Football
Football seniors honored at last home game of the season
VHS Football Team and Fans 2019
Photo courtesy of Tina Howard
Hayden Howard with the Ball
Photo courtesy of Tina Howard
Owen Chadwick and Hayden Howard before the game
Photo courtesy of Tina Howard
Cross Country
State Championships, Bartlett 2019
After an amazing send off by staff and students, the Cross-Country Team headed to Anchorage for the State Championships. The whole team had the honor of racing this year after the boy’s team took 1st place at Regionals.
The forecast was not looking too favorably for the runners. There was rain and possible snow predicted for Anchorage. The team was hoping that the wind would at least subside. The wind did die down and the heavy rains came in the night. The trail was a bit sloppy in places, but we were prepared with ¼” spikes to attack the mud. The course consists of one short loop and then a second longer loop. The course is a consistent rollercoaster of ups and downs with few flat areas.
At noon, the Division II boys lined up at the starting line. The sun finally came out to greet the runners. The start gun fired and K. Woods and J. Shiozaki took off towards the front of the pack. After the first hill, they begin to lose steam. Shiozaki, Woods, Alfaro and Benes remained with seconds of each other for most of the race. Smilie and C. Wadsworth remained close during the first lap and then Smilie began to pull ahead and closed the gap between himself and Alfaro. C. Wadsworth slipped and had hit his ankle, slowing his pace slightly. W. Mehlberg remained steady throughout the race.
The finish was full of surprises for the boys. Sophomore Jin Shiozaki pulled ahead of Senior Kalin Woods to finish 31st out of 72 runners at 18:40, over a minute faster than his time at the beginning of the season. K. Woods finished 34th at 18:50 with a time one minute faster than his state preview time. The biggest upset was seeing Sophomore William Benes coming down the finish in 48th place with a time of 19:37, ahead of Senior Rafael Alfaro who finished 60th at 20:09. Freshman Jason Smilie made some impressive gains this season and finished 65th at 20:50, which is over two minutes faster than his state preview time at the beginning of the season. Freshman Cole Wadsworth finished strong at 22:15. Junior Wyatt Mehlberg remained steady and finished really strong at 26:57.
Overall, the boys placed 7th for Division II.
At 1:30 sixty-seven Division II girls lined at the start. S. Palomar and C. Miller started off strong with Palomar taking the lead for Valdez for the first lap. K. Wadsworth and M. Ishikawa weren’t far behind their teammates. Senior Chloe Miller quickened her pace during the second lap and finished with a girl from Delta in 37th place at 23:30, over three minutes faster than the beginning of the season. Senior Sophia Palomar turned on the sprint for a 42nd place finish for a time of 24:11, which is forty-eight seconds faster than in August. Senior Katelyn Wadsworth wasn’t far behind in 48th place at 24:40, over a minute faster than the state preview. Sophomore Momoka Ishikawa almost beat her personal record from regionals with a time of 25:47.
During our fast and furious season, these athletes have demonstrated dedication, determination and a whole lot of grit. Two members of our team were awarded Good Sportsmanship awards. Senior Rafael Alfaro received the Good Sportsmanship award for encouraging his teammates to continue doing their best, even when he was injured and unable to practice. Senior Sophia Palomar also received the Good Sportsmanship award for her team spirit and positive attitude throughout the season.
Everybody on this incredible team grew as an athlete and as a runner during the 2019 season!
Go Bucks!
Results
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Varsity Girls |
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C. Miller |
23:30 |
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S. Palomar |
24:11 |
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K. Wadsworth |
24:40 |
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M. Ishikawa |
25:47 |
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Varsity Boys |
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J. Shiozaki |
18:40 |
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K. Woods |
18:50 |
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W. Benes |
19:37 |
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R. Alfaro |
20:09 |
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J. Smilie |
20:50 |
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C. Wadsworth |
22:15 |
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W. Mehlberg |
26:57 |
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Swimming
Valdez Swimming @ Wasilla
The Buccaneer swimmers had a good swim meet in Wasilla going up against Wasilla, Palmer, & Colony High Schools. Even though mid-season hit the swimmers hard the Bucs still had 18 Top 6 finishes scoring them enough points for a 3rd Place team finish.
Swim Stats:
- Female 200 Medley Relay placed 4th scoring 6 pts.
- Male 200 Medley Relay placed 2nd scoring 10 pts.
- Blythe Ditman placed 5th in the 200 Free & 100 Breaststroke scoring 4 pts.
- Fisher Mishmash placed 6th in the 200 Free & 4th in the 100 Breaststroke scoring 4 pts.
- Chase Randall placed 4th in the 200 Individual Medley & 1st in the 100 Fly scoring 10 pts.
- Anna Price placed 6th in the 50 & 100 Freestyle scoring 2 pts.
- Jeffrey Prevost placed 3rd in the 50 Freestyle scoring 4 pts.
- Isaiah Silveira placed 1st in the 100 Freestyle scoring 7 pts.
- Piers Shirk placed 4th in the 100 Freestyle & Backstroke scoring 6 pts.
Billi Lovell had her strongest meet of the season Placing 2nd in her 100 Breaststroke & 1st in her 100 Freestyle scoring 12 points for the team. For her strong swims & points Billi Lovell is the Swimmer of the Week.
Please wish the Buccaneer swim team Good Luck as they travel to Anchorage this coming weekend to swim at the Bartlett Invite against top teams in the state.
CLICK HERE for results