East’s girls cross country team after competing at the Big 8 Invitational. Photo by Sam Williams
When the East High Thunderbirds toe the line on Saturday at Kincaid Park, they will be on the precipice of making history.
Rosie Conway and the T-birds are in a prime position to qualify for state as a team for the first time in 12 years, while teammate Katahdin Staples will make a run at the region title.
For a team with a storied history dating back to the ‘70s, the team has been in rebuilding mode in recent years. But with Conway and Staples leading the way, times are changing.
Conway, a junior and 2022 junior Mt. Marathon champion, has made a splash this season after overcoming asthma-related issues last season.
The patience and hard work have paid off for Conway, who has placed in the top four in all five races competed this season, including winning the ASD North Quad Meet at the 3-kilometer distance and placing runner-up at the Ted McKenney Invitational against a loaded field.
Most recently, Conway placed third at the Mustang Smokin’ Stampede, covering the 5-kilometer course in 19 minutes, 13 seconds — a personal best by 16 seconds and her third time under 20 minutes this season.
Her time ranks fifth in the state this season, behind Sitka’s Clare Mullin (18:35), Colony’s Ella Hopkins (18:40), Wasilla’s Hailee Giacobbe (18:50) and Juneau’s Ida Meyer (19:04).
Going into the region championships, Conway will be among the favorites to win, which includes South’s Mia Stiassny, Chugiak’s Hannah Shaha and Service’s Miya Kam-Magruder.
East’s Rosie Conway competes at the Mustang Smokin’ Stampede. Photo by Harlow Robinson/Alaska Sports Report
As for her fellow T-birds, they have followed suit producing notable finishes after a lengthy drought against region and state competition. East placed fifth at both the Ted McKenney Invitational and the Mustang Smokin’ Stampede, finishing as the fourth school from the Cook Inlet Conference on both occasions.
To qualify for the state meet, the T-birds must place within the top four out of eight teams at the Region IV Championships.
Last fall, the squad came agonizingly close to qualifying after a fifth team was granted a spot at the state meet by ASAA due to a moose interrupting the girls race. East finished a mere four points outside the final qualifying position — tied for the closest finish since 2014 when East placed fifth, four points shy of fourth.
The T-birds will lean on region experience from Conway who placed third in 2022 as a freshman, sophomore Madeleine Lojewski and senior Finn Rigby who placed 11th and 14th respectively at last year’s region championships. All three have state experience.
East’s girls cross country team huddles before a race. Photo by Sam Williams
The last time the East girls qualified for the state meet was in 2012 after placing runner-up at the region meet.
Before that, the T-birds were a powerhouse from 1998-2005, netting five state titles (’98-‘00, ’02-’03), a triple crown of state titles by Kikkan Randall (’98-’00), a pair of team runner-ups (’01 & ’04) and a sixth place finish (’05).
East’s Betsy Haines — Randall’s aunt — also won a trio of state titles from 1975-1977.
In essence, T-birds of a feather flock together.
On the boys side, teammate Katahdin Staples went from a rising star to a state and region favorite in just one year.
Only a sophomore, Staples has netted three wins this season, including dominating the Big 8 Invitational against much of the region’s competition.
He also lowered his personal best over 5-kilometers by a whopping 68 seconds.
Staples’ personal best of 16:15 ranks third this season against state competition, only trailing Grace Christian’s Robbie Annett (15:30) and Homer’s Johannes Bynagle (16:09), both of whom will compete in the Division II race at the state championships.
East’s Katahdin Staples competes at the Mustang Smokin’ Stampede. Photo by Harlow Robinson/Alaska Sports Report
The sophomore’s closest competitor is South’s Vebjørn Flagstad who has proven tenacious on the Kincaid Trails. The junior won the Big 8 Invite last season before nabbing his first region title on the same course.
However, a lot has changed in the year since. Staples is almost guaranteed to improve upon his 16th-place finish at the region championships last fall, which left him one spot shy of qualifying for the state meet by just one second.
Staples and Flagstad have met twice this season, with Flagstad finishing four seconds ahead of Staples at the Ted McKenney Invitational in late August. Last weekend, Staples gapped Flagstad by 13 seconds at the Mustang Smokin’ Stampede. In both races, the opponents finished 2-3 behind Annett.
While the region rivalry will likely be close, Staples has a chance to vie for the top of the podium, aiming to be the first T-bird to net the region title since John Farr in 2012.
