Courtesy of VHS Coaches
The Valdez High School Cross-Country Team got their racing season started with a meet at
home. We have a small, but mighty team with Senior Rafe Caruthers, Junior Romen Weber,
Sophomore James Humphrey, and Freshman Axel Metzger for the boys. Representing the girls
is Junior Morgan Hamilton and Freshman Jewely Weber. The Buccaneers welcomed Delta,
Glenallen, and the middle school cross-country team.
The home course moved to the West Dike. The 5K course followed the West Dike to the
washout and then 2 laps around the ski loop. Runners were faced with a variety of terrain to
navigate. The course went from hard packed dirt to soft sand, big rocks to muddy bogs. The
clouds kept the runners cool but brought the biting flies. Runners had to keep moving to avoid
the bugs.
A total of 38 runners lined up at the start line, 17 high school boys and 7 high school girls.
Middle school runners would finish after completing the ski loop, while the rest would complete another loop. Caruthers remained in the lead for a majority of the race, teasing his rival James Fox of Delta. R. Weber wasn’t far behind, and Humphrey was just a minute or so behind Weber. Hamilton remained determined to finish strong while overcoming some ailments. Carurthers squeezed out a first-place finish by one second at 18:26. Just 2 seconds shy of his PR from last season. R. Weber finished 5th at 20:35, a great starting point for a season and a real chance to place at regions. Humphrey gained a new PR by finishing 10th at 22:07, 2 minutes faster than his previous record. Hamilton dug deep to finish strong in 6th place at 31:13. Metzger helped to support the team and we look forward to having Jewely join us for our next meet.
These athletes have been working very hard getting into shape after a rainy summer. Now that
their endurance has improved, we begin to work on speed. Next week we head to Chena Lakes,
another favorite course.