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Photo by Eric Engman

Photo by Eric Engman

They are teams of one — James Hollis representing tiny Anderson High School and Daisy Morgan from Tok.

On Friday morning during the first separate Class 1A-2A-3A State Track and Field Championships, the underdog pair made the most of their opportunity as Hollis claimed gold in the shot put, while Morgan tied for silver in the high jump at Lathrop High School.

“I just dug in, threw my hardest,” said Hollis, whose first of four heaves landed 40 feet, 1 1/4 inches. “It’s my senior year, so I figured there’s nothing to lose.”

Instead, there was a medal won for the school north of Healy off the Parks Highway. Hollis, though, couldn’t stick around to claim it because he had to return to Anderson for his high school graduation ceremony, where he made up one-third of the graduating class.

A year ago at state, Hollis was buried in next-to-last place competing primarily against 4A competition; with the new format, he and many other small schoolers now have a shot at the podium. Nevertheless, Hollis, who uses a driveway for shot put training, was hardly overconfident coming in against three higher-ranked opponents.

“I thought they were going to be throwing farther because they were seeded higher and their throws were in the 40s, so I was a little surprised,” Hollis said.

Morgan, meanwhile, high-jumped 4 feet, 7 inches, one inch lower than winner Caitlin Hunt of Su Valley. Pre-meet favorite Anna Johnson of Hutchison slipped to fourth; she was the odd jumper out (based on earlier misses) after four jumpers cleared 4-6 but faltered on three initial attempts at 4-8.

“It was really exciting, considering I’m coming from a small school,” Morgan, a junior from the Alaska Highway community, said.

Morgan started the season with two others but wound up the only member of the Wolverines’ track team. Tok only has a deteriorating cement track so Morgan trains indoors, and without company, for the high jump.

Her first trip to the state championships was fraught with anxiety.

“I was so nervous all morning,” Morgan said. “I was praying that I would do good and that I would have the strength and that I would have my nerves calm.”

Kim Wilson, a state championships veteran from Hutchison, wasn’t nervous. But the senior was perturbed that, despite being in command of the triple jump competition, she hadn’t uncorked a great jump by her high standards.

Then she launched 36 feet, 4 3/4 inches, a personal best by more than two feet. The leap won the small schools competition by nearly four feet and also easily would have won the ensuing 4A competition.

“I was missing the whole board, so I was like a whole foot behind,” Wilson said of her first three attempts, which topped out at 34-1 3/4. “I would be a little cautious because I didn’t want to scratch but I just didn’t worry about it the last time.”

The 36-footer astounded Wilson and elated her mother and coach, Kelly (Bradshaw) Wilson, a Lathrop High School running star in the mid-1980s.

“You did it! You used the whole board,” Kelly exclaimed before high-fiving her daughter.

“I never thought I could reach a 36,” said Wilson, whose goal is to win all four of her events. “I thought I scratched, actually, because I looked down at the board to make sure I hit it. You’re not supposed to (do that).”

Seward and Haines had several strong performances that put their squads at the top of the team standings following Friday’s four events (13 more will be contested today for both boys and girls).

Haines earned a sweep of the 3,200-meter run as J.J. Lende (11 minutes, 23 seconds) outdueled Nychele Fischetti of Anchorage Christian School in a seesaw race and Chandler Kemp (9:45) ran away from the boys’ field.

Lende showed discipline by not following a pair of Seward girls who started on a suicide pace, stayed upright after she and Fischetti got tangled, then took command on the bell lap.

“We’ve been racing since we were freshmen. ... I was trying to get a lead because in the past Nychelle’s always had a stronger kick than me,” said Lende, who turned the tables this time.

Lende also didn’t get unnerved when Fischetti passed her with 2 1/2 laps to go, but not without contact. Immediately thereafter, Lende reclaimed the lead.

“I kind of stumbled over her shoe and then I got back on my feet,” Lende said.

Lende’s teammate, Fran Daly, won the girls discus throw in 112-11.

For Seward, Dylan Beck and Travis Price each landed medals in a pair of events. Beck’s high jump of 6-1 topped Price and Delta Junction’s Logan Schiler (second in a tiebreaker at 5-10). Price, though, sailed 40-2 1/2 in the triple jump to edge Beck (40-1).

Seward leads the boys 1A-2A-3A standings with 34 points, followed by Grace Christian (24), Haines (19.5) and seven other scoring teams.

Haines and ACS (28 points apiece) share the girls lead, followed by Hutchison (15) and eight other scoring squads.