The four runners circling the Thunder Mountain Middle School oval on Saturday in the final event of the 2025 Region V Track and Field Championships put an exclamation mark on the Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé sweep of the boys’ Division I team title over the weekend, toppling Ketchikan for the Southeast crown and preparing themselves for next week at the state meet.
“Get out fast, hold the lead,” JDHS senior Finley Hightower said of his first leg of the Crimson Bears’ winning 4×400 relay time of 3:32.58. “Just take as much distance as you can out of the blocks because you have more acceleration.”
JDHS was senior strong and Ben Sikes said of his second leg, “It feels nice, especially coming in with the lead. You don’t want to give up that lead so there is pressure to keep that up and Finley got a good lead so that was nice.”
Classmate Finn Lamb said of his third leg, “I was just trying to hold on and set up this guy because I knew Nick (Iverson) could do it, so I’m glad I got it to him.”
Iverson said he was nervous for the last leg.
“We all knew Ketchikan had a pretty good team,” Iverson said. “But I knew if we ran it right we could definitely do it and these guys set me up with a pretty nice lead. It was a good race.”
Iverson also won the boys’ 800 meters on Friday in 2:00.19, leading a Crimson Bears senior sweep of the top four finishes with classmates Sage Janes, Lamb and Corder Janes crossing behind him.
“This means we have potentially good relays,” Iverson said. “Next week at state I think we can be a force for sure. It is fun running with teammates out there. Finishing and then looking behind you and seeing Juneau, three guys, it’s a cool feeling. I’m trying to take it easy this week. This is a fun meet.”
Then on Saturday, Iverson won the 1,600 meters in a personal record-mile time of 4:22.68 with S. Janes second in a PR 4:28.46, senior Owen Woodruff third in a PR 4:34.72 and senior Ferguson Wheeler fourth in a PR 4:36.46.
“We’re bringing in a super solid team for state,” Woodruff said. “I’m excited.”
Sage Janes said, “I’m excited. In the past, I’ve gone to state for cross-country but haven’t gotten anywhere really close to being in the contenders for winning state but here we are. Strong team, so I’m excited.”
Iverson said: “Man, I’m excited. I kind of didn’t want to run this race beforehand, but running it and having teammates all around me, just like in the 800, and seeing three Juneau guys crossing close behind is a great feeling and gets me excited.”
Wheeler hit the largest PR for his finish.
“Oh yeah, a big PR,” he said. “By nine seconds. It means I can hopefully get into the top eight of the mile, maybe…but this is just one more point for our team.”
JDHS’ Woodruff had won the meet’s first running event on Friday, the DI boys 3,200 meters in 10:00.45. The race was combined with DII runners but scored separately.
“I felt great,” Woodruff said. “I went out a little slow in the first mile, but felt pretty controlled. Regions wasn’t really like a big issue for me. I knew that if I put up a performance that I have been doing consistently, nothing over the top, that would be good enough for today. Connor (Hitchcock from Sitka) usually takes a lead, but he drafted behind me and the first mile felt conservative, really chill.”
Ketchikan junior Carter Phillips passed the two after a mile.
“I knew then it was time to turn up,” Woodruff said. “He wasn’t going to beat me. I know that he gasses out. I knew we could sit behind him, calm down and then we had 1,200 to go, and that’s when we kicked it in and left him in the dust. This feels good. I haven’t won regions for anything in running so it’s about time. I put in the hard work and good things happen. I’m excited for state. It’s a bigger playing field, and I feel I will have more people with my pace around me. And it’s my senior year so I’m just going to have that mentality to leave it all out there.”
Hitchcock, the Sitka senior, won the DII 3,200 in 9:52.66.
“It’s great,” Hitchcock said. “It’s my last one. I’m just glad I was able to do it with these guys in semi-decent weather for Juneau…I think it was just training consistency, not getting injured, that’s what it is for all events. The 3,200 I think is better to run your first mile a little bit slower than your second, but ideally even splits. At the state level and big races all the runners are pretty evenly matched and so it is really a matter of who has the best finish.”
Kayhi senior Jason Lorig won the boys’ 100- and 200 meters, despite a recent injury, in 11.06 and 23.02, respectively.
“This feels pretty good,” Lorig said after the 100-meter win. “I got injured the day before.”
Lorig was rehabbing from a hamstring injury after running an 11.0 in the junior championship event in the Philippines recently.
“I just recovered from that, but the day before coming here my Achilles tendon was hurting a lot and then today my ankle was all swollen,” Lorig said. “And I couldn’t run 100% today. I’ll take a few days off before state, hopefully get it checked up on Monday.”
