Ten Southeast Region V teams met at Thunder Mountain field Friday and Saturday for the Capital Invitational Field and Track Meet. Thunder Mountain High School came out on top in both the men’s and women’s varsity categories, though results might be a bit skewed because Sitka had to leave the meet early to catch a ferry home.
Several events turned out to be absolute battles with every track athlete in the region bringing their best game despite the rain and wind. Thunder Mountain swept the boys 200-meter dash despite the top four finishers being separated by less than six tenths of a second (Aiden Hildebrand 23 seconds 39 milliseconds; Luke Paden 23.55; John Somerlot 23.81 and Galat Tut, Ketchikan, 23.96).
Luke Paden set a school record for TMHS in the 400-meter dash at 50.70, while Paden and Aiden Hildebrand combined for top three finishes in four other events. Thunder Mountain’s Gabe Crawford and John Morris finished one-two in the men’s 110-meter hurdles with times of 17.33 and 17.53.
Juneau-Douglas High School had good showings in the distance categories, with Ethan Goebel taking home first in the 800-meter run at 2:05.44 and JDHS taking home second in both the 4X400 and 4X800-meter relays.
TMHS’ Erin Wallace and Naomi Welling unleashed some dominant speed in the distance and hurdle categories, with Wallace winning the 1600 and 3200 meter runs and placing second in the 800, while Welling took home first in women’s 100 and 300-meter hurdles.
JDHS and TMHS compete next at Haines on May 13 and 14.
• Contact Sports Editor Kevin Gullufsen at 523-2228 or kevin.gullufsen@juneauempire.com.
Thunder Mountain’s Naomi Welling leads in the 100-meter hurdles during the track meet Saturday morning at Thunder Mountain.
Thunder Mountain’s sophmore Shafer Suzuki competes in the boys high jump during the Capital Invitational Field & Track Meet at TMHS on Friday.
Juneau-Douglas’ Noah Machakos competes in the boys high jump during the Capital Invitational Field & Track Meet at Thunder Mountain High School on Friday.
