Northwestern’s Ava Earl competing in the mile at the Aurora Grand Prix. Photo by Mary Grace Grabill/Northwestern Athletics
A quartet of Alaskans recently captured wins on the track and in the field, leading a handful of athletes in collecting personal bests.
Girdwood’s Ava Earl led the charge, running to a dominant win in the mile at the Aurora Grand Prix, cementing her name in program and Alaska history.
Earl, a Northwestern junior, turned in an incredible effort after stopping the clock in 4 minutes, 42.74 seconds, outdistancing her nearest competitor by more than 12 seconds. The student-athlete who doubles as a singer-songwriter sliced seven seconds from her previous personal best recorded 11 months ago.
Since then, Earl has continued to make waves, lowering her personal bests in the 800, 1,500 and 5,000 before returning to the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships last fall.
After refocusing in the off-season, Earl’s season opener hit a mark only one Alaskan has ever surpassed and is among three to ever go sub-4:50. Allie Ostrander’s time of 4:35.79 ran during her time at Boise State remains the top known time by an Alaskan in track and field, while Earl sits at No. 2 ahead of former Dimond High and University of Oregon standout, Kaarin Knudson.
Alaska Women’s All-Time Mile
- Allie Ostrander, 4:35.79 (1/19)
- Ava Earl, 4:42.74 (1/24)
- Kaarin Knudson, 4:43.88 (3/99)
- Ruby Lindquist, 4:52.60 (2/22)
- Sarah Reese, 4:55.00 (2/03)
- Betsy Haines, 4:56.5 (1977)
- Sadie Tuckwood, 4:56.92 (2/23)
- Caitlin Reese, 4:57.18 (1/03)
- Morgan Ekemo, 4:57.27 (2004)
- Sophie Wright, 4:58.19 (2/23)
Earl’s time also moves up to No. 2 in program history, trailing former teammate Rachel McCardell’s mark of 4:40.76 set last season.
With the rest of the indoor and outdoor seasons ahead, only time will tell how fast Earl will become.
Adarra Hagelund
After nabbing a personal best and hitting the NAIA A standard in December, Soldotna’s Adarra Hagelund returned to the field for another go around.
This time, the Dickinson State sophomore soared to a height of 5 feet, 7.25 inches at the Mike Thorson Open to better her previous mark by 1.25 inches and claim the win.
Hagelund, who has surpassed the five-foot mark 15 times in her collegiate career, opened her competition at 5-0.25. The former state champion in the event cleared the height on her first attempt and moved on from 5-2.25 after two attempts.
By the time the bar reached 5-4.25, Hagelund was just one of two competitors remaining from the 17-person field. Hagelund cleared the height on her first attempt, followed by her U-Mary competitor, who bowed out of the competition shortly after the clearance.
With all eyes on Hagelund, the sophomore cleared 5-6 for just the second time in her career on her third attempt. The Blue Hawk needed just two attempts to clear 5-7.25 and made three solid attempts at 5-8.5 before the competition concluded.
Hagelund now sits tied for third in the NAIA this season after also improving her program record, which she first captured last season. The season rankings will determine the indoor contenders for the national meet, held at the end of February.
Teammate and fellow Soldotna native, Galen Brantley III, made a splash in his return to the throwing ring.
Galen Brantley III
The Dickinson State dual-sport junior heaved the shot put 51 feet, 4.5 inches to obliterate the competition, while also achieving the NAIA B standard.
Brantley, who placed third and achieved All-American status at NAIA indoor nationals last spring, only competed twice during the outdoor season.
In his first meet back, Brantley has made up for lost time, throwing near his marks at the same meet he competed at last season. After taking the lead on his second throw, the junior hardly wavered, achieving the NAIA B standard on his third throw and surpassing the mark two more times.
His sixth and final throw landed the furthest, but was just over four inches shy of the NAIA A standard.
Brantley concluded the competition collecting his 12th collegiate win in the shot put, where he currently ranks No. 14 in the NAIA this season and remains the program record holder.
Brantley also competed in the weight throw, finishing eighth with a throw of 47 feet, 11 inches.
Dylan Dahlgren, another former SoHi teammate and fellow dual-sport Blue Hawk, joined Brantley in the throwing ring for his season opener.
The Dickinson State sophomore experienced some difficulty in both the shot put (40 feet, 9 inches) and weight throw (46 feet, 10.25 inches), only registering one mark in each event, but will likely rebound at his next competition.
Brooklynn Gould
Last, but certainly not least, Eagle River’s Brooklynn Gould began her indoor season assertively and donning a new uniform.
The former Chugiak High standout made her debut for Embry-Riddle, blasting to the win at the RADD Track and Field Invitational, securing the program record, a Division II provisional mark, and a personal best, accumulating 3,504 points in the pentathlon.
After competing for three years at the University of North Dakota, Gould transferred to Florida’s Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
And it is safe to say the move has already paid off.
Gould opened the competition in third after the 60 hurdles (9.38), before winning the high jump (5-2.25) in a lifetime best and placing runner-up in both the shot put (31-8.5) and long jump (17-3.50). Going into the final event, Gould had little to lose but ran one of her strongest times in the 800 (2:20.33) to win the event and the competition.
Gould finished with 3,504 points, bettering the runner-up finisher by a whopping 783 points and improving her previous best by 40 points. She currently sits at No. 13 among Division II athletes this season, where the top 16 athletes will qualify for nationals in early March.
Additionally, Gould competed in the open 60 hurdles and ran a leg on the 4×400 relay to conclude the meet after seven total events.
The junior’s performance in the pentathlon broke the program record and earned her Peach Belt Conference (PBC) Athlete of the Week.
Other notable indoor track and field performances from Alaskans:
- Eagle River’s Emily Walsh opened her season at the Ashland Invitational, competing officially for the first time in two years. The Cedarville junior set a lifetime best in the mile (5:01.93), placing third.
- Anchorage’s Murphy Dykstra set a lifetime best at the Hilltop Invitational. The Grinnell freshman competed in the long jump (19-0.5), improving by over nine inches.
- Eagle River’s Breanna Day opened her season at the Vanderbilt Invitational. The Murray State senior achieved a personal best in the 5,000 (18:19.57) slicing off 32 seconds.
- Juneau’s James Connally had a strong showing at the Lauren McCluskey Memorial Invitational. The Eastern Oregon sophomore competed in the 400 (50.98), recording an indoor personal best and the ninth-quickest time in program history.
- Delta Junction’s Hailey Williams competed at the Hokie Invitational. The Duke senior placed fourth in the 200 (24.78), ran a personal best in the 300 (40.10), equaled her season best in the 60 (7.68) and ran a leg on the runner-up 4×400-relay.