As the morning sun glowed across the horizon, 26 boys tidily lined up in five starting chutes atop Unalakleet’s Qamuuqhin hills. With the word "go", Shaktoolik’s Seth Paniptchuk jumped from the start line, in a split second asserting himself at the front of the pack.
It was Paniptchuk’s race to lose. While he didn’t travel to Unalakleet’s Qamuuqhin Hill Trail Invitational just the week before, coaches before the race agreed he was the one to watch.
Earlier in September, the junior bested Kotzebue’s Ben Marcus to win the Nome-Beltz Musk Ox Classic. The hilly race in Nome is a reliable predictor for results at Unalakleet, although Unalakleet’s course features even steeper and longer inclines.
“This killed me, can't even lie,” Paniptchuk said after the race. “Nome’s just one hill, but this is like, up and down. Nonstop up and down. Yeah, it was pretty bad.”
The racers set off to the north while battling a 20 mph headwind, then turned off the road to run under Unalakleet’s six 100 kW wind turbines. The turbines’ blades wooshed as the runners pounded the narrow gravel road below. The course then cut across the tundra back to the road, where competitors stomped their way through a nearly half-mile downhill segment.
Shaktoolik’s coach, Ginger Perry, said Paniptchuk was instrumental in preparing the team, having seen the course in year’s past.
“Seth kind of helped the team visualize the trail and what to expect and where they could push themselves,” Perry said. “We're from the tundra, we're from the windiest place, and so I don't think they were intimidated by the trail, but ready to tackle it.”
After the long downhill run, the course jagged back into the tundra for a gradual trip back up the hill to the start line. Short and steep sections further separated the pack of runners as some began to lose steam.
After crossing the start line, racers ran the course all over again to complete the 5 kilometer course. Paniptchuk led the entire time, with Unalakleet’s Teyler Johnson and Shishmaref’s Norman Stenek following shortly behind.
By the finish, Paniptchuk extended his lead to nearly a minute, finishing with a time of 19:32. Johnson crossed with a time of 20:20 and Stenek just 5 seconds later. All three qualified for the state meet in Palmer in just a week’s time.
Their coach, Perry, said Paniptchuk’s success wasn’t a surprise. She said the entire team has built a culture of hard work and camaraderie, including what they do together off the course.
“They go to school, they come to running practice, they might go bird hunting or moose hunting or go get firewood, and then they go to open gym and play basketball for an hour, hour and a half,” Perry said. “They're just super motivated.”
Unalakleet’s Joshua Smith crossed in fourth followed by Shishmaref’s Leander Kim. Smith’s fourth place finish proved to be the difference in earning the Wolfpack team a trip to the state championships, besting Shishmaref’s team score by just one point.
The top three individual finishers as well as Unalakleet’s boys team of Johnson, Smith and Ezra Jack will represent Bering Strait School District at the 2025 ASAA DIII State Championships in Palmer on Oct. 4.