JDHS’ Hightower was in the mix of the 100 and placed second (11.33), with classmate Carter Harralston third (11.74), both earning key team points.
“It felt really good,” Hightower said. “It was my last home turf 100 and then the 4×100. I’m feeling great. Feeling really fast, I was right on Jason. It’s good stuff.”
After the 200, Lorig said, “My ankle was still hurting. I couldn’t go full out and had to slow down, but so happy to score 10 points today. Our track team is very tight, everyone is friends with each other, we’re always cheering each other on. That is what’s special about track is that all the teams cheer their opponents, too.”
JDHS senior Johnathyn Kestel hit a PR 23.28 for key points in the 200, as he split Kayhi seniors Lorig and James Connelly.
“I felt both of them,” Kestel said. “I was going for regions team title so I was just trying to get as many points as I can, so I knew I had to stay ahead of third. Hopefully I qualified for state. That would be cool.”
Kestel earned the meet’s highest individual honor with the DI Overall Boys Outstanding Competition Award. Kestel won the triple jump Friday with 40’09.50” and the long jump Saturday with 19’00.75” and was part of the JDHS 4×100 team that disqualified in their race.
“I am definitely happy,” Kestel said. “But I’m not where I should be in the jumps. I feel like I may be on a slight decline but hopefully I can get it back around this week. I haven’t had any practice in long jump this week so this was good. Key for me is the penultimate step, which I am still trying to learn. I think in Ketchikan I was getting pretty good at it…I think it is all a mental game for me, I’m just trying to figure it out.”
Sitka junior Calder Prussian earned the DII Overall Boys Outstanding Competition Award with wins in the 100 (11.67), 200 (24.19), 400 (53.20) and the 4×400 relay (3:47.38) with seniors Trey Demerit and Hitchcock and junior Francis Myers.
“Key was just having a good warmup,” a breathless Prussian said following the 200. “And staying recovered from my last races from the end of the day. The body is tired. So a good warmup and getting out fast and staying relaxed is what I was doing. I could feel the runners on both sides of me, but my ultimate goal was just to qualify for state. Now I just try to taper to the big meet and narrow down my events. I might end up dropping one, but key now is eating good, sleeping good and just feeling prepared is what I am going to be doing this week.”
Among other boys finishes across DI and DII: JDHS freshman Leonidas Taualo-Tasi won the boys’ shot put with 43’ on Friday.
“I was thinking about my teammates and my coaches and my family,” Taualo-Tasi said. “They are like my motivation and they help me out with everything. My uncle supports me in all my stuff and school. I was actually really surprised with my effort today. I was just thinking I was going to get 41 but I went five feet above my PR.”
Taualo-Tasi said the secret to a good shot put is “just representing yourself well and believe in God. Got to keep faith, you know. I just have to see what the future holds.”
JDHS senior Gunnar Tarver won the DI discus with 125’02.50”.
“Just practice,” Tarver said. “Just a lot of practice. I mean, you have to spin in this circle so many times it makes you dizzy man. I love that in this sport you can improve. You can continually come back again and again, and you’ll see improvements. Maybe after a week or two weeks, but there will be improvement.
Petersburg senior Erik Thynes led a Vikings sweep in the DII discus, winning with a PR 135’05”.
“I feel good, but most importantly I feel very accomplished bringing my peers up with me, Kaden Duke (third with 128’) and Angus Olsen (second with 131’06”). They have both put so much work in the ring. That was my biggest goal, to just watch all of us grow. I would have been just as happy if Angus or Kaden won, but I am pleased with everyone’s performances. I am so stoked for us to got state. I hope we can do exactly what we just did here and that is the main goal. I wanted to go over 130 today then when I saw my 135 I really wanted to shoot for the 140 mark. I just had a little bit too much wobble on the rim of my second throw. Besides that, everyone performed great and I am just so thankful for everyone.”
Kayhi junior Jozaiah Dela Cruz won the boys’ 110-meter hurdles in 17.60.
“In the 110s, confidence is the most key,” Dela Cruz said. “It’s like a barrier. There’s a lot that you can think could go wrong but you just have to believe in yourself and don’t be scared, just attack it. This race is really hard to train for, but you’ve got to keep pushing yourself because you never know what is going to happen in the race, you have to be able to adapt and push yourself.”
JDHS’ Hightower won the 300-meter hurdles in 43.45 with classmate Wheeler earning key team points in second with a PR 43.95.
“Beforehand, I was just kind of empty headed because I had been looking forward to the race all day,” Wheeler said. “It was just kind of blank and I got on the blocks and my teammate was right next to me and I knew I had to stick with him. It is at that fifth hurdle that you kind of know, do I go for it here? Because you get on the straightaway and it just opens up. Ketchikan guy was on my left and I had to push it. Finley and I pushed each other forward.”
