Carney runs to 3rd place at state; Harrison 11th as freshman

Senior Liana Carney and freshman Daniel Harrison were the only two Wrangell cross country runners to qualify for the state championships in Anchorage last weekend. Both finished strong.

Carney placed third out of 65 girls in the Division 3 race, finishing with a time of 21:40.5, and Harrison placed 11th out of 84 boys with a time of 18:45.1.

"They both did amazing, and it was such a great finish to an amazing season," said head coach Kayla Rooney.

In her first mile, Carney ran a 6:47 mile, then 7:07 and 7:06 in her second and third miles, respectively. Harrison's splits were 6:01, 6:12 and 6:09 for the three-mile race.

Carney finished just over a minute behind first-place finisher Ariel Godinez-Long from Haines, who finished at 20:31.1, and just seconds behind second-place finisher Teagan Rude from Glenallen who finished at 21.26.1.

It was the fourth year in a row Carney placed at state, something no other female runner from the Wrangell team has done since Rooney ran for the team a decade ago.

"All race, she was neck and neck with (Rude). Liana would catch her on the hills and lose her on the flats and declines," said Carney's father Jack, who was in attendance as a parent chaperone. "At the end of the race, I had never seen my daughter so tired. ... There was no question she gave it her all."

As for Harrison, Jack Carney said he had the mindset of a winner for the entire race.

"(Daniel) wasn't playing the part of a typical timid freshman; he was going for it," he said. "He stayed in the top 20 the whole race, and passed several kids over the last kilometer."

The only other freshman close to Harrison finished in 22nd place.

"We are excited to see what he does in athletics over the next three years," Jack Carney said. "As dedicated, hard-working and coachable as he is, Wrangell will have a lot to cheer for and be proud of over the next three and a half years."