Baskett named to
NCAA All-American team
6-18-08
by Tommy Wells
Kristina Baskett added yet another honor to her storied gymnastics career recently when she capped her career at the University of Utah by earning All-American honors for the fourth consecutive year.
One of the nation’s top all-around gymnasts, Baskett tied for second in the vaulting competition at the MCAA Super Six team finals in Athens, Georgia, in April and led Utah to second in the final team standings. Baskett posted the best score in both sessions of the vault and uneven parallel bars and, as a result, earned All American honors.
With Baskett’s help, Utah finished second in the NCAA national standings for the third straight season.
The daughter of former Bethel Regional High School standout Lady Jean Laraux and Randy Baskett of Normandy Park, Washington, Baskett also was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America at-large ballot after making the all-District VIII first team earlier this month.
Baskett has starred at Utah since coming out of the Pugent Sound Gymnastics program. She has won four All-America awards, including a second-place finish on the vault and a bronze medal in the all-around, at the 2008 NCAA Championships.
In Athens, Baskett caught the attention of the judges early. The first vaulter of the meet, she opened the competition with a vault that scored 9.8438.
She came back later to finish sixth in the final standings in the bars by posting a score of 9.875.
The 5-foot-1 senior was unable to add to her run, however. A two-time Dahl Award recipient, she finished the meet on crutches after injuring her ankle during her first run on the floor exercise.
The Dahl Award is given annually to the Utah gymnast that distinguishes themselves academically and athletically. Through April, Baskett carried a 3.56 grade point average at Utah, and had won 39 career events.
Baskett was one of two Utes to win academic all-district honors. Sophomore Daria Bijak, who won second-team All-America honors in the all-around and on the floor exercise, was named to the Academic all-District VIII second-team. Bijak, a theater major, boasts a 3.93 cumulative GPA.
Both Baskett and Bijak qualified for the University of Utah’s Dean’s List and were recently named Scholastic All-Americans by the National Gymnastics Coaches Association.
Bethel wrestlers earn
five state titles in Wasilla
5-20-08
by Tommy Wells
The Bethel Freestyle Wrestling Club turned more than a few heads last weekend in Wasilla by staging a solid performance at the Alaska State Freestyle & Roman Greco Wrestling Tournament. Bethel had a total of 20 wrestlers place in the top three spots in their respective weight divisions, including four that combined to win five state titles.
“This was our first weekend of wrestling while the other clubs throughout the state have been wrestling in tournaments since March,” said BFC co-coach Darren Lieb. “These kids did a great job despite the lack of matches they had.”
Timothy Robb highlighted Bethel’s efforts, earning a state title in both the freestyle and Roman Greco divisions. He won the Schoolboy 210-pound division in freestyle by posting a 1-0 record. Robb also won the 210-pound bracket in Roman Greco.
Randy Hanson, Willem Chaliak and Stanley Shields also won gold medals. Hanson won the Junior division’s 119-pound division with a perfect 2-0 record. Chaliak posted a 4-1 record en route to winning the Novice division’s 1-5-pound division, while Shields took top honors in the 120-pound Midget division.
Bethel, which is coached by Lieb and Courtney Geerdts, had 11 wrestlers finish second in the state’s largest-ever wrestling tournament. Among the BFC wrestlers finishing with silver medals were Evan Dyment, who went 4-1 in the Novice 80-pound division, and Brandon Oulton, who notched a 3-2 record in the Novice 105 classification.
Mario Kuqo, Zach Pleasant and Jerry Johnson also earned second-place finished in the freestyle division. Kuqo posted an impressive 6-1 record to net second in the Schoolboy 112-pound bracket. Pleasant was the runner-up in the Cadet classification’s 105-pound bracket, while Johnson was the state runner-up in the Cadet 198-pound competition.
Douglas Palacios, Johnson and Hanson all netted second place marks in their Roman Greco weight classes, as did Alison Oscar who finished as the runner-up in the Schoolgirl 98-pound bracket.
The 2008 tournament -- which drew more than 650 wrestlers from throughout the state, was the first tournament to hold a girls’ division tournament. In all, 38 female athletes participated in the girls’ event.
Bethel’s Kayla Williams also did well in the girls’ bracket, taking third in the Schoolgirl 112-pound division.
Jerek Pete and Scott Carpenter each earned third-place honors in their weight divisions in freestyle action.
Lieb said the Bethel Freestyle Club also would like to thank the many local businesses and individuals who helped the club travel to Wasilla for the event.
“The Bethel Freestyle Wrestling Club would like to thank the members of the community who pledged money during our push-up-a-thon fundraiser,” he said. “Also, a huge thank you to the VFW Ladies Auxiliary and the Bethel Native Corporation for their generous donations, and to A.C. Company for providing the money for the water/sport drinks. Thank you for supporting our kids here in Bethel.”
Rat Ball Extravagaza
by Joshua Gill
On May 2nd and 3rd Nuniwarmiut School in Mekoryuk hosted a Rat-Ball Extravaganza. Toksook Bay, Napaskiak, and Tuntutuliak brought students to join in the basketball fun. Teams were made up of students from each site. Each team created their name, and then the games began.
For students to take part in the ball bouncing they had to be eligible. Each school came up with expectations for their students in order for them to be chosen to participate in the basketball fun. Some expectations were coming to school every day on time, good behavior, and passing indicators.
The 50 plus students who attended are fine examples of students who are working hard to the very end. Thanks to all the chaperones and volunteers who made this possible. This is just another fine example of Parents, Community, and School coming together to do what best for our children.
Joshua J. Gill is the Site Administrator for the Nuniwarmiut School in Mekoryuk, AK.
Slim ends NYO career
with win for coach, father
5-6-08
by Tommy Wells
After the end of the Native Youth Olympic season a year ago, legendary Kipnuk coach Paul Paul was ready to step away from the sport he has helped pioneer for more than three decades.
