North Pole
Chena River Park
August 23, 2025
Submitted by VHS Cross-Country Coach – And we are off to the races!! The Valdez High School Cross-Country Team made their first trip to North Pole to face off against Region 6 schools at Chena River Park. This is a favorite course that winds through a birch forest along the Chena River. Fortunately the rain subsided just as the races began. Our mighty JV Boys started the race line up. Freshman Dylen Agcaoili-Smith led the way for the JV boys placing 4th, followed
closely by Sophomore Cody Miller in 6th place. Not far behind was Junior Robert Taylor in 8th place. Freshman Lucas Clubb made his debut for Valdez with a 9th place finish. A couple minutes later, Junior Jaymyn James crossed the finish line in 19th place. The JV Boys team placed 1st as a team with their strong finishes against 35 other runners.
Next we had the Baksis twins running with the Varsity girls. The girls stuck together for the first mile before Zooey pulled away from Miquela. They stayed strong for the whole course! Zooey Baksis sprinted to a 24th finish, followed by Miquela in 27th place. A strong start to the season against 35 other Varsity girls.
Lastly, the anticipated Varsity Boys race with 48 runners battling it out on the course. Senior Reggie Baksis, Senior James Humphrey and Freshman James Sanform started the race off just behind the front three runners. A minute later came Senior Gabe Caruthers and Sophomores Zane Caruthers, Connor Hamilton, and Cirque Carter. After the first mile, runners began to spread out. Baksis remained in 4th place for the duration of the race, followed closely by Humphrey running a personal record and earning 7th place. Sanborn finished on Humphrey’s heels in 8th place. Carter pulled away from his teammates to finish 24th. Z. Caruthers overcame shinsplints to sprint across the finish line in 30th place, followed by G. Caruthers in 33rd. Hamilton turned it up when he saw the finish line and sailed through in 42nd place. The Boys Varsity team narrowly missed earning the 1st place award this year, but were happy with 2nd place.
We are gearing up for our next race in Palmer next weekend at Colony High School. This mighty team has bloomed to 20 strong runners. Next weekend Kaden VanBuskirk will be joining the Boys Varsity team along with Jewely Weber and Bryndi Beck. Check out racers’ times below and amazing photos by Sophomore Zach Berkely. Stay tuned for more Personal Records! Go Bucs!
