Cross-Country
North Pole Invite
Chena Lakes Recreation
8/28/21
Courtesy of VHS Coaches – The Bucs Cross-Country team had an adventurous trip to North Pole this weekend. As we watched the temperature drop on the dashboard and the snow begin to fall, we were a little dumbfounded to find snowy roads in August. The team faced off against 9 other teams at the North Pole Invite at Chena Lakes Recreation Area. The course consisted of 3 flat loops that wound through the trees and park. It was mostly grass with a spattering of mud, dirt, and gravel. The multiple corners slowed racers down and resulted in some slower times. The heavy rains dissipated overnight, leaving behind mud and cold temperatures.
Forty females started the 5K races under chilly, cloudy skies. Sophomore Anika Palomar had a strong run, finishing 22nd at 25:29. Freshman Morgan Hamilton completed her first official 5K of the season in 34th place at 29:35, a season best for her so far.
The boys faced off against 45 runners shortly after the last girls crossed the finish line. Sophomore Rafe Caruthers was given the task of staying on the heels of Senior William Benes. This made for an exciting race. Benes and Caruthers placed 19th and 20th at 20:43, a personal record for Caruthers and a great start to the season. A couple minutes behind was Junior Cole Wadsworth in 30th place at 22:55. Wadsworth has finally dialed in his strides to overcome his foot issues and now is ready to improve his speed. Finally, sprinting past his competitor at the finish, Freshman Jace Wadsworth showed off the Wadsworth sprint and finished 41st at 29:06.
After the North Pole and Interior Invites, athletes have been ranked by Region and Division. Currently, there are 28 males and 8 females in our Division. Benes and Caruthers are tied for 8th place, C. Wadsworth is in 15th, and J. Wadsworth is in 23rd place. Palomar is sitting comfortably in 3rd place and Hamilton in 6th place. We start the season on the road to State!
We missed having Junior Smilie and Freshmen Metzger and Beck on this trip, but look forward to a full team next Saturday at Kenny Lake.
Football
Valdez Vs. Seward Football
Courtesy of VHS Coaches – This week we traveled 850 miles round trip to play our cross-sound rivals, the Seward Seahawks. It was a historic day for Alaska football, as we played the first ever ASAA sanctioned 9 man competition in state history.
Moving to a 9 man format allowed Seward and Valdez to have JV squad scrimmages as well. Saturday’s JV scrimmage was a valuable learning experience for our new players. Playing alternating sequences of 10 plays defense then 10 plays offense from the 40 yard line, the JV squad scored twice. They also learned the intensity that defense requires to be consistently successful.
The varsity took the field at 1 pm for the historic kickoff. After allowing a long run early in the Seahawks’ initial drive, the Bucs quickly stiffened their defense, stopping the drive and taking over the ball on their own 11 yard line. While the initial play resulted in a dropped pass, the Buccaneer offensive line of Dennis Mott, Hunter Francis, Spencer Holbrook, Gabe Brewi, and Griffin Hastings cratered the Seahawk defense for Tate Chadwick to run 89 yards to score on the second play of the game. The rest of the game followed the same tone with the Buccaneers steamrolling to 9 touchdowns on the day, including multiple scoring runs from Josh Baczuk, Wyatt Williams, and Chadwick, with multiple touchdown passes from Dillon Fowler to Griffin Hastings, Baczuk, and Chadwick as well. The ending score was 66-26 in favor of the Bucs.
While Seward is in the same Denali conference as the Buccaneers, this first contest was played as a non-conference game. A rematch for conference play is scheduled in 4 weeks in Valdez.
This week the Bucs will take on the visiting Eielson Ravens on Saturday. This game will also be played as a 9 man game and will feature a JV scrimmage prior to the varsity contest. We hope to see you there.
Swimming
– Buccaneer Swimming
– VHS vs. Lathrop, West Valley, Monroe, Hutchinson, & North Pole High School
– Lathrop Invite
Courtesy of VHS Coaches – The Buccaneer swim team traveled through construction and snow storms to swim in Fairbanks at the Lathrop Invitational this past weekend. The lady Bucs did a wonderful job and were able to take 3rd at this meet with 41 points beating North Pole, Monroe, &a Hutchinson. The Buccaneer swim team at large took 4th at the meet with 68 points beating Hutchinson & Monroe.
Top scorers for this meet was Kinsey Mishmash who took 2nd in her 100 Breaststroke scoring 5 points, as well as, setting a new best time of 1:18.24. Kinsey also dropped 4 seconds in her 100 Freestyle setting a new best time of 1:10.2. Billi Lovell did a wonderful job taking 1st in both her 100 Backstroke & 200 Freestyle scoring a combined 14 points. Billi also dropped 1 second in her 200 Free setting a new best time of 2:10.2! Fisher Mishmash had a tremendous meet dominating both the 50 & 100 Freestyle by taking 1st place in both scoring a combined 14 points, and setting new best times in both races as well. Fisher is now going a 23.69 in his 50
Freestyle & 55.60 in his 100 Freestyle. Also showing great leadership promise by taking care of his Boys team, Fisher has earned himself Swimmer of the Meet this week. Congratulations!
In other highlights, Jaelynn Adams dropped 3.5 seconds in her 50 Freestyle, setting a new best time of 39.29. Also, Ava O’Brien dropped a whopping 6 seconds in her 100 Backstroke setting a new best time of 1:24.12!
I’m extremely proud of this team! Even though the long travel had worn on them the team kept their spirits high and raced as hard as they could. We are very excited to have two weeks of uninterrupted training before the Buccaneer Swim Team heads back to the Valley for the Wasilla Invite!
Also, the team’s toaster is on its way and they have named it beige. Beige will travel with the team and be presented as their mascot. Be on the look for the team toaster, Beige!