Thunder Mountain High School junior Jonah Penrose returned the Alaska School Activities Association/First National Bank Alaska State Track & Field Meet in the best shape of his high school running career.
The results of Friday’s 3200-meter race proved it.
Penrose finished second in the longest running event of the Palmer meet — seven seconds behind Kodiak’s Keith Osowski — at 9 minutes, 56 seconds. It was four seconds off his personal best and a whole 30 seconds faster than his finish at last year’s state meet.
“It was a huge pack for like the whole first mile,” Penrose said of the race. “That was nothing like I’d ever seen (before). I kept thinking it would go away but it didn’t, and so I had to figure out what I was going to do. In the last three laps I think I started getting ahead and getting out of the pack because I had to. I couldn’t stay there any longer.”
It’s a good thing he did, too, or else he wouldn’t have gotten silver and supplied the boys team with eight crucial points.
The TMHS boys finished in ninth place overall with 47 points while the TMHS girls finished in 15th with eight points.
Penrose went into Saturday’s 1600-meter race with a renewed approach that produced much the same result.
“He learned from the 3200 and did not let himself get boxed in this time,” TMHS coach Scott May said. “Even though it meant being on the outside, that was better than being boxed in and he was able to move forward when he felt like the chance was there.”
The junior harrier ran a 4:35 in the mile race — good for third. Kodiak’s Jack Hannah beat him by less than a half second for second place. Osowski was first in the race with a 4:33.
Other top-four finishers for the Falcons included sophomore Audrey Welling in the 100-meter hurdles, Gabe Crawford in the long jump, Alvin Ailey in the high jump and the boys 4×100-meter relay team of Crawford, Ezekiel Keller, Erick Whisenant and Finn Cole.
Welling’s older sister Naomi was the state champion in the 100 hurdles two years ago and runner-up last year.
“I don’t feel like I have her shoes to fill,” Audrey said of competing in the same events as her older sister. “I feel like I’m walking alongside her. I’m not the athlete she was, but it’s just been really fun to be sisters and run the same events.”
Crawford said he came into the meet just hoping to get one medal — he ended up with two (medals are given to the top-four finishers). In addition to jumping nearly 21 feet in the long jump, the senior also helped the 4×100 relay finish fourth.
“It wasn’t my (personal record) jump but I was still ecstatic to place as high as did,” Crawford said.
May said that while few of his relays placed very high, it didn’t dampen the mood of the meet, particularly among the underclassmen.
“Some of the relays finished last and that didn’t phase them at all, they just stayed positive,” May said. “They learned from the experience; they’re up here now and they got a visual image of what its going to be like. The hope is they come back again and improve.”
But for some Falcons, this was the last state meet they’ll get to run in, including Finn Cole, Aly Heaton and Crawford.
“My first year I didn’t really know what to expect,” Crawford said of his sophomore year in 2015. “But it’s grown on me and I’ve grown to love it.”
Juneau-Douglas unified teams steal the show
The Juneau-Douglas High School track team returned from the state meet with three new state champions: Gretchen Neal, Ashleigh Neal and Bri Fallis. Each Neal sister paired with Brianna Fallis in one unified event.
Unified events consists of an athlete with a disability and partner without a disability.
Gretchen and Fallis took home first place in the unified 100 while Asleigh and Fallis were first in the unified long jump. The teams are scored by adding the partner’s time with that of the athlete’s.
“It was really fun to watch,” JDHS coach Janette Gagnon said of the unified 100-meter dash. “Bri’s always had to go against the guys and so it was really neat to have her run against just some girls and she kicked their butts.”
The unified team of Sahil Bathija and Johnny Hinchman also competed strongly for the Crimson Bears. Bathijia and Hinchman were second in the unified long jump and fifth in the 100 meter.
There was no room for any additional boys unified teams because of high participation.
“It’s finally become a really good part of the meet and a really well-attended part of the meet,” Gagnon said.
Senior Elizabeth Ramseth ended her high school running career by obliterating her personal record in the 1600 meter.
Ramseth ran a whole 12 seconds faster than she did at the Region V meet on May 20 in the event.
“I was joking with her and I told her you’re only supposed to break six minutes, you weren’t supposed to go quite that fast,” Gagnon said.
Ramseth finished the event in 14th with a time of 5:44 while fellow senior Cody Weldon placed fifth in the shot put for JDHS.
See Saturday’s meet results here.
4A boys team results
1. West Valley 90
2. Kodiak 73
3. Colony 64
4. Service 62
5. Bartlett 60
6. East Anchorage 53
7. Soldotna 52
7. Kenai Central 52
9. Thunder Mountain 47
10. Chugiak 29
11. West Anchorage 28
12. Eagle River 25
13. Lathrop 22
14. Palmer 17
15. Ketchikan 15
16. Dimond 14
17. South Anchorage 8
18. Juneau Douglas 3
4A girls team results
1. Chugiak 113
2. West Valley 108
3. Dimond 88
4. Colony 59
5. Service 58
5. Palmer 58
7. South Anchorage 57
8. Kenai Central 34
9. Kodiak 26
10. Soldotna 24
10. Wasilla 24
12. West Anchorage 22
13. Bartlett 16
14. Eagle River 13
15. Thunder Mountain 8
15. East Anchorage 8
(JDHS did not receive points)
• Contact sports reporter Nolin Ainsworth at 523-2272 or nolin.ainsworth@juneauempire.com.
