Wrangell Sentinel -

Wrangell High School's cross-country teams did very well at the Section V Regional Championship in Ketchikan on Saturday, with the girls' team taking first in the 1A-2A meet and runner Bryce Gerald coming in second place for the boys.

A bear at one point appeared on the course, putting a temporary stop to the race. It was rerun later that day.

"Our girls handled it like champs and didn't let that stop them from competing at their best," said Jenn Davies, the team's coach.

Reyn Hutten finished in third place with a time of 21:29, Amy Jenson came in fifth at 21:41, and Kimberly Cooper was right behind her in sixth at 21:53. One after the other, Darian Meissner finished in 27rd place at 25:19, Teresa Flores finished 29th at 25:32, and Kaylauna Churchill placed 30th at 25.47.

All six runners qualified and will be headed to the Alaska School Activities Association State Championships on Saturday. The meet will be hosted at Bartlett High School in Anchorage.

Among the boys, Bryce Gerald took second in the 1A-2A with a time of 17:27.

"He's been getting his personal best every weekend," said Jack Carney, Wrangell High School's new activities coordinator. Gerald qualified, and will also be attending the championship meet in Anchorage Saturday.

Freshman runner JD Barratt made a good effort, placing 17th at 19:29. The boys' team scored 145 overall, placing seventh among the 14 teams. Individually, Amos Comstock placed 32nd at 20:18, Ian Jenson placed 46th at 21:52, Sam Prysunka placed 48th at 22:29, and Michael Ottesen placed 54th at 23:41.

The team's All-Academic Award winners this year were Meissner, Cooper and Ottesen.

"I am proud of all of them," Davies said.