Neither the current Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé track team nor athletes from the now-defunct Thunder Mountain High School joining the program this year have traveled to the Kodiak Invitational Track & Field Meet, the site of this weekend’s first contest of the season for the Crimson Bears.
“I think the transition has been great, we’ve come together as one big team and we’re really looking forward to traveling to Kodiak,” JDHS co-head coach Jessie Stringer said. Stringer is a returning JDHS coach. “That is going to be a new trip for both, neither team has competed there in many years and so we wanted to make sure that we started out the season with a meet that was new for both teams and they experience it together…I think this year we are really excited to have all the high schoolers in Juneau on one team.”
“It’s a great energy to have everybody competing together. It means our relay teams are full, all of our events are full. So we have more than one or two people in an event like the high jump, whereas before we might only have a few this year we have 20 kids practicing the high jump which is great. Another thing we’re actually most excited about is that a large portion of the team is new to track and field. We have a lot of depth and a lot of new energy.”
uneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé track and field runners cool down on the Thunder Mountain Middle School field. The team travels to Kodiak this weekend to open the season. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)
The JDHS roster is over 120 athletes strong, including nearly 50 distance runners.
“My goals right now are to do my best and focus on my day-to-day goals, making sure I rest and eat enough,” JDHS senior Ida Meyer said. Meyer is the defending region champion in the 1,600 and 3,200 meters, and was on the winning 4×800 team. “Practices are going well and I really can’t believe I’m already one month into the season. I definitely want to defend my titles this year…I am so excited to go to Kodiak, it will be my first time there. I’m pumped to cheer on many of my new teammates and to see what we can do as a team. It will be a great opportunity to mold together as a team while competing in a great, new place.”
JDHS senior Nick Iverson will be defending his Region V 800 title and possibly defend the 4×800 with classmates Finn Lamb and Corder Janes if they can find a replacement for a graduate.
“The big combined team,” Iverson said of what he looks forward to. “I think we are going to have a pretty competitive team and have a good shot at doing well at state and regions and whatnot. But I’m really excited and curious to see what the talent is going to be like this year…Something I have had my sights on for a while is the 800 school record which is a 1:57.24. Right now I’m sitting at, like, 1:59.03 last year. Yeah, we’ll see. I’m pretty excited about the potential of that.”
Iverson noted, “As someone who didn’t have to move schools it has been easier than some others. Pretty much the only change that I’ve seen is like bigger classes and better teams. In my mind it’s been mostly a positive really.”
He said his training tips are, “Run with friends…have fun.”
Other returning Region V title winners include junior Siena Farr in the triple jump (JD last season), senior Finley Hightower in the 110 and 300 hurdles (TM), senior Corder Janes as part of a 4×800 (JD), senior Johnathyn Kestel in the long jump and triple jump (TM), and the 4×100 relay team of Hightower, Kestel, senior Carter Harralston and senior Jayden Johnson who set the region record at TM with a 44.19 last season, the fourth fastest in the state last year. Ketchikan’s relay lost to TM in the region championships but defeated them at state and they return three of their four relay team members including senior state 100-meter champ Jason Lorig.
“I’m looking forward to trying to set the school record for long jump,” Kestel said. “And maybe even triple jump and just setting a PR in the 200 meter too. For the long jump I’m going against one of the best in the state (KTN’s Lorig) at regionals this year so I’m working really hard to perfect my form and strength overall. For the triple jump I’m just working on staying on top. Last year was my first season doing it and I went into it with about three or four practices under my belt. As for what it takes, I’d say it took a lot of patience and dedication to get to where I got last year. I really focused on the long jump and it paid off.”
Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé senior Finley Hightower practices a start at Thunder Mountain Middle School field. Formerly at TM High School, Hightower is one of many athletes now joining the Crimson Bears as the season opens in Kodiak. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)
Some other Crimson Bears returning state competitors include J. Johnson (TM, 100 meters), Kestel (TM, 200), Farr (4×400), sophomore Erik Thompson (TM, 3200), senior Ferguson Wheeler (JD, 300 hurdles) and junior Izzy Martin (JD, discus) among others.
“Senior year,” Hightower said. “I’m looking forward to the 300 (hurdles). It was my main event last year and I want to do good in it this year. I got sixth in the prelims at state last year, so trying to get up there this year. The consolidation has been kind of rough with leadership changes, just some breakup pains you know, but I also ran in cross-country and it was smoother, it will get better…go Falcons…I’ve run against these teammates for years so we know each other.”
Hightower moved to Juneau in seventh grade from Anchorage. He said the 300, “Takes being a little crazy and a lot of grit. I mean if you look from here to there, and see the 10 hurdles, it doesn’t look that long but you feel every last one of those 40 or so seconds. It’s like a harder version of the 400 meters.”
The team will feature a strong roster of throwers as well including senior Amelia Lockwood (TM last season), senior Dominic Wery Tagaban (JD), senior Eero Woolford (JD), senior Oliver Lamkin (JD) and juniors Walter Haube Law (TM) and Richard Tupou (TM) among others.
“I’m honestly excited that we have excited kids,” co-head coach Brandi Adams said. Adams coached TM last season. “We have a ton of throwers. We’ve always had a good showing of throwers between the two teams and now having them all at once they are having to share the ring time a little more, but they are having some really great attitudes and some big improvements which has been fun to watch.”
With the blending of athletes and events, coaches had to also discuss philosophies.
