:50.87 (1. Chugiak junior Hannah Shaha 11:19.93) and 11th in the 1,600 with 5:30.43 (1. East junior Rosie Conway 5:14.24) and ran in the 4×400 relay.

“It was interesting, kind of crazy to be here and have the Southeast weather,” Meyer said after the 3,200. “I think I put out a good effort and I love racing with Pacific (classmate Pacific Ricke). I’m so glad we’re both in it. I had a little left so I just went. Just playing catch up with the people in front of me. The gap would widen and I’d go up again. It was nice to just do that and get the courage to push ahead.”

Ricke said, “It was fun. I’m glad to be here. I definitely didn’t have the race I wanted, but I’m really glad I got to do it with Ida and have one last race together, even if it wasn’t the outcome I was hoping for.”

The only other Southeast DI athletes to win state titles were Ketchikan senior Trey Colbert in the high jump, classmate Jason Lorig in the 100 meters and sophomore teammate Henry Vail in the 400.

“The hardest part is really not getting into your own head,” Colbert said of the state meet. “High jump is a very mental sport and knowing that there are a lot of top competitors around you, the hardest part honestly is just trying to stay focused and only think about your jump and not who you are jumping against…Usually I just try to take deep breaths as much as I can and just try to clear my head right before I jump, walk around a little bit.”

Lorig had a lot of time to walk around as he finished his race in 10.82 seconds, leaning ahead to top Soldotna junior Tyce Escott, who ran 10.83.

“I had a decent start,” Lorig said of his third, 100 state title. “My acceleration was good, my drive phase was good, but then I started to fall off my top end speed, couldn’t hold it too well and Tyce almost got me but I pulled through…I really enjoyed this year, it was so competitive. Last year was competitive but this year was so much different…It feels really good. I’ve been training all year just to get to this moment.”

Lorig, a UAA commit, was also the favorite in the 200, winning the prelims (22.90) easily. But in the finals he blew his shoe out on the turn. Then, as anchor in the Kayhi 4×100, another team’s runner pulled up lame and collided with Lorig, sending him into the fencing along the home stretch and to a last-place finish.

“It does feel good to get a title,” Lorig said, thanking his coaches, family and teammates. “My friend just won the high jump too. I think that is the first time Ketchikan has ever gotten two state championships at the same time. And hopefully Henry Vail will win the 400 and we’ll get three.”

They would get three, as Vail won the 400 in a personal best 50.17.

“Feeling really tired, but really proud of myself,” Vail said. “Put in the work, put in the hours but it is really nice…after getting third last year I really wanted it…I stayed up at nights looking at athletics (athletic.net) and I knew I wasn’t the top one but I knew if I put in the work I could get it…For me, I just do it all out, I’m just going, keep the legs moving, keep the arms going and don’t look left, don’t look right, just look straight.”

Upperclassmen and underclassmen runners highlighted the mindset of the JDHS team through the weekend.

“Oh man, it was awesome to run with the best in the state,” Crimson Bears senior Owen Woodruff said of his third-place finish in the 3,200 in 10:00.85. “That’s what I was looking forward to all year. Having a solid group of guys around me that could push me. It is a lot easier than running in no-man’s land in our Southeast races. It was awesome. I knew where I stood in the rankings.”

Woodruff was in a battle of eight laps with South junior Vebjorn Flagstad (1. 9:59.04) and East sophomore Katahdin Staples (10:00.68).

“I knew what everybody around me was capable of,” Woodruff said. “So, just like I have been doing all season I didn’t do anything crazy, just stuck to the plan, did what I have been doing and knew I would finish well…Got on the podium, almost second, I was right there. It was a weird race. We went out really slow, but I knew our second mile would be a lot faster so I was mentally prepared, like, ‘These guys are smart and they can race fast, but if I’m smart I can sit back and maintain my stamina, I know I have a good kick, I’ve been working hard all year, I trust the work I put in.’ Yeah, everything worked out good.”

Woodruff said he would tell his freshman self, “Stop goofing off in the woods. Man, I didn’t start taking running seriously until two-and-a-half years ago. What if I was serious about it when I first went to high school, what could I be doing? That just gave me the determination to really finish out my last couple years strong and not leave any doubts in my mind of what I could have done…I’m excited to run at college with my buddies (Iverson, S. Janes), see what we can do at that higher competition…We will be freshmen with no huge expectations, but we are still going to work our butts off.”

