Swimming
Swimming Photos Courtesy of Kim Keller
VHS swimmers hosted their annual home meet and our Girl’s team took 1st, along with Ginger Keller, Kinsey Mishmash, and Rhain Osburn tying for the title of Most Outstanding Swimmer. Fisher Mishmash took the honor of the Most Outstanding Boy Swimmer.
Cross-Country
Valdez Cross Country Runners Preparing to Race, Photo Courtesy of Bryan Vincent
2022 Region VI Championships (Fairbanks)
September 24, 2022
The Bucs Cross-Country team headed to Fairbanks to earn their spot at state. Runners prepared for the rolling greens of the Fairbanks Golf Course by making laps on the lawns by the hospital and taking the annual journey to Solomon for our polar plunge. The Region’s course consists of 2 laps around the golf course on the rolling greens and dirt paths. It is a great course for setting personal records. The sun made a surprise appearance, which all Valdezians relished in.
Going into the race, Junior Rafe Caruthers was placed 3rd in the Region out of six schools. Junior Anika Palomar had slipped to 4th after two weeks off to recover from her ankle injury. With only eight runners in the girls division, Palomar and Sophomore Morgan Hamilton were guaranteed a spot in state. The boys however, have to earn their slot. Only the top 15 runners out of 43 qualify.
A combined Division I and II varsity girls started our day of races. Prerace, Palomar was not feeling good, but was determined to race. Palomar spent the entire race with 4th and 5th place runners. As the finish line came into view Palomar picked up the pace and finished strong, just 15 seconds shy of a personal record, at 24:43. Hamilton maintained an even pace throughout the race. As the finish line and a West Valley runner came into view, Hamilton began to pick up speed and finished with a strong sprint in 28:38.
Division II Boys faces off next with the hopes of Caruthers getting a new personal record (PR) and taking first. He was a mere 30 seconds away from first in the region. The top two runners from Delta and Galena were tall and made for a great wind block for Caruthers throughout the race. The plan was for Caruthers to remain beyond the two front runners until the end of the second lap. Meanwhile, in the middle of the 43 runners was Freshman James Humphrey, surprising everyone with longer and faster strides. Tailing Humphrey by a couple of minutes, Freshman Erik Vincent kept an even pace through the 5K. After the second lap, Caruthers began to pull ahead of the other two runners as planned. He was able to maintain his increased speed, picking it up to a sprint to ensure he kept his first place lead through the finish line! Junior Rafe Caruthers placed first in the 2022 Region 6, Division II Championships with a PR of 18:26. Humphrey came screaming down the last stretch turning on his sprint to earn another PR of 24:09. Vincent pushed through hip pain and picked up the pace as he neared to the finish line and crossed it at 26:55.
We missed Senior Cole Wadsworth at Regions. It has been such a joy coaching this motivated and hardworking athlete for the past 4 years. Freshman Oliver Ownbey cheered on his teammates as he continued to heal from severe shin splints. Heading off to State October 8th are Juniors Rafe Caruthers and Anika Palomar and Sophomore Morgan Hamilton.
Go Bucs!
Varsity Volleyball
Varsity Volleyball Vs. Monroe
This weekend, Volleyball hosted the Monroe Rams for our second weekend of
conference games of the season. Monroe is currently ranked second in the Aurora Conference,
under Valdez. Valdez was coming off of an open weekend following taking first place in our
annual invite. The girls came out strong Friday night taking Monroe 3-0. The team knocked off
the rust within the first couple points and had impressive defense. One of Monroe’s top hitters
was their libero. The girls were able to shut her down this weekend using a new defense they had
just learned at Wednesday’s practice. The third set started off rough leaving Valdez in a whole,
16-23. They had an impressive comeback that led to them winning 27-25.
Saturday was an even better match for Valdez still winning 3-0. This match exhibited
Valdez’s ability to play with consistency and adapt to changes mid set. All varsity players were
able to gain court experience during this weekend's matches. During the third set, Seniors were
subbed out halfway through and gave the underclassmen time to play with each other on the
court. The girls did a phenomenal job coming off the bench and bringing energy while
maintaining control of the game. Next weekend we host the Delta Huskies for our third set of
conference games.
Friday Match
25-8
25-14
27-25
Saturday Match
25-11
25-13
25-15
Volleyball
Monroe Rams vs. Valdez Buccaneers
Sep 23, 2022
The Valdez Buccaneers hosted the Monroe Rams this past weekend for a great weekend of volleyball. The Bucs showed huge improvement from start to finish. On Friday evening, both Marcedes Taylor and Holly Carter led the night with powerful serving, and Carter did an excellent job of attacking aggressively at the net. The match started out strong with loud communication on the floor, but the Monroe Rams picked up momentum and swept the match in three sets with a strong blocking front.
On Saturday our team came out strong! Each set was a battle to the finish: the Bucs winning the first set 26-24, Rams taking the next two sets in the final stretch, the fourth set going back to the Bucs! Savannah Barton stepped up on a serving streak during the fourth set, helping to seal the win. The Monroe Rams took the victory in the final set, winning 9 – 15, the widest lead of the match. Terrific defensive passing by Sydney Cronk, Jade Cook, and Jazlyn Gallatin.
Great work, Bucs!