The 2025 ASAA/First National Bank of Alaska Track and Field State Championships are Friday and Saturday at Anchorage’s Dimond High School.
REGION V CHAMPIONSHIPS BOYS RESULTS
Team Scores
Division I Boys
1) Juneau-Douglas 81, 2) Kayhi 55.
Division II Boys
1) Sitka 233; 2) Petersburg 123; 3) Haines 75; 4) Skagway 65; 5) Craig 31; 6) Wrangell 19; 7) Gustavus 5.
Unified Boys
1) Sitka 20.
Individual Events
DI Boys 100 meters 1) Jason Lorig (Kayhi) 11.06; 2) Finley Hightower (JD) 11.33; 3) Carter Harralston (JD) 13.74; 4) Orion Paden (JD) 11.93; 5) James Connelly (Kayhi) 12.18; 6) Carson Carrlee (JD) 12.25; 7) Liam Woodward (Kayhi) 12.32; 8) Jeevan Putta (Kayhi) 13.53 200 meters 1) Jason Lorig (Kayhi) 23.02; 2) Johnathyn Kestel (JD) 23.28; 3) James Connelly (Kayhi) 24.19; 4) Edward Dela Cruz (Kayhi) 24.94; 5) Denali Schijvens (JD) 25.12; 6) Isaac Phelps (JD) 25.53 400 meters 1) Henry Vail (Kayhi) 52.75; 2) Ben Sikes (JD0 56.54; 3) Isaac Phelps (JD) 57.35; 4) John Polasky (JD) 59.15; 5) Gage Keller (JD) 1:00.96 800 meters 1) Nick Iverson (JD) 2:00.19; 2) Sage Janes (JD) 2:03.41; 3) Finn Lamb (JD) 2:05.58; 4) Carter Janes (JD) 2:06.08; 5) Carter Phillips (Kayhi) 2:06.16; 6) Theodore Escalate (Kayhi) 2:31.78; 7) Ezra Roskam (Kayhi) 2:50.18 3200 1) Owen Woodruff (JD) 10:00.45; 2) Carter Phillips (Kayhi) 10:23.91; 3) Logan Fellman (JD) 10:45.35; 4) Zacheriah Bos (JD) 11:16.18; 5) Ezra Roskam (Kayhi) 11:43.87; 6) Elijah Levy (JD) 11:56.71 110 hurdles 1) Jozaiah Dela Cruz (Kayhi) 17.60; 2) Tristen Lemerond (Kayhi) 18.31; 3) Gunnar Tarver (JD) 20.38; 4) Sylvion Washington (JD) 21.16; 5) Bryden Roberts (JD) 21.62 300 hurdles 1) Finley Hightower (JD) 43.45; 2) Ferguson Wheeler (JD) 43.95; 3) Tristen Lemerond (Kayhi) 44.42; 4) Jozaiah Dela Cruz (Kayhi) 45.89; 5) Edward Dela Cruz (Kayhi) 53.66; 6) Carson Kautz (JD0 56.26; 7) Anderson Murray (JD) 58.94
4×100 relay
1) Kayhi (James Connelly, Henry Vail, Trey Colbert, Jason Lorig) 44.51
4×200
1) Kayhi (James Connelly, Edward Dela Cruz, Jozaiah Dela Cruz, Henry Vail) 1:34.19; 2) Juneau-Douglas (Sylvion Washington, Isaac Phelps, Carson Carrlee, Denali Schijvens) 1:39.60
4×400
1) Juneau-Douglas (Finley Hightower, Ben Sikes, Finn Lamb, Nick Iverson) 3:32.58; 2) Kayhi (Edward Dela Cruz, Jozaiah Dela Cruz, Marcus Stockhausen, Theodore Escalate) 3:37.68
4×800
1) Juneau-Douglas (Logan Fellman, Ferguson Wheeler, Finn Lamb, Corder Janes) 8:58.92 Triple Jump 1) Johnathyn Kestel (JD) 40-09.5; 2) Trey Colbert (Kayhi) 38-08.5; 4) Liam Woodward (Kayhi) 35-04.75; 4) Gunnar Tarver (JD) 34-03.75 High Jump 1) Trey Colbert (Kayhi) 6-0; 2) Ike Pennino (Kayhi) 5-05 Shot Put 1) Leonidas (JD) 43-00; 2) Ben Zukas (JD) 42-01.75; 3) Jack Dunn (Kayhi) 41-04.5; 4) Eero Woolford (JD) 39-06; 5) Trey Colbert (Kayhi) 36-04.25; 6) Marcus Stcokhausen (Kayhi) 35-01; 7) Jayvie Pabilona (Kayhi) 34-01; 8) Dominic Wery Tagaban 32-02.5