He may very well have retired if it hadn’t been for Tanya Slim, who begged her coach for one more year. One more year for her, for him, and for the father she never got to know. It was a request Paul couldn’t turn down.
On Friday, he was proud Slim had talked him into one more season.
With Paul watching on -- and her father’s name etched inside her kicking show, the Lower Kuskokwim School District all-star etched her name into the NYO state record books by shattering a 14-year-old mark in the Alaskan high kick. The 18-year-old NYO legend from Kipnuk posted a mark of 74 inches in the event, bettering a state record that had initially been set in 1994.
Slim’s father, Mike Slim, died when she was 10 months old in a fishing accident. He and another fisherman, Charlie Phillip Jr., died of hypothermia when the boat they were riding in capsized and sent both of them into the chilly Kuskokwim Bay waters.
Paul, who was a cousin to Charlie Phillip Jr., said he knew Slim was capable of greatness, calling her Kipnuk’s equivalent to former heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali. Prior to watching her break the Alaskan high kick record, the 57-year-old Y-K Delta mentor told he to remember her father was still with her.
“Do this for your dad,” he said. “Your father will help you.”
Like Ali, Slim turned Paul’s words into a dramatic win.
Slim didn’t stop with her second straight win in the Alaskan high kick. She closed out her NYO career by taking first-place in the girls’ One Foot High Kick. She tied for the top spot in the event with McGrath’s Alice Strick. Both recorded kicks of 83 inches.
Last year, Slim edged out Bethel standout Genevieve Maczynski in the standings of the Alaskan high kick with a mark of 71. Maczynski was not able to compete in the 2008 state tournament due to a knee injury she suffered in basketball.
Slim also placed fourth in the Two Foot High Kick.
Overall, Slim’s emotion-filled wins in the Alaskan and One Foot high kicks highlighted a solid showing by both the Lower Kuskokwim and Bethel all-star teams. In all, members from the two teams collected more than their share of medals at the state tournament.
Olivia Shields highlighted Bethel’s efforts at the state tournament. Shields won top honors in the Indian Stick Pull competition. She beat Mt. Edgecumbe’s Alessa Poe, originally from Bethel, in the finals of the event.
Bethel teammate John Herman was fifth in the final standings in the boys’ Indian Stick Pull standings.
Bethel added another gold medal to its resume later in the tournament when Sherilyn Soots dominated the girls’ Toe Kick event. Soots won the event with a mark of 43 inches -- more than 1 1/2 inches better than Jaclyn Weston of Anchorage.
Like Bethel, the LKSD all-stars also collected plenty of gold medals. Tim Kinegak and Ryan White both contributed gold medal-winning efforts. Kinegak won the boys’ Toe Kick honors with an effort of 78”. His kick was two inches better than runner-up Timothy Standifer of Tebughna.
In route to winning the boys’ One Hand Reach title, White etched his name into the record books. His final mark of 65 inches ties the state record set by Manuel Tumulak Jr. in 2006. White’s mark was one inch better than that of second-place finisher, Yako Howard. The Yupiit all-star recorded a mark of 64. Herman was fourth in the event.
Bethel’s Crissy Elliott garnered a second-place finish in the Eskimo Stick Pull standings. She placed behind only Anchorage’s Brittany Efrid in the event.
Silas Moses, a member of the LKSD All-Star team from Toksook Bay, was fourth in the boys’ Eskimo Stick Pull event.
Revie Tony, a former western Alaska standout competing for Houston, was fourth in the girls’ One Hand Reach standings.
Bethel’s Mary Dyment and LKSD’s Tim Kinegak both performed well in the Seal Hop competitions. Dyment was second in the girls’ standings with an effort of 115-8 3/4. Kinegak was second in the boys’ event with a mark of 134-7 3/4.
LKSD All Star NYO Team wins at State
Top 5 Teams: 1st LKSD 39, 2nd Nome 32, 3rd Bethel 30, 4th ANC1 28, 5th McGrath 21. Top Overall Athletes: Tim Kinegak, LKSD; Alice Strick, McGrath. Male and Female Sportsmanship Awards: Chris Anderson, Kenaitze; Aurora Warrior, MEHS. Gloria Walker Team Sportsmanship: Valdez. Best Banner: Su Valley.
