High school student Reyn Hutten crosses the finish line in Sitka on Sept. 24, finishing first for her division during cross-country's Region V meet. Representing Wrangell, she will be competing at State in Anchorage this weekend.
As volleyball gets ready to serve up its first game this weekend, the cross-country season is just about past the finish line for Wrangell High School.
The team headed to Sitka last weekend for the Region V meet, on a course which ran through the city's Totem Park.
"There's really no hills," explained Wrangell coach Jenn Davies. "There's just a little bit of pavement at the start and finish."
Despite some heavy cloud cover, for the most part the races avoided the weekend's rainfall. Travel was also uneventful, despite rough weather when the team headed out on Sept. 22.
"Boy, the flight between Ketchikan and Juneau was pretty bumpy," said Davies. Arriving late that evening, the team was nonetheless ready for the weekend's running.
Putting in another first-place finish after a consistent season of them, senior Reyn Hutten finished the course at the front of the 1-3A Division runners with a time of 20:11, just four seconds off from her personal
best. She will pack up her cleats and head to Anchorage this weekend to compete at the State Championship.
"It was an amazing season," Hutten said afterward. "My team made me outstandingly proud and I wouldn't have been able to survive the season without them."
"Reyn did really well," said Davies. "She's ready for state. Last year was a bit difficult, but she's learned a lot. I'm excited."
Overall, the Lady Wolves placed fifth for its
division. After Hutten, runners Jing O'Brien and Kaylauna Churchill finished in 23rd and 24th places, with close times of 23:54 and 24:03. In 34th, Skylar Larabee finished the course in 25:31, followed by Helen Decker in 36th at 25:42 and Adriana Larabee in 49th at 28:18.
The boys finished in 7th overall, their runners just missing the cutoff for heading to State. Riley Blatchley led the team with a time of 18:30, placing 17th for his division. Teammate J.D. Barratt was just behind in 18th place, with a time of 18:42. At 19:03, Jacob Hammer finished in 26th place; Jonah Comstock in 43rd at 20:34, and Blake Scott in 68th and 24:48.
"They ran so hard, they were so close," Davies commented. "Next year..." To wrap up the season, she said the team will have an award night and ice cream floats. "I'm just super proud of them. A lot of personal records were broken this Sitka race."
At Region V, personal awards were presented to several Wrangell runners. Decker and Blatchley were awarded the Sportsman Award, and seniors Hutten and Churchill got the All-Academic Award for their studies.
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