Discus
1) Gunnar Tarver (JD) 125-02.5; 2) Eero Woolford (JD) 120-07; 3) Jack Dunn (Kayhi) 118-11.5; 4) Walter Haube-Law (JD) 111-10; 5) Marcus Stockhausen (Kayhi) 91-02.5; 6) Jayvie Pabilona (Kayhi) 71-04.5
Long Jump
1) Johnathyn Kestel (JD) 19-00.75; 2) Liam Woodward (Kayhi) 18-07.75; 3) Sylvion Washington (JD) 17-00; 4) Ike Pennino (Kayhi) 16-07.0; 5) Carson Carrlee (JD) 15-09.25; 6) Theodore Escalate (Kayhi) 14-09.5; 7) Krew Riddle (JD) 14-09.5
Division II Boys Finals/Top 8
100 meters
1) Calder Prussian (Sitka) 11.67; 2) Rex Adres (Sitka) 11.89; 3) Ben Kandoll (Petersburg) 12.06; 4) Andrew Mullin (Sitka) 12.18; 5) Calvin Miller (Skagway) 12.23; 6) Royce Borst (Skagway) 12.29; 7) Zander Dumag (Sitka) 12.47; 8) Brayden Tucker (Petersburg) 12.67
200 meters
1) Calder Prussian (Sitka) 24.19; 2) Ben Kandoll (Petersburg) 24.27; 3) Isaiah Harris (Sitka) 24.45; 4) Royce Borst (Skagway) 24.67; 5) Brayden Tucker (Petersburg) 25.22; 6) Calvin Bell (Haines) 25.54; 7) TJ Smith (Haines) 25.60; 8) Marc Tomas (Sitka) 25.68
400 meters
1) Calder Prussian (Sitka) 53.20; 2) Phoenix Swaner (Haines) 54.89; 3) Brody Ferrin (Haines) 57.34; 4) Brenden Moncibaiz (Skagway) 57.57; 5) Andrew Mullin (Sitka) 58.13; 6) Camden Lawson (Skagway) 58.68; 7) Ryder Calver (Skagway) 59.78; 8) Francis Myers (Sitka) 1:00.91
800 meters
1) Boomchain Loucks (Wrangell) 2:02.42; 2) Trey Demmert (Sitka) 2:07.15; 3) Aulis Nelson (Craig) 2:12.32; 4) Landon Kirkness (Sitka) 2:18.20; 5) Colton Combs (Haines) 2:19.54; 6) Elias Ward (Petersburg) 2:20.14; 7) Justin Hames (Sitka) 2:21.14; 8) Dane Ames (Skagway) 2:21.31
1600 meters
1) Connor Hitchcock (Sitka) 4:26.35; 2) Boomchain Loucks (Wrangell) 4:26.48; 3) Aulis Nelson (Craig) 4:50.05; 4) Gaje Ventress (Petersburg) 5:00.32; 5) Landon Kirkness (Sitka) 5:08.76; 6) Elias Ward (Petersburg) 5:14.04; 7) Jackson Carney (Wrangell) 5:16.63; 8) Alex Holmgrain (Petersburg) 5:19.07
3200 meters
1) Connor Hitchock (Sitka) 9:52.66; 2) Zach Martins (Sitka) 10:19.11; 3) Aulis Nelson (Craig) 10:20.58; 4) Gaje Ventress (Petersburg) 10:26.02; 5) Justin Hames (Sitka) 10:45.79; 6) Landon Kirkness (Sitka) 10:54.05; 7) Logan Rupprecht (Skagway) 11:08.59; 8) Jackson Carney (Wrangell) 11:23.48
110 hurdles
1) Rowan Olney-Miller (Sitka) 16.81; 2) JC Davis (Haines) 16.88; 3) Noah Pawuk (Petersburg) 17.29; 4) Jomar Molina (Sitka) 18.34; 5) Brenden Mocibaiz (Skagway) 18.54; 6) Logan Ward (Skagway) 20.26; 7) Grant Maygren (Craig); 8) Maddox Tracy (Skagway) 20.93
300 hurdles
1) Rowan Olney-Miller (Sitka) 44.00; 2) Noah Pawuk (Petersburg) 44.97; 3) JC Davis (Haines) 46.04; 4) Ethan Clark (Sitka) 46.21; 5) Edgar Hernandez (Sitka) 51.32; 6) Maddox Tracy (Skagway) 51.60; 7) Adrian Ducat (Petersburg) 58.60
4×100