“I think we kind of just collaborated and decided that, while we both had not wholly different philosophies on form but differing,” Adams said. “This year our throwing group met to decide on what form to stick with so we can be consistent in our terminology with kids and expectations and we can just be on the same page for them.”
Other athletes to watch that had strong regions last season include sprinters and distance runners Isabella Reyes-Boyer (JD last season, jr), Isaac Phelps (JD, jr), Woolford (JD, sr), Kaylee Koelsch (JD, jr), Ingrid Higdon (JD, sr), Nevaeh Alexander (JD, sr), Kaia Mangaccat (JD, so), Orin Padin (TM, so), John Polasky (JD, jr), Ben Sikes (JD, sr), Della Mearig (TM, jr), Lua Mangaccat (JD, jr), Pacific Ricke (JD, sr), Joshua Reed (Jd, sr) and throwers and jumpers Ayla Keller (JD, sr), Megan Pierce (TM, jr), Meliame Tupou (TM, jr), Kaia Mangaccat (JD, so), Haley Gilbert (TM, so) and Ben Zukas (TM, sr) among others.
Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé track and field athletes practice on Tuesday at Thunder Mountain Middle School. The Crimson Bears open the season at Kodiak this week. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)
Senior Hayden Aube is giving track a try for the first time.
“I used to do baseball,” Aube said. “Honestly, with all the football and wrestling I have done, I am kind of doing this to build up more speed and helping get my weight down for nationals this week. Thursday in Kansas, I’m wrestling 163. After that I’ll focus on track sprinting. Honestly I want to try hurdles, that looks fun.”
Also notable to watch in the jumping events is senior Damian Efergan coming off a strong basketball season.
Assistant coaches include – for sprints – Dwayne Duskin, Colton Johns and Louis Tagaban; for jumps – Hannah Brennell and Sean Goertzen; for throws – Mary Aparezuk and Tina Martin; for distance – Zack Bursell, Arne Ellefson-Carnes, John Nagel, Elizabeth Ramseth, Jenny Strumfeld, and Ricky Worl.
After the Kodiak trip the JDHS first home meet, the Capital Invite, is April 25-26 on the TM Middle School track.
The Crimson Bears travel to Sitka (May 2-3), Haines (May 11-12) and Ketchikan (May 16-17) before hosting the Region V Championships (May 23-24) at TMMS.
The state championship meet is May 30-31 at Anchorage’s Dimond High School. The winner of each of the events across the four region championships qualifies for state along with the next fastest times across the state to fill out two heats, 16 total for individual events.
The JDHS Track and Field Roster:
Seniors – Nevaeh Alexander, Hayden Aube, Carson Carrlee, Serena Crupi, Dashel Culbreth, Quentin Curtis, Justus Darbonne, Damian Efergan, Lino Fenumiai, Asher Fink, Gavin Gerrin, Matthew Godkin, Carter Harralston, Carvin Hass, Ingrid Higdon, Finely Hightower, Nicholas Iverson, Corder Janes, Sage Janes, Jayden Johnson, Ayla Keller, Johnathyn Kestel, Finnegan Lamb, Oliver Lamkin, Maxie Lehauli, Elijah Levy, Amelia Lockwood, Bruno Malecha, Laina Mesdag, Matthew Parise, Joshua Reed, Pacific Ricke, Bailey Roguska, Denali James Schijvens, Benjamin Sikes, Gunnar Tarver, AnnaCaroline Wall, Dominic Wery Tagaban, Ferguson Wheeler, Owen Woodruff, Eero Woolford, Elshaday Yerkes, and Benjamin Zukas.
Juniors – Bence Bury, Marlin Cox, Siena Farr, Clara Ferguson, Nanibah Frommherz, Eva Goertzen, Diego Gomez, Walter Haube Law, Dane Hubert, Kaylee Koelsch, Warren Koski, Zoe Lessard, Lua Mangaccat, Isabelle Martin, Della Mearig, Ames Patterson, Isaac Phelps, Megan Pierce, John Polasky, Isabella Reyes-Boyer, Emilia Shelton-Walker, Kira Tupou, Meliame Tupou, and Richard Tupou.
Sophomores – Angus Andrews, Kanny Andrews, Sabine Auger, Zacheriah Bos, Isaiah Santino Carrillo, Amelia Elfers, Adyn Escue, Adele Fanning, Logan Fellman, Lumi Fermin, Maleena Fisi, Mary Fisi, Haley Gilbert, Justin Henry, Austin Huang, Gage Keller, Kaia Mangaccat, Eva Meyer, Caden Morris, Tyler Oudekerk, Orion Paden, Kaycee Parady, Willie Perry, Eylah Petershoare, Krew Ridle, Bryden Roberts, Tyler Robinson, Makia Silva, Morgan Sowa, Erik Thompson, Helen Wall, and Elijah Wyatt.
Freshmen – Zoe Brown-Cortes, Bella Connally, Sigrid Eller, Shandiin Frommherz, Nevin Goertzen, Lydia Goins, Adalyn Hartman, Mya Hayes, Emmett Hightower, Keira Jenkins, Carson Kautz, Finnan Kelly, John McGuire, Ida Meyer, Anderson Murray, Hugo Rank, Sunna Schane, Freya Shelton-Walker, Leonidas Taualo Tasi, Craig Thorsteinson, Madeline Tingey, Santino Travasso, Lucas Vallejo, Ethan Ward, Athena Warr, Sylvion Washington, and Lucas Wyatt.
• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@juneauempire.com.
