Every girl and one boy on Petersburg’s high school cross country team are heading to the state championship in Anchorage this weekend. That’s after strong performances at the Region V Championship in Juneau last weekend.
Head Coach Kayleigh Lenhard said the team did well across the board.
“I think every single one of our runners had either a personal best or probably a season best for their cross country runs this season, which is pretty hard to do on the Juneau course,” she said. “So I think everyone was pretty happy with their performances.”
The Petersburg girls team took first place in Division III, and every Petersburg girl placed in the top 12. Junior Arielle Tucker placed second with a time of 20:53.2, junior Cadence Flint placed third with a time of 21:44.4, and freshman Arya Holmgrain took sixth with a time of 22:30.3.
The boys ranked fourth overall. Sophomore Andi Mihai placed third with a time of 18:11.8, earning him a state spot.
“Everyone was really excited, really proud, and Andi was probably the most surprised because he was ranked sixth, and so he wasn’t expecting to get third place,” Lenhard said. “But he just had a really good day out there, and so I was really happy for him.”
Now the team has turned their eyes to the state championship on Saturday, October 3. Lenhard said they’ve been focusing on combating nerves.
“The girls really want to win, and we are right now kind of ranked to win, but like I said before, you never really know what can happen,” she said. “So we’re gonna keep on working hard this week and go in and give it our all, just like they always do.”
Lenhard said the team is working to maintain existing routines, eat well, and get good rest ahead of state.
Region V Championship Girl Scores:
Junior Arielle Tucker, second place, 20:53.02
Junior Cadence Flint, third place, 21:44.4
Freshman Arya Holmgrain, sixth place, 22:02.7
Junior Zia Hulebak, ninth place, 23:11.0
Senior Maria Toth, 10th place, 23:16.9
Freshman Devyn Flint, 12th place, 23:32.9
Region V Championship Boy Scores:
Sophomore Andi Mihai, third place, 18:11.8
Senior Waylon Jones, 21st place, 20:40.6
Freshman Declan Olsen, 26th place, 21:11.3
