On Saturday, the Fairbanks Panthers headed to Hilliard Darby High School for the 2023 Central District Championships, and Head Coach Mike Van Winkle was hopeful. “We’ve got a good chance at finishing at the top of the district this year, especially for our girls’ team. What we need is for our top 4 runners to finish top ten and then to have some of our sophomores move up and run the race of their lives. It came to me in a vision last night. The moon was waning and I heard the roar of the Panther. If we run like champions today, we’ll be champions.” Senior Rachael Hoover was feeling the coolness in the air. “It’s a beautiful morning, and I like running with a little bit of chill. It’s kind of surreal that this is my last Central District Championship. It’s a long way since my first time here, back in the Covid era. But I’m psyched and ready to try and lead my team to victory today. We have a good shot at it.” On the boys side, Coach Van Winkle said, “Zeke’s got a good chance and if the boys can drop their average, then we’ll be at a really good place for next year. We don’t have a senior on the team. Zeke’s a wild card though. He’s got a haircut and he looks like he’s in middle school again. There’s no telling with him. He could go out there and set a school record today. You just never know.” While the girls started getting ready to warm up, Coach Van Winkle started passing out gloves. “Gloves, gloves, gloves, who needs some gloves?” The air was definitely cold, but the glaring sun soon suffused the atmosphere and it was perfect race weather for late October. Things were quiet in the team camp as the girls finished up their final preparations. Meredith Reinhard said, “I don’t know. I’m nervous. I really want us to get this. I think we can do it, we just have to remember that we are Fairbanks Panthers.”
And then it was time to race. The girls stepped to the line and POW! The gun sounded and they were off. From the start, Fairbanks’s Rachael Hoover and Ava Lahmers established a dominant pace, pulling ahead of the rest of the field. It was a race of places, and not times, and as the athletes began the final push towards the finish line, it became clear: The Fairbanks Panthers would win the Central District Championship for the first time in school history! “They have to put up a banner now,” said Coach Van Winkle. “There is a first for everything and today was our day.”
Full results are below:
1st Place: Ava Lahmers 19:51
2nd Place: Rachael Hoover 19:58
9th Place: Mara Vicari 21:04
11th Place: Sadie Miller 21:12
30th Place: Hannah Niehaus 22:52
39th Place: Meredith Reinhard 23:48
40th Place: Elizabeth Phillipo 23:50
Next up were the boys at 11:30. There was a nervous energy surrounding them as they finished their pre-race preparations. Fairbanks alum Cam Nisly was there, spicing things up and getting the boys’ nerves ready for the gun. Then, it was time. The judges gave final instructions and the gun sounded, POW!
Before long, the miles started wearing on the boys and it became clear that today wasn’t going to be their day. Final results are below:
31st place—Zeke Gingerich 18:31
52nd place—Noah Thorley 19:21
58th place—JJ Miehls 19:37
63rd—Elton Bailey 19:48
65th—Bryce Nisly 19:54
69th—Nicholas Johnson 20:08
71st—Daniel Thomas 20:21