Crimson Bears freshman Addie Hartman ran in the 100 and 4×100 with Connally and classmate Shandies Frommherz and the 100 hurdles prelims.

“A lot bigger,” Hartman said of her first state experience. “It definitely helped me to get more of an idea of what I’m going to be facing for the next three years, like in the hurdles and sprints…It was a different size because of how skinny the lanes are, but overall I think it was definitely a good experience to come here and see Anchorage schools, and who I’m going to be competing with and what I should expect for the rest of my high school career.”

For athletes at state, sometimes just earning the trip is success.

“I think it is pretty fun,” JDHS senior Johnathyn Kestel said as he battled to third in the triple jump (he also placed eighth in the long jump). “There’s a lot of nerves I guess. I’m trying to get close to winning, I don’t know if I’ll be able to do that, but I would like to be up there. Most definitely I am still fine tuning some stuff. I have to work on getting off on the right foot, I jumped off the wrong foot first, and making sure all my phases are on point. (Laughs) I jump farther off the right foot.”

In Division II, Mullin’s trifecta of running wins led Southeast athletes. Classmate Marina Dill raced in each as well and made finals, reaching the podium in the 3,200 as Mullin paced with her at the start.

“My plan was to go out behind someone, but no one wanted to take the lead so I was like, ‘I’ll just take it then’ and I set my own pace,” Mullin said of her 3,200 title on Friday. “It is relaxing to know I can just take it out at my own pace and I trust my kick in that last 800, so I just got to enjoy the moment a little bit more. It is always good to race on this track. I love the atmosphere here. It feels good to defend my title.”

When asked what she would tell her sophomore self, Mullin exclaimed, “Oh my gosh, don’t do long jump, do the 3,200 instead, that was not the move my sophomore year.”

Her Wolves’ classmate Rowan Olney-Miller won the 110 hurdles (16.99) and was second in the 300 hurdles (42.82). Junior Calder Prussian won the 200 in 22.96 and was second in the 100 (11.32) and 400 (51.36).

The Wolves continue to be a state force with junior Cole McLaughlin second in the long jump (19’03.50), senior Connor Hitchcock was second in the 3,200 (9:48.57) and third in the 1,600 (4:27.97) and junior Natalie Hall placed second in the 300 hurdles (48.71)

The Sitka boys were second in the 4×800. The Sitka girls were second in the 4×100, 4×200 and 4×800.

Petersburg senior Erik Thynes was runner-up in the discus with 132’06.00” (1. Redington senior Zach Martel 138’09.00”) and this was the first time the Vikings had three throwers in the shot and discus as Thynes and classmates Kaden Duke and Angus Olsen competed. Wrangell junior Boomchain Loucks was fourth in the 1,600. Petersburg junior Gaje Ventress and Craig sophomore Aulis Nelson made finals in the 3,200 and Nelson in the 1,600.

Haines senior Emma Dohrn placed third in discus (95’09.00”) and Sitka senior Elise Brady fourth in shot (31’04.25”). Haines senior Ashlyn Ganey and Petersburg freshman Cadence Flint earned finals in the triple jump, Flint in the high jump and classmate Arielle Tucker in the 1,600 and 3,200 along with sophomore Maria Toth.

The JDHS team – merged with the now-defunct Thunder Mountain High School – became a true Juneau track entity.

“We were really, obviously, really excited about the two state champions,” JDHS co-coach Jesse Stringer said.

Stringer has announced his retirement from coaching. “With that said, though, everybody else’s performances were phenomenal. And the team really came together and worked together throughout the whole meet.”

“It was really fun to be competing as a whole team in the team points, which hasn’t always been the case for Juneau. We’ve often brought up one or two athletes, but this year we were really in the mix, especially the boys team, and we helped keep the meet at a low-scoring meet. It didn’t take many points to win the meet and that’s because Juneau was in the mix really putting the heat on to the rest of the competition. So our guys really worked together to have one of the top finishes we’ve had probably in the last 20 years, fourth place.”

“I think that probably the biggest thing was just having so many events where we had multiple athletes in the event, it felt like we were in the mix as a team from Juneau, so that was really special…I think the biggest thing is as the team continues to build community, what bubbles to the surface are great competitors. In Juneau at least, nobody needs to coach competition. These athletes come in, they come in ready to compete, but as they build that team camaraderie and stick together as a team, that’s what builds the team in numbers, literally, and then as the team builds in numbers you get these top athletes that bubble to the surface.”

• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@juneauempire.com.