Unalaska's cross country team continues to do well despite a few last-minute changes to their racing season.
Last weekend, the Raiders were scheduled to travel to the Wasilla Invite. On Friday night, just before boarding the flight, Coach David Gibson was notified that the Wasilla course had flooded and the race had been relocated to the Palmer High trails.
For teams across the state, the race was considered important preparation as they look forward to this weekend's regional championships.
Although the Wasilla Invite was one of the smaller races the Raiders have been in this year, most of the participants were from larger 3A and 4A schools. The Raiders were the only small school team and placed fourth overall.
Two runners with top-ten race times led the boys' team. Junior Blaine Henning placed 7th overall with a season-best time of 17:55. Senior Henry Simmonds placed 10th overall with a career best 18:03.
Additionally, freshmen Jonathane Pereat finished 21st with a time of 19:05. Senior Michael Pereat finished 24th with a time of 19:10. Sophomore Herwin Riodil finished 37th with a time of 19:53. Freshmen Kc Balbarino finished 47th with a career-best time of 20:56, followed by fellow freshmen Eldred Paradez with a time of 20:57.
This was also the first race of the Raiders' season where a female runner was eligible to travel. Freshmen Marina Jones finished 37th with a time of 26:55.
Last Friday afternoon, the team hosted another installment of "Raiders Run for Fun 5K," which saw many of the young runners finish with career personal records.
Next up, the team will host their regional qualifying race on Sept. 28 at 10 a.m at Kelty Field. Part of the course follows the Valley Loop, so the Raiders ask motorists to drive extra carefully from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. while more than 40 junior high and high school runners are on the road.
The Raiders are also inviting community members and the visiting U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps crews to participate. The team hopes to see everyone out and supporting them this weekend. This will be their last race in town before heading to the state championship.
