Desert Academy’s Jonatan Kaare-Rasmussen following in the paths of older brothers Jonas and Jakob as an 8th grader who qualified for state in the 800, with Jakob, a senior, in the same event

By Arnie Leshin 

For four years brothers Jonas and Jakob Kaare-Rasmussen ran for Desert Acadmey, with Jonas one year older and waiting for Jakob to come out of 7th grade and join him.

 

Jonas has graduated, but Jakob is a senior running for the final time Friday and Saturday at the state 2A track and field championships at the University of New Mexico facility. But he will not be the last of the brothers, for 8th grader Jonatan is running like an up-and-coming member of the family.

 

He’s young, but he has also qualified for state. He will run the 800 as the lowest seed, 16th, while Jakob is up there at second-fastest, and with a good time to medal, even get a gold one. He has also qualified in the 400 and 1,600 and could running a relay leg.

 

As for Jonatan, that’s all he has qualified for, but might run with one of the three relay teams. Plus, he has four more years ahead him as he follows on the heels of his big brothers.

 

Senior Sebastian Pearson-Kramer is trying to compete his four-year run by accomplishing what his older sister, Isabel, did in her four years with the Wildcats. She made state in the 100 meters as a freshman, and went on to win both the 100 and 200, and nail down a few field events and be a strong leg for the relay teams.

 

Now Sebastian has set his sights on four events, and that’s not counting the relays. He has the third-best triple jump qualifying, the fourth-best in the long jump, and the fourth-fastest in the 200 and eighth-best in the 100. Oh, and no doubt a relay leg.

 

Desert Academy also has senior twins Molly and Jessica LeBron in their finales after being with the program for five years, and that includes cross country. So they are older but better, with Jessica having a chance to medal in both the 100 and 200, and Molly in the 400.

 

They will also run some relay legs, although the Wildcats have only qualified for the 4 x 400.

 

NOTE:  Can’t forget the exploits of Taylor Bacon, now at Princeton University. At Desert Academy, she first ran as an 8th grader, and just kept improving, so as to win state championships in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200, as well as three state cross country titles. And she’s also in the state record books, with the best times in the 800 and 1,600.