Individual Results
Toe Kick: Girls 1st Sherilyn Soots, BET 43”; 2nd Jaclyn Weston, ANC2 41”; 3rd Meda Warrior, Knik 38”; 4th Samantha Keeney, Gilson 34”; 5th (tie) Bev Nakaak, BS 30”; Kim Delk, ANC1. Boys 1st Tim Kinegak, LKSD 78”; 2nd Tim Standifer, Tebughna 76”; 3rd Melford Welsey, ANC2 76”; 4th Lonny Booshu, Nome 74”; 5th Brandon Candall, Knik 68”. Wrist Carry: Girls 1st Kendra Nelson, Wasilla 390’ 9.5”; 2nd Jorden Lisec, Dillingham 338’ 8”; 3rd Robin Standish, McGrath 274’ 6.25”; 4th Aline Nguyen, Unalaska 263’4”; 5th Leah Chingliak, LKSD 216’3”. Boys 1st Michael Wassily, Dillingham 606’ 7” (New Record); 2nd Lonny Booshu, Nome 551’4”; 3rd Justin Wolf, Kenai 450’11”; 4th Jeremy Griffin, Palmer 443’; 5th Johnathan Phillip, Nenana 439’. AK High Kick: Girls 1st Tanya Slim, LKSD 74”; 2nd Jaclyn Weston, ANC2 70”; 3rd Jessica Waska, Yupiit 67”; 4th Maria Strick, McGrath 66”; Christina McElwee, BET 66”. Boys 1st Tim Kinegak, LKSD 90”; 2nd Tim Field, NWABSD 86”; 3rd Taylor Hamilton, ANC1 84”; 4th Will Miller, Port Graham 84” 1 miss; 5th Nick Petla, SWRS 78”. Eskimo Stick Pull: Girls 1st Brittany Efrid, ANC1; 2nd Crissy Elliot, BET; 3rd Kristen Johnson, Knik; 4th Lara Olsen, Kenai; 5th Sage Lewis, Unalaska. Boys 1st Kris Firey, Wasilla; 2nd Morgan Fox, King Salmon; 3rd Charley Dushkin, King Cove; 4th Silas Moses, LKSD (Toksook); 5th Jerry Johnson, BET. Kneel Jump: Girls 1st Lauren Stieger, Nome 46.5”; 2nd Darcie Kinekuk, BSSD 44.25”; 3rd Robin Standish, McGrath 44”; 4th Cynthia Asuluk, LKSD 43.5”; 5th Angelica Whitley, SWRSD 41.75”. Boys 1st Aaron Wilde, ANC2 58.75”; 2nd Alberto Cabrera, Nome 58.5”; 3rd Tim Kinegak, LKSD 58.5”; 4th Derek Nashookpuk, BB 58.25”; 5th Austin Sumdum, Yakutat 55.5”. 1-Hand Reach: Girls 1st Alice Strick, McGrath 59”; 2nd Stephanie Lupie, BET 56”; 3rd Kristin Smeaton, Dillingham 55”; 4th Revie Tony, Houston 55”; 5th Danielle Malchoff, ANC2 55”. Boys 1st Ryan White, LKSD (Kasigluk) 65”; 2nd Yako Howard, Yupiit (Akiak) 64”; 3rd Andrew Yatchmenoff, ANC1 64”; 4th John Herman, BET 62”; 5th Derek Bodfish, Alak 62”. 2-Ft. High Kick: Girls 1st Angelica Whitley, SWRSD 72”; 2nd Danielle Malchoff, ANC1 70”; 3rd Alice Strick, McGrath 66”; 4th Tanya Slim, LKSD (Kipnuk) 64”; 5th Aurora Warrior, MEHS 63”. Boys 1st Evan Petla, SWRSD 88”, 2nd Loren Handler, LYSD 88” 3 misses; 3rd Sean Dittman, SuVal 86”, 4th Andrew Yatchmenoff, ANC1 86” 3 misses; 5th Lonny Booshu, Nome 84”. Indian Stick Pull: Girls 1st Olivia Shields, Bethel; 2nd Alessa Poe, MEHS; 3rd Jesslyn Peters, SWRSD; 4th Chelsea Wassillie, BB; 5th Brittaney Efrid, ANC1. Boys 1st Kris Frey, Wasilla; 2nd Calvin Bell, Nome; 3rd Aaron Wilde, ANC1; 4th Tim Field, NWABSD; 5th John Herman, Bethel. Seal Hop: Girls 1st Kaly Booshu, Nome 116’ 10.25”; 2nd Mary Dyment, Bethel, 115’ 8.75”; 3rd Cheri Alstrom, MEHS 107’ 5.75”; 4th Tasha Mockta, ANC1 94’ 7”; 5th (3-way tie) Amanda McGrill, Dillingham; Lucinda Ivanhoff, BSSD; Wendy Roland, Nenana 94”. Boys 1st Calvin Bell, Nome 151’ 8.75”; 2nd Tim Kinegak, LKSD (Chefornak) 134’ 7.75”; 3rd Brandon Reich, NWABSD 103’ 2.25”; 4th Steven Aikins, Dillingham, 101’ 2”; 5th Johnathan Phillip, Nenana 99’ 1.75”. 1-Ft. High Kick: Girls 1st (tie) Tanya Slim, LKSD 83”; Alice Strick, McGrath 83”; 3rd Acacia Walton, Dillingham 80”; 4th Aurora Warrior, MEHS 80” 2 misses; 5th Brittany Efrid, ANC2. Boys 1st Tim Field, NWABSD 111”; 2nd Andrew Yatchmenoff, ANC1 106”; 3rd John Herman, Bethel 102”; 4th Jeremy Head, Nome 102” 3 misses; 5th Sean Dittman, SuVal 100”.
Asuluk, Tulik spark Islanders to win at Nunapitchuk NYO meet
4-15-08
by Tommy Wells
Jason Tulik and Cynthia Asuluk both turned in outstanding performances at the Nunapitchuk Native Youth Olympics meet a week before the District Meet and helped power the Toksook Bay Islanders to the overall team championship.
Keyed by eight first-place finishes by Asuluk and Tulik, the Islanders rolled up 202 points and easily edged out Tununak for the top spot. Tununak finished with 128.
Nunapitchuk finished third in the final team standings, while Napakiak and Napaskiak rounded out the top five, respectively.
Asuluk was a one-woman scoring machine for Toksook Bay. The NIHS standout racked up a tournament-best 92 points by winning seven events, placing second in two others and third in another.
Asuluk won the girls’ Kneel Jump, Wrist Carry, 2-Foot High Kick, Alaskan High Kick, 1-Foot High Kick, Toe Kick and Eskimo Stick Pull titles. She placed second to Nunapitchuk’s Wilma Frank in the Seal Hop and second to Jolene Bavilla of Napaskiak in the Indian Stick Pull.
Asuluk’s third-place finish came in the One-Arm Reach. She finished behind Tununak’s Samantha Kanrilak and Frank, respectively, in the event.
Although he didn’t win as many gold medals, Tulik was equally impressive in the boys’ division. He rolled up 48 points by placing in seven events, including first in the Alaskan High Kick.
