Wasilla sophomore runs to a state title

It’s not like Hailee Giacobbe came out of nowhere. The Wasilla sophomore finished fourth in state last year as a freshman. But on Saturday, Giacobbe may have surprised a few people, including herself.

Giacobbe used a superb strategy and stellar second lap to earn the Division I girls individual state title during the ASAA/First National Bank State Cross-Country Running Championships at Bartlett High School in Anchorage.

“Nope. I had no idea,” Giacobbe said after the race when asked if she thought she had any shot of winning a state title as she started her sophomore season. “I didn’t even think it’d be a chance.”

But Giacobbe drove herself to the front of a veteran-laden pack that featured eight upperclassmen in the top 10.

Giacobbe, who has now won four straight races including the region championship last week on her home course in Wasilla, said she hit the trail on Saturday with a specific strategy.

“I knew for a fact that this course is pretty hard. I knew if I came out too strong I was going to burn out,” she said. “I knew that I definitely wanted to go easier on the first lap, and the second lap, just kick it.”

The strategy turned out to be a championship-worthy script. Giacobbe was in the middle of the pack early, and started the second lap in third place. During the final kilometer, after making her move, Giacobbe was creating space between herself and the other top runners. Giacobbe crossed the finish line in 19 minutes, 4.5 seconds. She finished five seconds ahead of Juneau-Douglas senior Ida Meyer, the runner up, and about 10 seconds ahead of Colony senior Ella Hopkins, who finished third.

In addition to strategy and the work she has put in throughout the season, Giacobbe credited the support of her family and teammates, and the confidence everyone has had in her.

“It definitely helps with my coaches, everyone being out here, my family coming out. And I knew coming in here so many people had told me no matter how you do I’m going to be proud of you. It just hits my heart,” she said. “I just want to say thank you to my family, everyone being out here, my coaches, and how hard they’ve worked to put their time and effort into me and all of my teammates. It’s so amazing to see everyone out here today.”

Giacobbe also made school history Saturday. Giacobbe is the first Wasilla cross-country runner to win an individual girls state championship. The program’s previous individual best was Alex Mathis, who finished second in 2013.

Hopkins led Colony to a second-place finish in the team standings with 103 total points. Sophomore Aubrey Virgin finished 15th for the Knights with a time of 20:20. Senior Rachel Danz was 20th at 20:55.

Sophomore Karley Tichenor led Palmer at 19th at a time of 20:42.

Chugiak used 52 total points to earn its fourth straight girls team title.

Colony, led by a pair of top-10 finishers, placed fourth in the Division I boys team standings with 123 total points. Senior Coby Marvin led the Knights with a seventh-place finish and time of 16:50. Junior Trygve Vang-Thompson was ninth at 16:57.

Freshman Finn Adams led Palmer with a 19th-place finish and time of 17:25.

In the Division III girls race, Susitna Valley’s Calla Fish was fifth at 21:48.

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