The Petersburg High School Cross Country boys’ team has officially become Division III state champions for the second time in a row. Plus, the girls’ team placed third during the Oct. 4 meet. The runners were welcomed back to Petersburg with an airport full of cheering fans, and a noise parade throughout town.
Sophomore Arielle Tucker placed second for girls with a time of 20 minutes and 8 seconds. She said it was a good season leading up to the state meet.
“I mean, me personally, I started off the season with a PR [personal record], which I think gave me hope,” said Tucker, “Our competition really pushed us as a team, and I think [the season] started off really good, and I like how it ended as well.”
Senior Alex Holmgrain placed eighth for boys with a time of 18:36. He said there were new boys on the team this year, and he felt the team had a great chance at state after seeing their performance at the first meet.
“We did our first race in Wrangell, and looking at everyone’s times, it was like, ‘Wow, these guys are going to be really good,’” said Holmgrain, “It was like, ‘I think we got this.’”
Gaje Ventress placed third for the boys, with a time of 18:01, the best individual finish for his team. He says there was strong competition at the meet.
“I pushed it, and I made sure I gave it my all,” said Ventress, “The fact that, like, I still had to push at the end is just kind of nice.”
It was senior Nathan Kerr’s first season with the high school cross country team, and he placed fifth at state with a time of 18:51. He says learning his team won state felt “awesome.”
“It was just a great moment,” said Kerr, “A great feeling to finally bring another state title back.”
He says the support from family and friends helped get the team to that moment.
Senior Gabriele Whitacre placed 13th with a time of 22:43. She said while it was disappointing that the girls’ team didn’t get first place – Wrangell got first, and Unalakleet got second– she said the team had a strong performance.
“I think we raced really strong this year, our times overall on the girls’ side have actually improved and were faster than last year when we were the state champs,” said Whitacre. “So really, just hats off to Wrangell and Unalakleet.”
Head coach Casey Gates agreed that the competition was stiff this year.
“The field was just really tough this year. Really competitive overall,” said Gates. “To come out of [the girls meet] with third place, it was a pretty successful weekend.”
Gates says that there were ups and downs this season, but the teams did a good job working through any challenges thrown their way. He says they all worked well with each other.
Gates says the teams had many seniors and they had a “phenomenal” final year, and coming home to a big celebration was a great way to end it.
You can find the individual and team scores for the state meet here.