In addition to his win, he was second to Tununak standout Thomas Albert in the Seal Hop and One-Foot High Kick, and second to Toksook Bay teammate Jefferson Lincoln in the Seal Hop. Tulik also placed third in the Two-Foot High Kick and fourth in the Kneel Jump and One-Arm Reach.
Like Tulik, Albert starred for Tununak. He finished with four gold medals and rolled up 48 of his team’s total points. In addition to winning the Seal Hop and One-Foot High Kick, Albert also won the Two-Foot High Kick and the Eskimo Stick Pull titles. He was third in the One-Arm Reach and fifth in the Alaskan High Kick.
Tununak also picked up solid efforts from Frank Link, Jazmin James and Peter Post. Link and James finished first and second, respectively, in the Wrist Carry. Post won the boys’ Kneel Jump honors by edging out Nunapitchuk’s Grando Seal. Seal was also second in the One-Arm Reach. He finished behind Toksook Bay’s George John in the event. Napakiak’s Shane Michael won the Indian Stick Pull by downing John in the finals.
Toksook Bay also claimed the junior team championship. The Islanders rolled up 172 points and beat out Napakiak and Napaskiak for the top spot. Napakiak was second in the overall standings with 166 points. Napaskiak finished with 154.
Tununak’s Michael Albert and Napaskiak’s Kristy Nick highlighted the junior high division. Each won four events. Toksook Bay’s Darrin Dull won three.
Slim, Asuluk highlight
LKSD NYO all-star squad
by Tommy Wells
Tanya Slim and Cynthia Asuluk are headed right where every one expected -- to a spot on the Lower Kuskokwim School District’s Native Youth Olympics all-star squad.
Slim and Asuluk were among 13 Yukon-Kuskokwim area athletes named to the squad earlier this week at the District Meet in Tununak. The LKSD team will be coached by Paul J. Paul of Kipnuk, Marty Smith of Toksook Bay, Janel Monson of Tununak and Sharon Wegner of Bethel.
A standout at Kipnuk, Slim was selected to compete in three events at the upcoming state meet. She will participate in the One-Foot High Kick, the Alaskan High Kick and the Two-Foot High Kick. Asuluk, one of two Toksook Bay standouts to be named to the squad, will compete in the Two-Foot High Kick and the Kneel Jump.
Kwethluk’s Charlie Phillip will also named to the all-star squad. She will compete in the Seal Hop and One-Arm Reach. Also selected to the LKSD squad were Elena Anthony of Nightmute, Vanessa George of Newtok and Leah Chingliak of Goodnews Bay.
Anthony will participate in the Eskimo Stick Pull, while George will compete in the Indian Stick Pull. Chingliak will be in the Wrist Carry.
Tim Kinegak highlights the boys’ selections. The Chefornak standout was named to selected to represent the LKSD in four events, including the Two-Foot High Kick, the Seal Hop, Kneel Jump and Alaskan High Kick. Chefornak’s Jack Wiseman was also named to the team. He will compete in the Two-Foot High Kick.
Toksook Bay’s Silas Moses will also compete for the LKSD. He was chosen to represent the region in the Eskimo Stick Pull.
Tununak’s Thomas Albert (One-Foot High Kick) and Frank Link (Wrist Carry), Kipnuk’s Carl Paul (Indian Stick Pull) and Akula’s Ryan White (One-Arm Reach) were also named to the all-star squad.
Memorial basketball honors
Mt. Village Resident
4-8-08
The families of the late William “Boots” Peterson Jr. held a Memorial Basketball Tournament in Mountain Village, Alaska from March 27th-29th, 2008 at the Mountain Village School Gymnasium.
“Boots” was tragically taken in July of last summer. In remembrance of him for his activeness in the community and his generous helping hand, not to mention his influencing role as a high school basketball coach and his camaraderie among regional men’s city league basketball teams, the families were pleased to honor his positive impact he made in our communities. The theme “We Will Meet Again” is the idea that we will be united again someday with those we have lost.
The William “Boots” Peterson Jr. Memorial Tournament consisted of 10 teams. They include the Mountain Village Pacers, Mountain Village Heat, Saint Mary’s Andreafski, Saint Mary’s Ryders, Saint Mary’s Blazers, Pilot Station Bullets, Pilot Station Pistons, Marshall Goldminers, Scammon Bay City League, and the Hooper Bay City League.
Third Place went to the Pilot Station Bullets, Second Place was awarded to the Scammon Bay City League, and First Place went to Saint Mary’s Andreafski. Two MVP plaques were awarded to individual players of the top two teams: Jacob Rivers of Scammon Bay and Earl Alstrom of Andreafski. All Star Awards were rewarded to Richard Boots of Marshall, Richie Nick and Gus Kozevnikoff of Pilot Station, Kyle Thompson and Clifford Westdahl of Saint Mary’s, Jeffrey Andrews and Kevin Thompson of Mountain Village, and JJ Paukan of Hooper Bay. The Sportsmanship Award was rewarded to the Marshall Goldminers. Kevin Thompson also won the Free Throw Contest and JJ Paukan won the 3 Point Contest.
To host the special event, contributions and support was found among local entities. The Peterson Family would like to recognize Frontier Alaska, Asa’carsarmuit Tribal Government, City of Mountain Village, Azachorok Corporation, Mountain Village Native Store, Mountain Village A.C. Store, and the Mountain Village School. We’d also like to show our appreciation to Michael Kozevnikoff who donated a wooden spoon to raffle along with Boots’ companion, Gloria George for donating a quilt. During the event, we had several raffle prizes. Ineligible participants in the drawings were the immediate families of “Boots.” The winners were picked randomly. They include Fanny Agwiak, who won the RT ticket to Anchorage via Frontier Alaska, John Chief won a RT ticket to Bethel via Hageland Aviation, Martha Sheppard won the other ticket to Bethel, Roberta Alexie won a 4.0 GB Apple Nano Ipod, Mary Walters won the 50/50 drawing for over $100 and Sara Peterson won the donated wooden spoon along with the quilt.
