Hurdler Stigen 2nd at state championship
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TweetSenior Jacob Stigen of Haines High School came within a hair’s breadth of capturing the small school title in 110-meter hurdles at last weekend’s state championship track meet in Palmer.
Stigen took second, with a personal-best performance of 16.31 seconds, edged at the finish line by Ben Sobek of Anchorage Christian at 16.25. “They matched up with each other step for step. It was a great race,” said high school track and field coach Keri Ewing.
A match-up between Stigen and classmate Mori Hays in the 300-meters hurdles was set after the preliminary heat in which Hays clocked 44.79, well ahead of Stigen’s 46.66. The two had been nipping at each other’s heels in the event in recent weeks.
In the final, Hays hit the fourth of the race’s eight hurdles hard, falling. He recovered enough to finish eighth in 46.59, compared to Stigen’s sixth-place finish, 45.47. Casey Bell of Petersburg won in 42.05. “It was impressive to see (Mori) go to the ground and get back up and do as well as he did. I liked the courage he showed,” Ewing said.
Hays also competed in long jump, notching several above 17 feet. Antonio Griffith of Ben Eielson won with a leap of 20-9.
In his final high school meet, discus thrower Dylan Palmieri’s best throw at state of 109 feet fell far short of his regional performance of 121 feet two weeks ago. Coach Ewing said Palmieri came out of the ring and was disqualified on his best throw. Ryan Sheldon of Grace Christian won with a toss of 143-10.
Glacier Bear freshman Siyel George logged a personal best in the 3,200-meter run, finishing in 10:48.67. He finished 15th in state. The race was won by Jacob Moos of Galena in 9:16.66.
Sophomore Patrick Cunningham placed an impressive sixth in triple jump with a hop, skip and jump of 37-0.5. Ben Eielson’s Griffith won with a distance of 42 feet.
Athletes competed in cold, windy weather, Ewing said.
