From the capital city to Alaska’s most populous city, Juneau’s Ida Meyer has quickly become one of the state’s top runners.

The Juneau-Douglas Yadaa.at Kalé senior raced to a commanding win at the State Preview, held on the Bartlett High Trails in 19 minutes, 4 seconds, while Grace Christian’s Robbie Annett stormed to his sixth-consecutive victory this season in 16:21.

More than 700 athletes representing 25 teams took the trails at the State Preview, competing on the same route that will hold the cross country state championships in a few short weeks.

The meet was held for the first time since 2019, introducing a new course that includes two identical loops and a start and finish on the grass field, as opposed to closing on the track.

While a light rain and muddy trails greeted the runners, Meyer and Colony’s Ella Hopkins immediately went to the front of the loaded field which included a handful of defending state champions across all three divisions.

Hopkins, who has won three races this season, was dubbed one of the pre-race favorites in addition to holding the state’s top time of 18:40 coming into the weekend.

The Colony High senior led much of the first loop before Meyer overtook the lead midway through the second loop, extending her margin over Hopkins and the rest of the field.

“I just stuck with people and then thought, ‘maybe I can go faster,’ so I sped it up,” said Meyer. “I just trusted myself for the most part.”

Meyer flew down the homestretch and across the line in 19:04, while Hopkins finished runner-up, 27 seconds back. Meyer displayed true sportsmanship, embracing Hopkins and high-fiving her fellow competitors as they exited the finish chute.

Having raced only once this season, winning the Haines XC Home Invite, Meyer leaned on her summer training and workouts to keep pace with her nearest competitors.

“I was a little bit nervous because this is my second race this year, but I’m pretty confident in my training and I don’t usually get to race these girls,” said Meyer. “It was pretty great to be able to come up and do the preview — I was excited.”

Beyond the win, Meyer enjoyed reuniting with her fellow competitors and hopes to keep the momentum going with her teammates as the post-season quickly approaches.

“I just love coming up and racing these girls,” said Meyer. “We all kind of reunite and say ‘hi’ again and it’s just great to have so many girls out here.”

Even in the rainy conditions, Meyer felt at home and will surely continue to be a force to be reckoned with in the coming weeks.

The Chugiak Mustangs were led by Alliyah Field’s fourth-place showing, amassing 59 points to collect the team title. The win was the Mustangs’ fourth of the season and second since their illustrious 22-meet win streak came to an end in a one-point loss to Dimond at the Kodiak Invitational.

The Colony Knights finished runner-up with 103 points, while the South Anchorage Wolverines narrowly took third with 104 points.

Girls Top 10

1. Ida Meyer, Juneau-Douglas, 19:04
2. Ella Hopkins, Colony, 19:31
3. Mia Stiassny, South, 19:42
4. Rosie Conway, East, 19:55
5. Alliyah Fields, Chugiak, 19:55
6. Avrey Campbell, Dimond, 20:01
7. Ellie Stull, Dimond, 20:02
8. Hannah Bodkin, Chugiak, 20:07
9. Miyana Kam-Magruder, Service, 20:09
10. Hannah Shaha, Chugiak, 20:12

Full results here.

In the boys race, Grace Christian’s Robbie Annett got out to a brisk start, coming through the 2.5-kilometer mark in 7:52 — a sizzling pace of 5:05 per mile.

Annett, the defending Division II state champion, kept the race honest, utilizing his track speed on the flat portions while driving up the hills and turns.

He stayed motivated by repeating a song in his head, fittingly known as “The Song That Never Ends.”

“I had a song in my head, so I was trying to keep upbeat, but you kind of zone out when you’re out there on the trails,” said Annett.

Unlike Meyer, Annett has raced much of the field over the past five weeks, knowing his strategy had to be spot-on in order to maintain his undefeated season.

“I’ve raced these guys a couple of times, so I was hoping that no one would go out with me in the beginning,” said Annett. “But I had a couple of guys with me so it was fun to have them up there.”

Annett crossed the line in 16:21, cruising to a 15-second victory over East’s Katahdin Staples.

Perhaps more impressively, Annett has only lost one race over the past two cross country seasons. His lone loss was to Palmer’s Fischer Adams — the eventual Division I state champion — at last year’s Mustang Smokin’ Stampede.

This season, Annett has averaged 23.6 seconds in his margins of victory.

And while many may shy from the pressure, Annett does not mind being the one competitors chase.

“It’s kind of fun to be the guy with the target on their back,” said Annett. “There’s a bunch of fast kids — [East’s Katahdin Staples] is only a sophomore so he’s going to be crushing it the next two years, so I’m excited to see how it goes.”

As for the rest of the season, Annett is confident in his training as well as the goals he and his team have established.

“Just steady training and expecting a little bit of a taper towards the end of the season for our workouts,” shared Annett. “I’m just hoping to drag the boys along, hopefully we can get another state title.”

Led by Vebjørn Flagstad’s sixth-place finish, the South Anchorage Wolverines won the team title with 94 points, their fourth win of the season, while Juneau-Douglas Yadaa.at Kalé took runner-up with 111 points. The Colony Knights finished third with 119 points.

Boys Top 10

1. Robbie Annett, Grace, 16:21
2. Katahdin Staples, East, 16:36
3. Johannes Bynagle, Homer, 16:47
4. Erik Thompson, Juneau-Douglas, 16:49
5. Colton Merriner, Grace, 16:49
6. Vebjørn Flagstad, South, 17:01
7. David Penfield, Chugiak, 17:03
8. Coby Marvin, Colony, 17:16
9. Braxton Thornley, South, 17:16
10. Ned Peters, Bethel, 17:18

Full results here.