It’s a drizzly Sunday afternoon in Wrangell. But the weather doesn’t match the energy in the airport as parents and community members chat, anxiously waiting for their cross country high school champions to exit the plane. It’s the first time in history that the girls’ team won state. The Wrangell Wolves competed in the Division III state meet in Palmer on Oct. 4. Following the girls, the boys won second.
Erin Andresen held gifts for her daughter, Jenna Meissner. The freshman crossed the finish line in first place individually with a time of 20:29:80.
“Super excited,” Andresen said. “Got her some balloons, a puppy and a Snickers. Can’t wait to see her.”
She said Meissner puts in so much hard work every day. She’s dedicated to practice, homework and eats healthy. Needless to say, Andresen is proud of her daughter.
More people arrive with bouquets of flowers for the winners.
Then, the runners walked through the airport doors into the terminal and all the community members greeted them by cheering and chanting.
Meisner said she’s made first place throughout the whole season, except one time.
“It was awesome,” she said. “We went to stay in Anchorage; our team did awesome overall, and excelled a lot over the season and just had an amazing time.
She hopes next year she’ll have a faster personal record.
Junior Bella Ritchie also helped the girls team bring home history. She placed second for Wrangell and fifth in state at 21:46:36. She said it was a crazy experience.
“This is the first girls state title we’ve brought home ever, and I’m just so proud to be a part of it,” she said. “So proud of Jenna. She’s got a bright future ahead of her in running.”
Though Ritchie is a junior, she said her plans are to graduate early, but this experience is inspiring her to put graduation off another year.
For the boys, senior Boomchain Loucks took first place at 16:40:69.
Coach Mason Villarma said he wasn’t expecting everybody to be at the airport to greet them and celebrate. But, he said it’s awesome, amazing and well deserved.
“Historical on the girls side to have the first title in program history and for school history, for any sport,” he said. “So very electric. And I know that the guys are very supportive of the girls team, and they did well as well, not as much as they would have hoped, but they still performed really remarkably and [I’m] really proud of them.”
Although not many Wrangell parents could make it to the state championship races, that didn’t mean no one was cheering during the race. The boys and girls gave each other tremendous amounts of support. And that support carried over to the community when the teams returned home, leading to them climbing on a firetruck and parading through town with horns honking and people still cheering.
Scores for the other Wrangell Wolves cross country teammates include Jackson Carney placing sixth with 18:29:62. Alana Harrison placed sixth on the girls side with 21:55:96. She’s third on her team.