Boots’ Families would also like to show appreciation to several volunteers for helping in various jobs from score keeping to cleaning up: Thank you to Hazel Walters, Edmund Beans, Alex Beans, and Jack Wilde for all your help. We would not have been able to host this special event without the help and participation from our supporters, volunteers, and participants. We’d also like to thank everyone who attended for coming to the event.
For those who were not able to attend and would like a memento of the memorial tournament, there are still some remaining T-shirts available for sale. Please call the Peterson’s @ (907) 591-2910 and leave a message.
-From the Families of William “Boots” Peterson, Jr.
Hanson competes in national wrestling tournament
by Darren Lieb
Randy Hanson traveled across the United States to compete in the 2008 National High School Coaches Association (NHSCA) Sophomore National Wrestling tournament. The site, Virginia Beach, VA Convention Center.
This annual event pits the nation’s best wrestlers in each age and weight division on each bracket. In total, there were 618 wrestlers from 43 states in the Sophomore division. Hanson, a two time Alaska State finalist and one time champion, competed in the 103 lb. weight class.
Randy’s first match was against Kyle McNulty of New Jersey, Randy won 7-3. 2nd match against New York’s Penn Gottried saw Hanson lose a close one, 1-3. He won his first consolation match against a tough Virginia kid, Anthony Kotoriy, 2-1. His hopes of becoming an All-American ended the next match as he lost to California’s David Rico 1-7. The top eight placers in each weight class are recognized as All-Americans. Randy’s record this tournament was 2-2.
Alaska sent a total of 20 wrestlers that comprised of Freshmen-Seniors. We ended with one All-American and several who were one match away from becoming an All-American. The lone AA was Nathan Hoffer, a sophomore from East High School in Anchorage. He placed an impressive 4th place in the 125 lb. weight class.
Hanson’s next quest is to win another State Freestyle and Greco wrestling championship, to add to his multiple state wins. He has a 4.0 GPA and plans on attending one of the best and toughest wrestling camps in the nation this summer, the J Robinson Intensive Camp. It’s no secret what his main goal is: to become Bethel’s first All-American in Wrestling.
Tony Hall Memorial Tournament Championship recap
Men's A League: St. Mary's 66 - Casa 50; Eric Alstrom of St. Mary's scored a team high 26 points with three 3-pointers. Teammate Isa Fredericks scored 19. At halftime, St. Mary's had the lead 31-20. For Casa, Peter Evon led his team with 21 points. Colin McDonald had 9.
1st: St. Mary's. 2nd: Casa. 3rd: And-1
Men's A League All-Stars: Phillip Ivan, Akiak; Mister Laraux, And-1; Colin McDonald, Casa; Sonny Beans, St. Mary's; Eric Alstrom, St. Mary's.
Men's B League: BNC Papa Bears 56 - Brothers 47; Harry Oscar and Randy Keene scored in double figures for the BNC Papa Bears, 15 and 14 points. Benny Beaver scored three back-to-back 3-pointers in the second half. At the half, the score was tied at 28. For Brothers, Alban Malaj scored 15 and teammate Greg Turner had 12 - all from 3 point shots.
1st: BNC Papa Bears. 2nd: Brothers. 3rd: Kwethluk Raiders
Men's B League All-Stars: John Kehoe, Tundra Fencing; Joel Isaac, Outsiders; Oscar Active Jr., Kongiganak; Tatu Nicholas, Kwethluk Raiders; Alban Malaj, Brothers; Greg Turner, Brothers; Harry Oscar, Papa Bears; Ben Beaver, Papa Bears.
Women's Championship: Crowley 38 - Hageland 76; For Crowley, Roxanne Saddler scored 9 and teammate Melanie Beans had 8. Sarah Jackson scored two three pointers in the first half. At halftime, Crowley trailed 42-21. For Hageland, Kenlynn Nicholai scored 28 points, teammate Kathy Katongan had 18.
1st: Hageland. 2nd: Crowley. 3rd: Tuntutuliak
Women's All-Stars: Dana Jimmie, Napaskiak; Jennifer Evan, Tuntutuliak; Roxanne Saddler, Crowley; Kathy Katongan, Hageland; Kenlynn Nicholai, Hageland.
Islanders cruise to
Mekoryuk NYO crown
4-1-08
by Tommy Wells
The Toksook Bay Islanders didn’t just dominate the varsity division at the Mekoryuk Herders’ Native Youth Olympics Meet this past weekend. They owned it.
The Islanders won eight gold medals in the boys’ division and collected two more in girls’ action en route to cruising to an easy team victory. Toksook Bay scored 228 points in the meet, almost double the 124 posted by second-place Nightmute.
Simeon Aluska and Jason Tulik highlighted the Islanders’ individual efforts. Aluska won four events, while Tulik claimed a pair of wins and placed in the top five in six others.
Aluska claimed his first win with a gold-medal effort in the Kneel Jump. He posted a mark of 46.625, edging out teammate Silas Moses for the top spot. Tulik was third overall. Aluska also won the Seal Hop, Indian Stick Pull and Toe Kick crowns.
Tulik netted his two first-place marks in the One Arm Reach and the Alaskan High Kick, in which he bested Aluska for the top spot.
Moses also garnered a win for the Islanders, claiming the top spot in the Eskimo Stick Pull.
Tununak’s Thomas Albert and Nightmute’s Phillip Tulik also earned wins. Albert, who led Tununak to third overall in the team standings, won the One Foot High Kick. Tulik won the Wrist Carry.
Toksook Bay’s Cynthia Asuluk netted the Islanders’ two wins on the girls’ side. She won the Two Foot High Kick and the Toe Kick.
