Interior Invite
North Pole
Chena River Park
August 24, 2024
Courtesy of VHS Cross Country Coach
The Valdez High School Cross-Country Team made their first trip north to North Pole to face off against Region 6 schools at Chena River Park. This is a favorite course that winds through a birch forest along the Chena River. Our JV Boys Sophomore Robert Taylor and Freshman Zachary Berkely began an exciting morning of racing. The rain and wind subsided just in time for the co-ed JV and open race. Robert has been working on stride form and it really paid off with a 5th place finish out of 41 JV boys at 22:14, another PR of 16 seconds. Berkeley overcame an exploding blister to finish 15th at 23:36.
Next up, the Varsity girls faced off 51 runners. Sophomore Jewely Weber struggled to find her stride in the first mile while Senior Morgan Hamilton kept a strong consistent pace from the beginning. Coming out of the big forest loop, J. Weber looked strong and had found a strong pace to lead her to 29th finish just shy of her PR at 25:54, beating out a North Pole runner in a finish line sprint. Hamilton finished almost 2 minutes faster than last week in 37th place at 28:07.
Lastly, the anticipated Varsity Boys with 69 runners battling it out on the course. At the start signal, the boys thundered to a start, shaking the ground beneath the spectators feet. The Valdez boys edged their way towards the front of the pack with Junior Peter Reggie Baksis in the lead. He flirted with Glenallen’s Severs for place throughout the entire race. Rounding the final corner, Severs was no match for Baksis’s final sprint for 1st place and a PR at 17:26. Junior James Humphrey and Freshman Kaden VanBuskirk battled each other, with no other runners in sight. VanBuskirk took the inched out in front, winning the final sprint against Humphrey to finish 10th place at 18:46 and Humphrey in 11th place at 18:48. Freshman Logan Beck wasn’t far behind and cruised across the finish line in 14th place at 19:27, the exact same time as last weekend. L. Beck left his older brother Dalen to chase him the entire race. Senior Dalen Beck ran strong throughout the whole race and finished 22nd at 19:55. Freshman Cirque Carter wasn’t far behind and used his sprint to eek out a 27th finish at 20:26. Senior Romen Weber remained strong the entire race and found himself in 32nd place with a strong finish at 20:52.
Our first 5 Varsity Boys finishers earned the team a 1st Place Team Award. This dynamic group of runners continue to challenge each other and work hard to be stronger and faster. Next week they head to our neighbors in Glenallen for a fun single track course through the trees where Baksis and Severs will face off again!
