October 7, 2023
Palmer High School
Submitted by VHS Cross Country Coach
The Bucs Cross-Country team headed to Palmer High school to face off against Division II schools across Alaska. Cross-country is a fast and furious season. These athletes learned that they had to hit the ground running in order to compete at the state level.
The Division II boys began warming up as Division III races began to wind down. The fog slinked in, creating a mystical ambiance. The cool autumn air kept the athletes moving as they prepared to race. Senior Rafe Caruthers, Junior Romen Weber, and Sophomore James Humprey lined up with 67 other Division II qualifiers. As the gun went off, Caruthers slipped seamlessly behind the front pack. For the first lap, the first 10 runners stayed close together with Caruthers in 6th. Humphrey was a couple minutes behind attacking hills with an expression of fierce determination to pass the person in front of him. R. Weber was just seconds behind Humphrey and gliding down the hills while preparing to charge up the next one. By the 3rd lap, the front runners had spread out and Caruthers had slipped into 7th. Caruthers sailed across the finish line at 17:21. Humphrey came racing down the home stretch nose to nose with a MCCA runner, beating him by a nose hair in 44th place with a 4 second personal record of 19:38. Next, R. Weber turned up the heat on the home stretch and crossed in a full sprint in 60th place at 20:47. It has been 19 years since Valdez has had a Top 10 finisher at State.
The fog and cool temperatures remained as the girls warmed up and prepared to face off against 66 other runners. Freshman Jewely Weber bolted down the field at the sound of the gun, starting off fast. Seasoned runner Junior Morgan Hamilton merged comfortably into the middle back of the pack. J. Weber was ahead of her teammate for the first lap, completing the first mile in 8 minutes. The goal was to hold this pace. By the second lap, the girls were side by side with J. Weber starting to lose steam and Hamilton was heard encouraging her to stay strong. By the third lap, Hamilton pulled ahead of her teammate and when she thought she couldn’t go any faster, she saw the finish line and the possibility of a second personal record this season. Hamilton turned it into high gear and earned her second PR of the season finishing 58th at 25:44. J. Weber was less than a minute behind her and mustered what energy she had left to finish 61st at 26:22.
A bittersweet ending, as Caruthers ran his last high school XC race, but he went out with a bang in 7th place and looks forward to continuing his running in college. Athletes experienced first hand the results of their training the last 2½ months. They learned that XC running is more than just physical fitness, it is also endurance, mental toughness, nutrition, and hydration that will propel them to success.
Official State Division II Standings:
7th Rafe Caruthers
44th James Humphrey
60th Roman Weber
58th Morgan Hamilton
61st Jewely Weber
Go Bucs!
Morgan Hamilton & Jewely Weber at Cross Country Meet