Four runners on Cordova’s cross country team placed in the top 10 at the regional meet in Healy from Sept. 20-21 and are headed to state tomorrow.
Senior Tegan Hesse was Cordova’s fastest finisher at regionals, said head coach Katie Fry, placing 5th overall in the race with a time of 19:29. Fry said she’s excited to see how he does at the state meet at Bartlett High School in Anchorage on Oct. 5.
“He ran an aggressive race and did well,” she said.
Junior Sadie Fry — the only girl on the team since her freshman year — and senior Karl Griffith both placed 8th in their races, with times of 24:54 and 20:41 respectively. Coach said Sadie Fry was getting over a cold during regionals and expects to shave off a little more time for the state race this weekend. For Griffith, she said his success comes largely from his steady running style.
“He is good at maintaining his race pace consistently and knowing when to be more aggressive to catch up to people and pass them,” coach Fry said. “He also has a wicked fast sprint at the end of the race.”
Senior and first-time runner Noah Pearson was literally right behind Griffith in the boy’s division at the 9th place spot with a time of 20:42 and will also qualify for the state race. Eli Banks, a freshman first-year runner, placed 14th with his 22:28 finish and didn’t qualify for state, however coach Fry said he’s shown serious improvement and is looking forward to his growth next year.
“He has taken to it quite well and has had the most drastic change in his race time — shaving 10 minutes off of his first timed 5K to where he is today,” Fry said about Banks. “Unfortunately, Eli did not qualify for state — he came down with a cold and just didn’t feel well — (but) he raced anyways and still had a great race. I am thrilled that he will be on the team again next year.”
While coach Fry has been the assistant coach the last two years, this will be her first state race as the head coach of Cordova’s cross country team.
“I have a great group of athletes and am so proud of their accomplishments and work ethic,” she said, also noting her appreciation for her assistant coach Lance Westing and all the Cordova drivers who waited at crosswalks so the kids could run past them during their training.
Fry said she’s excited about her state cross country team.
“They certainly have grit and determination, they have certainly put in the hard work and effort to be there,” she said. “I am looking forward to going with this group to state.”
