JDHS runners face challenging year

The 2008 Juneau-Douglas High School Cross Country team is prepared to move ahead and face the challenges of the upcoming season.

JDHS kicks off the cross country season this weekend as girls and boys travel to Anchorage to participate in a 5K race at Bartlett High School and other co-ed relay events in Palmer.

The annual road trip up to Anchorage is a team-building activity as much as it is meant to be competitive.

"I think what the runners really want to do is to get up there and take advantage of this early competition and treat the Bartlett race as an opportunity to gain an understanding that is all a part of the experience of cross country," said boys coach Guy Thibodeau. "We try to run them as hard as they can and take each race for what it is."

The seasoned veterans have an awareness of what kind of things to expect, and the off-season adjustments are often personal and internal changes that allow the physical development to shine throughout the season.

"The runners get that calmness and confidence from knowing that they have been there," Thibodeau said. "Someone who may have performed poorly one year can turn around and then have a much better summer of training and then run a lot of good races. The experience gives them the knowledge and confidence that everything is going to be OK because they have been there before."

Junior Leah Francis, the state champion, is used to yearly routine and feels that this summer's off season workouts gave the JDHS team a good running and fitness base because the team put in a lot of miles. Her sheer determination to improve should continue to take her to new levels and spurs on other teammates such as sophomore Zack Bursell.

Bursell had a good track and field season last spring and showed great strides of growth over the summer.

"I think Zack is going to be really fast this year, way faster then he was last year ... he already is," Francis said.

Monitoring the progress of the underclassman in the system is just another facet of the yearly regime for JDHS seniors who comprise only 10 percent of this year's team. Even so, leadership is not an issue.

"The culture of the sport is very strong," said girls coach Merry Ellefson. "Although this year's team is considered very young, our leaders, who are juniors and seniors, have the ethics and values of supporting each other, working hard, respect and fun. It is always nice to see that care - the sort of sense of family tradition that carries on in cross country."

In 2008, the torch bearing responsibilities falls on the shoulders of seniors Nick Waldo and Daniel Stoops. According to coaches and teammates, this seasons leaders had a good summer of focused training and are poised to improve. Nolen Ainsworth and Erik Schlecter will also be called on to provide leadership roles.

For the girls, juniors Annika Ord and Francis will head up the leadership roles for the girls. Alison deLaBruere, Alice Ottoson-McKeen, and senior Alicia Thibodeau. With just one senior runner, the juniors are going to have to do a fair share of tutoring their new teammates.

According to Ellefson, the kids, in general, do a great job of teaching each other the ropes both as athletes and as students. Last year, both the JDHS girls and boys won the academic achievement awards for highest cumulative GPAs at the state championships.

Guidance and direction will enhance the JDHS cross country team, but probably will not produce a championship team in 2008.

Thibodeau feels that with the large number of underclassmen on board, the young boys may be a year away from challenging for a state title, but does believe that they are going to be competitive this year. The girls, on the other hand, will not contend for a team title this year, but will assert their presence more as they gain experience and strength.

At least 13 freshmen were taken into the fold this summer. For the large crop of newcomers there is a sense of fear and nervousness that just takes time to overcome.

"It doesn't take long in this group for the runners to see that they are all doing the same thing and that everyone wants to get better and as they get better individually, the team gets stronger," Ellefson said.

Look for good things to happen for Ellefson's freshmen such as Annie Quire and Sidney Browning, who went to Yellowknife last winter for the Arctic Winter Games, and others such as Carissa Jackson and Martina Miller.

On the boys side, keep an eye on last year's newcomers such as Sage Thibodeau, David Francis and Robin Woodby, while expecting good results from freshman Ian Andrews, who is energetic and ready to get the season under way.

Juneau-Douglas High School Cross Country rosteras of Aug. 13

BOYS

Erik Schlecter, senior

Daniel Stoops, senior

Jerrad Alcock, senior

Nick Waldo, senior

Nolin Ainsworth, senior

Robin Woodby, junior

Dawson Walker, junior

Cory Dell-Hansen, junior

Sage Thibodeau, sophomore

McClean Cannon, sophomore

Zack Bursell, sophomore

Jesse Majoros, sophomore

Andre Bunton, sophomore

Andrew Gianotti, freshman

Jesse Miller, freshman

David Francis, freshman

Joel Perry, freshman

Tom Parker, freshman

Ian Andrews, freshman

GIRLS

Elisha Thibodeau, senior

Alison deLaBruere, junior

Alice Ottoson-McKeen, junior

Annika Ord, junior

Leah Francis, junior

Elena Dolitsky, junior

Mary Gianotti, junior

Carolyn Cummings, junior

Wendy Byrnes, junior

Katie Poor, junior

Elizabeth Ringle, sophomore

Clancey Cheeley, sophomore

Sara Donohoe, sophomore

Monica Ashenfelter, sophomore

Karissa Jackson, freshman

Sidney Browning, freshman

Abbey Query, freshman

Martina Miller, freshman