Mekoryuk’s Delcie Davis had a strong outing, too. The Herder standout won the One Foot High Kick and the Seal Hop and placed in the top five in five other events, including second in the Kneel Jump and Indian Stick Pull.
Doug Hubbard and Caroline Oscar led the Mekoryuk to the junior high title. Hubbard won the boys’ Kneel Jump and Wrist Carry, while Oscar netted the top spot in the girls’ Seal Hop and Alaskan High Kick.
Mekoryuk scored 126 points in the junior high division, edging out Goodnews Bay by just two points. Nightmute was third.
Goodnews Bay’s Brendalee Merritt won six girls’ events, including the Kneel Jump, One Arm Reach, Eskimo Stick Pull, Indian Stick Pull, Wrist Carry and Two Foot High Kick. Teammate Sheila Evan won the Toe Kick.
Mekoryuk Herders NYO Meet; March 29, 2008
VARSITY: 1. Toksook Bay 228; 2. Nightmute 124; 3. Tununak 78; 4. Goodnews Bay 68; 5. Mekoryuk 66. JUNIOR HIGH; 1. Mekoryuk 126; Goodnews Bay 124; 3. Nightmute 46.
Slim powers Kipnuk
to Akula NYO crown
by Tommy Wells
Bunny Slim won seven events Saturday and powered the Kipnuk Falcons to the varsity team championship at the 2008 Akula Native Youth Olympics Meet. Keyed by Slim’s seven gold medals, Kipnuk racked up 180 points -- 54 more than second-place Kwethluk.
Slim dominated the meet early ... and often. The Kipnuk standout opened the tournament by winning her first six events, including the Kneel Jump, Wrist Carry, Two Foot High Kick, Alaskan High Kick, One Foot High Kick and One Arm Reach. She later added a win in the Seal Hop competition.
Overall, Slim accounted for 76 of her team’s total points.
Napakiak’s Carrie Black ended Slim’s complete domination of the girls’ division by winning the Toe Kick -- an event Slim did not compete in.
Kwethluk’s Kelly Ayapan added to her resume of excellence in NYO with a gold in the girls’ Eskimo Stick Pull. She bested teammate Hannah Howard in the event’s finals. Slim was third.
Newtok’s Shelly Carl won the Indian Stick Pull, downing Kwethluk’s Rosalie Guy in the finals. Nunapitchuk’s Amanda Black placed third.
On the boys’ side, Chefornak’s Tim Kinegak starred. He led the Shamans to a third-place finish in the final team standings by winning four events -- Two-Foot High Kick, Alaskan High Kick, One-Foot High Kick and Seal Hop. Overall, he placed in eight events and amassed 64 points.
Chefornak’s Jack Wiseman and David Avugiak also did well, as did Akula’s Ryan White and Kipnuk’s Yako McCarr.
Akula won the junior high division title, rolling up 196 points and easily outdistancing Kipnuk, which finished with 132. Chefornak, Newtok and Kwethluk rounded out the top five in the division.
Kipnuk’s Peter Aliralia and Chefornak’s Kasey Panruk both won two events in the meet.
AKULA NYO MEET; March 28, 2008 at Akula
Varsity: 1. Kipnuk 180; 2. Kwethluk 126; 3. Chefornak 118; 4. Akula 60; 5. Nunapitchuk 38; 6. Newtok 34; 7. Napaskiak 24. Junior High: 1. Akula 196; 2. Kipnuk 132; 3. Chefornak 114; 4. Newtok 60; 5. Kwethluk 32; 6. Nunapitchuk 32; 7. Napakiak 30.
Elliott helps power Alaska to Arctic Winter Games championship
by Tommy Wells
For years, Crissy Elliott wrestled some of the state’s top wrestlers as a member of Darren Lieb’s Bethel Regional High School program.
That experience paid big dividends earlier this month when the 16-year-old walked away with two gold medals at the Arctic Winter Game. Elliott won top honors in the women’s Individual and Inuit Up To 71-kilogram divisions.
Keyed by solid performances from Elliott -- along with an outstanding effort from several other western Alaskan Native Youth Olympics standouts -- Team Alaska cruised to the overall title at the international games, which were held March 10-15 in Yellowknife, Canada. Team Alaska racked up a 74 gold medals in the Games and scored 202 points -- almost double the 111 tallied by the second-place team from the Northwest Territories.
In all, nine teams representing regions with ties to the Arctic were represented, including Yamal-Nenets, Alberta North, Yukon, Greenland, Nunavik Quebec and Sami.
McGrath standouts Alice Strick amd Maria Olene Strick also won gold medals, while Virginia Angaiak, Laura Therchik and Moses Charles also walked away with medals.
Elliott didn’t have any trouble proving she was among the best wrestlers at the Arctic Winter Games. In route to winning the Individual and Inuit crowns, she held every opponent scoreless. She defeated Howmik Muckpah of Nunavut in the finals of the Inuit finals, claiming an easy 5-0 victory. She claimed a 2-0 win over Janelle Vera Anne Batt of Alberta North in the Individual championship bout.
Maria Olene Strick helped Team Alaska dominate the Alaskan High Kick competition. She recorded a kick of 5-foot, 6 inches and claimed the gold medal. Angaiak finished second in the medal standings with a mark of 5-5, while Therchik, a standout at Toksook Bay, was fifth at 5-feet.
Finishing second was a dream come true for Angaiak. The 16-year-old had entered the Games hoping to place in the top three in the Alaskan High Kick -- and held the early lead in the event after the preliminary round with a mark of 5-4. Therchik was also fifth in the girls’ Kneel Jump.
Alice Strick netted her gold in the Two-Foot High Kick. She posted a mark of 5-8 in the event, edging out Nunavut’s Deseray Cumberbatch for the top spot by having fewer misses. Cumberbartch had six misses to Strick’s five.