1) Sitka (Rex Adres, Zander Dumag, Marc Tomas, Andrew Mullin) 46.82; 2) Petersburg (Erik Thynes, Angus Olsen, Markus Anderson, Kaden Duke) 49.45; 3) Paulnell Tallman, Liam Andrews, Jermy Newcomb, Joshua Bennett) 52.33
4×200
1) Petersburg (Brayden Tucker, Nolan Lutomski, Noah Pawuk, Ben Kandoll) 1:38.05; 2) Sitka (Isaiah Harris, Marc Tomas, Justin Kitka, Ashton Peterson) 1:39.17; 3) Skagway (Calvin Miller, Brenden Moncibaiz, Logan Rupprecht, Camden Lawson) 1:41.04; 4) Haines (TJ Smith, Alex Weerasinghe, Brody Ferrin, Phoenix Swaner) 1:41.16; 5) Craig (Paulnell Tallman, Liam Andrews, Jeremy Newcomb, Joshua Bennett) 1:50.09
4×400
1) Sitka (Trey Demmert, Francis Myers, Calder Prussian, Connor Hitchcock) 3:47.38; 2) Skagway (Camden Lawson, Calvin Miller, Logan Rupprecht, Brenden Moncibaiz) 3:52.12; 3) Haines (Isaac Jones, TJ Smith, Colton Combs, JC Davis) 3:58.53; 4) Petersburg (Gaje Ventress, Elias Ward, Nolan Lutomski, Noah Pawuk) 4:03.93; 5) Craig (Patrick Gardner, Liam Andrews, Grant Maygren, Aulis Nelson) 4:10.20
4×800
1) Sitka (Trey Demmert, Landon Kirkness, Zach Martins, Connor Hitchcock) 9:01.32; 2) Petersburg (Ben Kandoll, Alex Holmgrain, Elias Ward, Gaje Ventress) 9:07.89; 3) Skagway (Camden Lawson, Ryder Calver, Zane Coughran, Dane Ames) 9:47.47
Shot Put
1) Kaden Duke (Petersburg) 42-09; 2) Angus Olsen (Petersburg) 42-07.75; 3) Shane Tincher (Sitka) 39-09; 4) Erik Thynes (Petersburg) 29-0.5; 5) Ryley Bean (Gustavus) 35-10.25; 6) Zach Webb (Sitka) 35-02.5; 7) Braydon Wood (Sitka) 31-10.25; 8) Logan Ward (Skagway) 31-10.5
Discus
1) Erik Thynes (Petersburg) 135-05; 2) Angus Olsen (Petersburg) 131-06; 3) Kaden Duke (Petersburg) 128-00; 4) JC Davis (Haines) 119-06.5; 5) Zach Webb (Sitka) 113-01; 6) Logan Ward (Skagway) 110-05.5; 7) Cole McLaughlin (Sitka) 107-02.5; 8) Braydon Wood (Sitka) 102-08.5
High Jump
1) Royce Borst (Skagway) 6-0; 2) Phoenix Swaner (Haines) 5-08; 3) Ashton Peterson (Sitka) 5-08; 4) Rowan Olney-Miller (Sitka) 5-08; 5) Markus Anderson (Petersburg) 5-04; 6) Alex Weerasinghe (Haines) 5-02
Long Jump
1) Cole McLaughlin (Sitka) 18-10.25; 2) Zander Dumag (Sitka) 18-03; 3) Ashton Peterson (Sitka) 18-00.75; 4) Alex Weersinghe (Haines) 17-10.25; 5) Edgar Hernandez (Sitka) 17-04.25; 6) Ryley Bean (Gustavus) 17-03; 7) Ryder Calver (Skagway) 16-08.5; 8) Joshua Bennett (Craig) 16-07.0
Triple Jump
1) Cole McLaughlin (Sitka) 39-06; 2) Phoenix Swaner (Haines) 38-06.5; 3) Royce Borst (Skagway) 38-03.5; 4) Alex Weerasinghe (Haines) 37-07; 5) Jomar Molina (Sitka) 35-11; 6) Logan Ward (Skagway) 35-00; 7) Wade Lloyd (Haines) 34-07.5; 8) Arthur Aribam (Skagway) 32-00.25
Unified Boys
Shot Put
1) Vance Ballovich (Sitka) 9.02m; 2) Jack Mickelson (Sitka) 4.05m
Long Jump
1) Jack Mickelson (Sitka) 3.77m
• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@juneauempire.com.