by Tommy Wells
The Bethel Regional High School track and field athletes made their final tuneups prior to the Class 1-2-3A state track and field meet this past weekend by turning in an outstanding performance at the Su-Valley Invitational in Talkeetna. Bethel had picked up medals in 10 events.
Newcomer Fiona Phelan highlighted Bethel’s outing becoming the school’s first-ever two-time winner. Competing in her first meet, Phelan walked away with first-place finishes in the 800-meter dash and the long jump competition. In the 800, she posted a personal-best mark of 3 minutes, 13.71 seconds. Her winning mark in the long jump was 10 feet, 10.25 inches.
Phelan also finished fifth in the 400 and sixth in the 200.
Lindsey Beans-Polk collected Bethel’s third gold medal in the girls’ division. The sophomore claimed the girls’ shotput title with a throw of 21-8.
Beans-Polk also medaled in the 100- and 200-meter races. She recorded a time of 14.59 seconds in the 100 and finished second. She was second in the 200, as well, with a time of 32.49.
She also placed fourth in the 400.
Julian Stanley, Marissa Black and Lanah Thon also did well for the BRHS girls. Stanley was third in the 100, fourth in the 200 and seventh in the 400. Black was fourth in the 100, fifth in the 200 and sixth in the 400. Thon placed sixth in the 100, seventh in the 200 and eighth in the 400.
The 4×100- and 4×400-meter relay teams both highlighted the boys’ efforts. Both team sprinted to second in their respective races. The 4×100-meter squad, consisting of Brycen Alexie, Jarius Allain, Hunter Crace and Joshua Putikka, posted a time of 55.32 seconds. Shane Phelan, Putikka, Seth Smith and Thomas Phelan teamed to put up a mark of 4:08.74 in the 4×400-meter race.
Individually, Seth Smith collected the Warriors’ lone gold medal in Talkeetna. The BRHS senior dominated the boys’ 200-meter race, winning with a person-best time of 24.30.
Jaymes Martin, Alexie and Allain finished fourth, fifth and eighth, respectively, in the standings.
Smith, Alexie, Crace and Thomas Phelan also collected second-place marks. Smith, who also logged a personal-best mark of 15-5 in the long jump, finished second in the 800-meter run with a mark of 2:27.69.
Alexie sprinted his way to a second-place finish in the boys’ 100. His time in the event was 13.29. Crace, a senior, was second in the grueling 3,200-meter run with a time of 11:59.68.
Crace also medaled in the 1,600-meter race, finishing third overall at 5:19.20.
Phelan was second in the 400 with a run of 56.39, and second in the 1,600 with a mark of 5:00.38.
Shane Phelan picked up a third-place finish in the 800 with a time of 2:30.80. He also finished fourth in the shot put and seventh in the long jump.
Martins was fourth in the 200-, 400- and 800-meter races, and 10th in the long jump.
Freshman Matthew Kapsner placed eighth in the 400 and 10th in the 100.