Strick also earned a bronze medal for a third-place finish in the One-Foot High Kick.
Rebecca Brink also did well for Team Alaska. The 13-year-old Bethel star competed in several events.
Charles, an NYO standout at Toksook Bay, was the top boys’ competitor from western Alaska. He placed second in the One-Foot High Kick, and took third in the Two-Foot High Kick with a mark of 6-feet. In the One-Foot High Kick competition, Charles was fifth following the preliminary round on March 13 with a kick of 7-6. In the finals, he hit 8-feet and finished two inches short of eventual first-place winner Damien Tulugarjuk of Nunavut.
Charles was also fifth in the boys’ Alaska High Kick standings.
Tuluksak teacher competes
in All Alaska Sweepstakes
by Tommy Wells
The Tuluksak High School mushing team etched its name into Alaskan lore this past weekend by becoming the first school-backed team to compete in the historic All Alaska Sweepstakes sled dog race. The mushing team, which also entered the Kuskokwim 300 earlier this year, was one of 17 entrants in the 408-mile race across the Seward Peninsula.
Tuluksak teacher Moe Napoka drove the team in the $100,000 race. He was in 10th place Sunday evening, having entered the Timber checkpoint near the village of Council.
Former Kuskokwim 300 champion Mitch Seavey won the All Alaska Sweepstakes, mushing across the finish line at 11:29 p.m. on March 28. Seavey beat K-300 legend Jeff King to the finish line by 10 minutes.
Lance Mackey, despite having his sled hit by a snowmachine, finished third. One of Mackey’s dogs, Zorro, was injured in the accident and later flown to Anchorage to be treated.
Kalskag is State’s
Class 1A runner up
3-26-08
by Tommy Wells
The Kalskag Grizzlies have a name for their pain. It’s the Buckland Sissauni (Belugas).
Buckland spoiled the Grizzlies magical season Saturday night in the finals of the Alaska Schools Activities Association’s Class 1A state basketball championship tournament. The Sissauni nailed down its second straight Class 1A state basketball championship Saturday night by claiming a tough 70-63 win over Kalskag.
The win marks the second straight season Kalskag has suffered a heart-rending loss to Buckland at the state tournament. The Sissauni, who will be moving into the Class 2A ranks next season, defeated the Grizzlies last year in the state semifinals.
Buckland’s win didn’t come easy. The Sissauni were forced to hold off a late Kalskag run in order to claim the team’s third Class 1A championship since 1997.
It was a rally that almost vaulted the Grizzlies to the top.
Trailing by 15, at 65-50, with four minutes left, Kalskag found its offensive stride. Senior Robert Reed and the Grizzlies found their shot.
“After coming back from 22 last night, you always believe you can get 15 points,” said first-year head coach Severin Gardner. “That’s four shots and four stops. That could happen in 45 seconds. And we’ve done it before.”
Reed fueled the Kalskag surge by pumping in eight points in a 3:12 span and spearheading a 13-2 run that trimmed Buckland’s lead to four with 48 seconds left.
Buckland managed to stave off the run, however. The Sissauni nailed a couple of key shots in the final 48 seconds to close out the game.
Although disappointed his team didn’t win the Class 1A title, Gardner said he was proud of his team’s effort.
“We always play till the last buzzer goes,” he said. “We never quit.”
Buckland, 22-5 overall, got off to a quick start against Kalskag. The Sissauni unleashed 20 shots on the basket in the first eight minutes of the game, connecting on nine.
Kalskag, on the other hand, managed just nine shots from the field in the first quarter. The Grizzlies made five of their nine attempts, but headed into the second looking up at a 20-14 deficit.
Buckland, which collected 19 points from Lawrence Jones and Rodney Hadley, padded its lead in the second. The Sissauni outscored Kalskag by an 18-14 margin in the frame and took a 38-28 cushion into the half.
That 10-point lead didn’t have Buckland feeling overconfident.
I did think that was enough against a team like Kalskag,” said Buckland head coach Tony Jones Jr. Jones’ word proved prophetic in the second half.
Led by a strong effort from freshman Wayne Holmberg, the Grizzlies hit stride in the early moments of the second half. Kalskag outscored Buckland by an 18-16 clip in the third and pulled to within eight, at 54-44. That push set up a torrid run by the Grizzlies in the fourth.
After Buckland had sank several shots early in the fourth quarter to build its lead to 15, Reed and Holmberg went to work. The two engineered a 13-2 run that all but erased Buckland’s leads with less than a minute to play in regulation. Reed scored eight of his 13 points in the 3:48 span.
Holmberg led all Kalskag scorers with a game-high 28 points. In the game, he sank 63 percent of his shots from the floor (making 12 of 19) and pulling down eight rebounds. Reed had a team-high 13 rebounds. With the loss, Kalskag finished its season with a 22-4 record.
The Grizzlies rolled into the championship game with plenty of momentum. Kalskag earned a spot in the finals by staging one of the greatest comebacks in Alaska prep basketball history on Wednesday, rallying from a 22-point deficit in the second half to claim a wild 61-59 win over King Cove.
King Cove, playing without head coach Ralph Linquist, dominated the game in the first two quarters of play. Facing a King Cove squad that shot an impressive 52 percent from the field, Kalskag was outscored by a 35-18 clip in the first half. King Cove matched Kalskag point-for-point in the third quarter and took a 52-34 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Grizzlies refused to bow down, however. Kalskag, using a smothering full-court press, reeled off an amazing 21-7 spree over the first six minutes of the fourth quarter and cut King Cove’s lead to 59-55.
Elias Alexie pulled the Grizzlies even closer with just over a minute remaining. His three-point shot with 1:07 left in regulation moved Kalskag to within 59-58.
