Palmer senior runs away with state title Colony places 3rd, 4th in team competition

Anchorage schools may have claimed the team titles at the Division I state cross country championships on Saturday, but it was a powerhouse individual performance that stole the show.

Palmer High senior Fischer Adams crossed the finish line a full 42 seconds ahead of the next competitor while posting a time of 16 minutes and .69 seconds to win top honors in the 5-kilometer race that brought together the state’s best prep runners.

The runaway victory did not appear in the making early, when Adams had some challengers. But the small pack of runners that shadowed the Moose standout after one of three laps on the Michael Janecek Running Trails had disappeared by the time Adams emerged from the woods behind Palmer High School on his second lap.

He said the aggressive South Anchorage High runners, who won the team title, challenged the pace at the beginning. But Adams, running in his final race on his home course, was not to be denied.

“I decided to go for it at the beginning of the second lap,” he said. “I decided to try and take it for myself.”

And that’s just what he did. There was no serious challenge from there, as Adams extended his lopsided margin to finish 20 seconds better than his previous best time over the course.

Teammate and friend Tobin Miller, who has run with Adams since sixth grade, was impressed, but not surprised by the outcome.

“Fisch is a stud. He’s got that mental game,” Miller said. “If he wants something, he goes out and gets it.”

Miller, also a senior, was second in for Palmer. His time of 17:08.97 was good enough for a 12th-place finish.

Palmer Coach Chris Eversman, who raced in the state meet over the same course in 2002 as a student at Eielson High in Fairbanks, called this year’s event “unique and unforgettable.”

“I couldn’t have imagined a better finish for Fischer’s prep running career,” he said.

The fourth-year coach, who watched Adams develop from a diamond in the rough as a freshman, credited the team effort and culture of mentorship that makes individual achievement possible.

“It takes a lot of people to make a success,” Eversman said. “I know Fischer is thankful for the guidance he got from the team as a freshman.”

Colony High senior Tobias Buchanan finished second. His 16:43.44 paced the Knights, who finished fourth as a team, just 19 points behind the winners.

Buchanan said it was a hard race from the start, but despite the early pace he felt good at the finish. He credited his teammates for lifting the Knights to a fourth-place team finish.

“I’m excited about this team,” Buchanan said. “We have a lot of younger runners who raced hard and did well.”

That effort, coupled with Buchanan being the only senior on the team, has the Knights’ coaching staff excited about the future, too.

“We’ve got lots of good returning people and some standout freshmen coming up next year,” Coach Shawn Van Tassel said.

Buchanan’s individual effort and the boys’ fourth-place team finish, preceded the Colony girls racing to a third-place team finish in the final competition of the day.

“They worked all season for this,” Van Tassel said. “They finished really well. That’s always good to see.”

Colony’s girls were paced by Morgan Ainsworth. In a race that was much more competitive than the boys’ contest, Ainsworth posted a time of 19:27.23. She was less than 8 seconds behind winner Hannah Shaha, of Chugiak, and just a half-second behind second-place finisher Alliyah Fields, also of Chugiak.

With all five scoring runners finishing in the top 15, Chugiak easily ran away with the team title.

Van Tassel called the Mustangs a dynasty, but noted the value of that for his young and eager team going forward.

“It’s always good to have a goal to chase,” he said.

Colony placed four runners of its own in the top 19, with Ella Hopkins finishing seventh, followed by Aubrey Virgin and Rachel Danz in 18th and 19th, respectively.

“It was awesome to see Morgan break out like this,” Van Tassel said. “And Ella is just a massive leader and a big inspiration.”

Elliot Sensabaugh rounded out Colony scoring with her 31st-place finish.

Hailee Giacobbe posted an impressive fourth-place finish for Wasilla.

The Palmer girls, whose cumulative 3.94 GPA left them just short of winning academic honors on Saturday, made their first appearance since 2018 at the state meet. They finished 11th overall.