Zach Hamberger Wins State 2A cross-country championship

Cordova High School senior Zach Hamberger became the first Cordova runner ever to win a state title in cross country, posting a 16:38 time on the 3.1 mile course at Colony High in the state championships held on Oct. 1.

Hamberger, the son of Mt. Eccles physical education teacher Jeff Hamburger, comes from a family steeped in running tradition. Both his sisters, Sarah and Jessica, qualified for state meets while running for CHS, and Sarah went on to run at Utah State for a year.

Both his parents were high school runners, and Jeff went on to run at Ricks College in Idaho.

Cordova had 14 boys and seven girls turn out for cross-country this year, with training starting the first week in August.

Locals may have seen runners out training rain or shine throughout the fall. They also worked on speed inside at CHS gym, which is roughly one-quarter of a mile per lap.

Qualifying for state is based on time, and Zach posted a best time of 16:22 in regionals at Soldotna High to make the cut. Over a 3.1-mile course, that is roughly 5.2 minutes per mile, which is amazing when considering a 4-minute mile was for many years thought impossible until Britain’s Roger Bannister broke that barrier in 1954.

Advertisement

The state championships were held on cross-country ski courses, and the cool, cloudy conditions were ideal. This year’s finals had runners from 1A, 2A, and 3A all on the course at the same time, and Hamberger was the fifth to cross the finish line, with only four runners from the much bigger 3A schools ahead of him.

“It may have actually helped him post such a good time,” said Jeff Hamberger. “It may seem strange that his state title time was a bit slower that his qualifying time, but every course is different, in terms of hills and terrain.”

Speaking of which, Jeff Hamberger said Cordova is an ideal place for the sport.

“You certainly don’t have to look very far to find challenging terrain around here, and the scenery in which a person can run is great,” he said.

This is Jeff Hamberger’s 10th year as Cordova cross-country coach. Danny Hayden, a new PE teacher at the high school who helped out as his assistant, has considerable Alaska experience in the sport as a runner for the 4A Service High (Anchorage) girls’ teams.

“Cross country is a great sport for a variety of kids, and we both hope the program will continue to grow,” said Jeff Hamberger.

Advertisement
Previous articleCommunity gets update on Nirvana Park
Next articleLaw & Order: Oct. 7-13
Dick Shellhorn
Dick Shellhorn is a lifelong Cordovan. He has been writing sports stories for the Cordova Times for over 50 years. In his Cordova Chronicles features, he writes about the history and characters of this Alaska town. Alaska Press Club awarded Shellhorn first place for Best Humor column in 2016 and 2020, and third place in 2017 and 2019. He also received second place for Best Editorial Commentary in 2019. Shellhorn has written two books about Alaska adventures: Time and Tide and Balls and Stripes. Reach him at dshorn44@gmail.com.