If Anna Mikkelsen sticks around at the University of Hawaii at Hilo, she’ll be a nice building block and very soon a high-caliber star for the women’s cross country team.
The freshman from Denmark (more than 7,000 miles away from Hilo) finished fifth and established herself as the best Vulcan harrier, by a rather large margin, at UH-Hilo’s 5-kilometer season opener Saturday at Naniloa Golf Course.
After Mikkelsen crossed the finish line, the 2014 graduate of Falkonegaardens Gym had a long wait for her teammates: Jordan Concannon, 25th; Shelby Tanaka, 29th; Megan Washburn, 30th; Nina Kapuni, 32nd; and June Garrett, 34th.
The Vulcans were fifth with 121 points in the six-team race. Alaska Anchorage was first with 29 points, followed by Hawaii Pacific, 48; BYU-Hawaii, 58; Messiah, 114; UH-Hilo; and Chaminade, 179.
Alaska Anchorage placed runners in three out of the top four spots, showing the strength of the ice-running school from the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
“We’re a young team and working our way toward the season to get better,” UH-Hilo coach Jaime Guerpo said. “Anna is different because of where she’s from and her training background. There are a lot of hills in Denmark, and they do longer running.
“The team being out there representing the university and giving their all were all positives for us. As the season goes on, we’ll get better. It’s one group that all PR’d (personal record) last year, taking two minutes off their times.”
It helps to have a lead runner like Mikkelsen pushing her teammates at practice and race days. Guerpo can thank former UH-Hilo AD Dexter Irvin for getting her to the Big Island. Before Irvin left for the College of Southern Nevada, he pleaded with UH-Hilo’s administration to give the sports department a break and cut tuition for recruits.
Guerpo used that $12,000 waiver to lure Mikkelsen, and also offered her a few extra thousand from his limited scholarship fund to sweeten the deal. Otherwise, the 16th-year UH-Hilo coach knows the school’s $18,000 annual cost plus other expenses (airfare, housing, etc.) likely clearing $30,000 would have sent her somewhere else.
The goal is pretty simple: just get better.
“Last year, we were ninth at the PacWest championships, and 12th the year before,” Guerpo said. “We’d like to be sixth or seventh this year.”
5K results
Women
Team
1. Alaska Anchorage 29; 2. Hawaii Pacific 48; 3. BYU-Hawaii 58; 4. Messiah 114; 5. UHH 121; 6. Chaminade 179
Individual
1. Bryn Haebe, Alaska Anchorage
2. Beatrice Decker, Alaska Anchorage
3. Fiona McKenna, Hawaii Pacific
4. Tamara Perez, Alaska Anchorage
5. Anna Mikkelsen, UH-Hilo
6. Meghan Fairchild, Hawaii Pacific
7. Marissa Kunsch, Hawaii Pacific
8. Jessca Pahkala, Alaska Anchorage
9. Jessica Horrocks, BYU-Hawaii
10. Haley Olcott, BYU-Hawaii
Also
25. Jordan Concannon, UH-Hilo
29. Shelby Tanaka, UH-Hilo
30. Megan Washburn, UH-Hilo
32. Nina Kapuni, UH-Hilo
34. June Garrett, UH-Hilo
Men
Team
1. Alaska Anchorage 15; 2. BYU-Hawaii 67; 3. Hawaii Pacific 80; 4. Messiah 86; 5. Chaminade 132
Individual
1. Henry Cheseto, Alaska Anchorage
2. Dylan Anthony, Alaska Anchorage
3. Victory Samoei, Alaska Anchorage
4. Michel Ramirez, Alaska Anchorage
5. Dominik Notz, Alaska Anchorage
6. Edwin Kangogo, Alaska Anchorage
7. Nathan Kipchumba, Alaska Anchorage
8. Kevin Miller, BYU-Hawaii
9. Leandro Santillan, Hawaii Pacific
10. TJ Hesselgesser, BYU-Hawaii