PHS senior stays in state

PALMER — As a junior in high school, Jake Parisien was convinced he’d be heading south for college.

As it turns out the Palmer High senior will be going south, but the destination is only about 40 minutes down the road.

Parisien, one of the top cross country runners in the state during his time at PHS, has committed to Alaska Anchorage, and will compete on the UAA cross country running and track and field teams.

The running standout had considered a handful of Division I programs before opting on UAA, and got sort of a mixed reaction when people learned of his decision to attend the nearby Division II school.

“When I told my friends I was going to UAA, they asked me, ‘why are you going there? Why aren’t you going to a big school?’” Parisien said. “But UAA, they’re a top Division II school.”

Ultimately several reasons factored into his final decision, with the first being money. UAA offered Parisien a substantial scholarship package.

Parisien’s family also liked the idea of him staying in state, and Parisien already knows many of the athletes on the UAA cross country running team. There are currently six Seawolf runners with Valley roots, and Parisien has competed against several other of his future teammates on the high school running trails.

Facilities also were a factor.

The UAA cross country and track teams now use The Dome at ChangePoint, the South Anchorage facility that features a 400-meter indoor track.

“That’s a big bonus,” Palmer head coach Tim Lundt said. “I think he would have looked somewhere else if that wasn’t there. Nobody wants to run on treadmills all the time.”

Parisien has already had a chance to take advantage of The Dome. Earlier this year, he ran a two-mile time trial on the indoor track, and clocked a time of 9 minutes and 46 seconds.

“That would have gotten me second at state last year,” Parisien said.

And if that isn’t enough, Parisien will also have the chance to make an impact right away at UAA.

“I was thinking of the University of California-Berkeley, but if I went down there I wouldn’t be on the varsity until maybe my junior year,” Parisien said. “But at UAA, I think I’ll be No. 3 or 4.”

California-Berkely was among a handful of Division I schools in California that Parisien had considered. He also was interested in Colorado State, and Chico State (Calif.), another Division II program, had also pursued him.

Eastern Oregon, a program coached by Wasilla High graduate Ben Welch, recruited him, but Parisien said if he chose an Outside school he would want to find a program in a warm climate.

Lundt feels the Division II level provides Parisien with an excellent opportunity to succeed.

“More running time at UAA,” Lundt said. “I think that’s a big catch.”

Parisien has been making headlines as a cross country runner since his middle school days. As an eighth-grader at Palmer Junior Middle School, Parisien set records in the 800-meter and the 1-mile, shattering marks formerly held by Eric Strabel, another former local standout who went on to have a successful college career at UAA.

Since, Parisien has established himself as a top runner in the state. As a sophomore he placed second in the ASAA 4A state championship, finishing just eight-tenths of a second behind Tyler Dinnan of Juneau-Douglas.

Later in his sophomore year, Parisien traveled to California and won the sophomore race at the Foot Locker Western Regional.

As a junior, Parisien lived in North Dakota for half the year, and finished eighth in the state championships there.

Back in Alaska as a senior, Parisien finished third at

state.

Parisien has found incredible success in running despite a few nagging injuries. Lingering injuries have been a pain in the butt for Parisien, literally.

“Last track season it was my left gluteus maximus, and over cross country (this year) it was my right one,” Parisien said.

Parisien said the muscle pull slowed him down at the region and state meets, but he felt healthy when he traveled to compete in a pair of events after the season.

In October, Parisien finished second in the Adidas Cross Country Classic in Portland, Ore., and in December he placed 26th at the Foot Locker Western Regional. Parisien was the top runner from Alaska in the Foot Locker race. He even beat Kodiak standout Trevor Dunbar, who ran away with the 2007 4A state title.

Now that Parisien has chosen UAA, his goal now is to simply stay healthy. He’s been training hard, averaging between 45 and 50 miles per week.

“It’s been good lately,” he said. “That’s my worst fear, getting hurt again.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.