Runners from Akiachak, Akiak, Aniak, Kalskag, Tuluksak, and Sleetmute competed in the Greater Kuskokwim Conference cross country race in Tuluksak on Sept. 28. Students and their coaches traveled by boat and small plane to attend the meet. The 3-mile racetrack was muddy, the weather mild and wet, and smells from the decaying caiggluk (wormwood) and rotting leaves of nearby trees saturated the land. Tulukaruk umiqvanek (raven from a distance) could be heard welcoming the guests to his land.
Brycen Kasayulie from Akiachak started his season training on the gravel road from the school parking lot to the airport strip, 3 miles round trip. He began the season with a key focus in his mind: time. He wanted to beat his own time.
“I have a goal in my practices when I run 3 miles every day, and it’s to pass my fastest time from a couple years ago, which is 19 minutes,” Kasayulie said. “The fastest time I got this season was 20 minutes and 16 seconds.”
Kasayulie was successful – he won the race with a time of 20 minutes and 22 seconds. Charlie Chingliak of Akiachak finished second with a time of 20 minutes and 26 seconds, and Daveion Jasper of Akiak came in third with a time of 21 minutes and 38 seconds.
In the girls’ race, Alysha Levi of Kalskag won with a finishing time of 25 minutes and 7 seconds. Keley Hayden of Sleetmute came in second with a time of 26 minutes and 8 seconds. And Lakeisha Levi of Kalskag came third with a time of 27 minutes and 22 seconds.
The top three female runners and male runners will compete on Oct. 5 at the Bartlett High School trails in Anchorage. First National Bank is a major sponsor of the Alaska School Activities Association event.
The regional meet in Tuluksak came after a season of races in Bethel, Akiachak, Tuluksak, and Aniak throughout late August and September. The season has a positive impact on the whole region, as communities witness athletes training and competing along the roads and trails of the middle Kuskokwim.
First-year coach Acacia Chingliak from Akiachak is not new to the state competition. In high school she competed at the state meet four years in a row.
To get the runners ready, she’s using a creative strategy.
“From my experience, the trail is mainly hills,” Chingliak said. “So I’ll have Charlie and Bryson run at the cemetery hill, which is the only hill in Akiachak, during practice before we travel to Anchorage. The cemetery hill is located less than a mile behind Akiachak through the dumpsite.”
Reached by phone after the race, first-year Kalskag coach Anastasia Holmberg said that she’s very excited about her runners and doesn’t anticipate any obstacles to the race, except for the weather. She said she thinks it’s important for her runners to experience racing at the state level. Her two runners going to state are sisters Alysha and Lakeisha Levi. Alysha has been running faster than last year, and Holmberg said that she thinks state will be even faster. She also expressed gratitude towards the Tuluksak School staff and their hospitality.
Akiachak Elder Helen Jackson is a paraprofessional and all-around coach at Akiachak High School. She offered advice to the runners as they look toward state.
“I always remind them to be the best they can be,” Jackson said. “They are students first, and they need to treat self and each other with respect. Be there for each other because someday someone will thank them for being there for them when they needed a friend.”
The six runners headed to state from Sleetmute all the way downriver to Akiachak will be joining a league of committed runners from all over Alaska this weekend. Regardless of the results, the race will be an important experience for the athletes.