Alexie came up big again seconds later. After a turnover by King Cove, Alexie put back an offensive rebound with four seconds left to hand Kalskag its first lead of the contest, at 61-59.
Reed led Kalskag in scoring in the wild win, notching 15 points. Holmberg and Carl Williams added 12 and 11, respectively
Kalskag began its march to the school’s first appearance in the state finals since 1995 on Tuesday by facing off against Yukon-Kuskokwim rival Russian Mission for the fourth time. The Grizzlies nailed down a 78-70 win -- giving Kalskag a sweep off all four games played this season.
The Grizzlies got off to a quick start against the Raiders. The Grizzlies opened the game with a 21-9 run in the first eight minutes of the game.
Russian Mission, led by the play of Kenneth Vaska, Travis Housler and Kyle Nickoli, reeled off a 22-16 run in the second and went into the half trailing 37-31. Vaska finished as the game’s top scorer, netting 33 points. He hit 50 percent of his shots from the floor in the game -- including five of eight tries from beyond the three-point stripe.
Housler and Nickoli both tallied 13 in the contest.
Russian Mission cut into the Grizzlies’ lead even more in the third. The Raiders posted a 19-14 run in the frame and went into the final frame trailing by just one, at 51-50.
Kalskag took control in the final eight minutes. The Grizzlies knocked down seven shots in the fourth quarter -- two from three-point range -- and raced to a 27-20 advantage.
Reed and Holmberg both posted double-double efforts for Kalskag. Reed finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds. Holmberg had 21 points and 12 boards. Williams also hit double figures for the Grizzlies, netting 11 points.
Fort Yukon ended Russian Mission’s trip to the state tournament in the second round, claiming a hard-fought 69-65 victory in the consolation semifinals.
Despite the loss, Vaska turned in another outstanding effort for the Raiders. The 6-foot senior pumped in 27 points, collected 20 rebounds while also coming away with three steals and blocking a shot.
Housler and Nickoli also hit double figures on offense, netting 14 and 10 respectively. Panteleimon Askoak had 10 rebounds.
Schneider leads Lady Huskies
to third at state tournament
by Tommy Wells
Heading into the Class 1A girls’ state basketball tournament, the Akiachak Lady Huskies were the posterchilds for anonymity. They were the team no one knew much about.
Just how anonymous were the Lady Huskies? Most wouldn’t be surprised to know several of the teams at the three-day event were wondering just where Akiachak was prior to the team’s initial game on Thursday against the Alakanuk Lady Braves.
No one was wondering about Akiachak when the final curtain fell on the state tournament Saturday. The Lady Huskies, behind an all-star effort from Jessica Schneider, nailed down third place in the final team standings with a 39-34 victory over White Mountain. Overall, Akiachak posted a 2-1 record at the tournament.
Schneider, who dominated the game on the defensive side of the ball, helped Akiachak get off to a strong start against White Mountain. The Lady Huskies outscored White Mountain by a 10-7 margin in the initial eight minutes of the game.
The Lady Wolves gained the upper hand in the second. Led by Katya Wassillie, White Mountain posted a 14-12 run in the frame and pulled to within one, at 22-21, at the half.
The Akiachak defense took White Mountain’s offense out of sync in the third. The Lady Huskies limited White Mountain to just two shots from the field in the initial eight minutes of the second half. The Lady Wolves managed just five points in the third quarter.
Akiachak’s offense took advantage of White Mountain’s struggles. The Lady Huskies shot 31 percent from the field -- hitting four of 13 attempts -- and stretched its lead to 30-26 at the end of three periods of play.
Akiachak nailed down its third-place finish with a 9-8 run in the fourth quarter.
Defensively, Schneider helped the Lady Husky defense dominate White Mountain, which had advanced to the third-place game via a win over Kwethluk and semifinal loss to eventual state champion Kiana. The Lady Wolves shot just 26 percent from the floor in the contest, hitting just 7-of-27 attempts.
Schneider finished the game with a game-high 11 rebounds and seven steals. Offensively, she tallied two points.
Akiachak’s offense was led by Megan Schneider and Lucienne Jackson, who both tallied nine. Tessi Charles added six, while Katelyn Kinegak and Kaylin Charles chipped in five apiece.
The Lady Huskies tipped off the tournament on a high note. Akiachak earned a spot in the state semifinals with a 61-45 win over Alakanuk on Tuesday, March 18.
Againt Alakanuk, Charles and the Akiachak offense hit stride early. The Lady Huskies pounded out 11 points in the first eight minutes and never looked back.
Defensively, Akiachak limited Alakanuk to just two baskets in the first quarter.
The Lady Braves, who were led by Franki Phillip and Stephanie Stanislaus, kept themselves in the game in the second. Alakanuk matched Akiachak point-for-point in the frame and went into the half trailing, 17-10.
The Lady Huskies, who garnered points from six different players in the contest, reeled off an 11-9 run in the third and took a 28-19 lead into the fourth quarter.
Alakanuk, which also received solid play from Sonya Stanislaus, attempted to rally in the fourth by scoring 12 points.
Charles, who hit 4-of-7 attempts from the field, finished as the Lady Huskies in scoring with 12 points. Jackson added eight more.
Phillip led all Alakanuk scorers with nine points. Stephanie Stanilsaus and Sonya Stanislaus both finished with eight.
Akiachak fell into the third-place game by dropping a 68-30 decision to Togiak, which finished second overall. Alakanuk closed out its tournament appearance with a 61-25 loss to Huslia on Wednesday.
Sonya Stanislaus scored 11 of the Lay Braves’ 25 points. Maggie Isidore added six.
Kwethluk, which has placed seventh in each of the last two years at the Class 1A state tournament, went 0-2 in tournament play. The Lady Kings dropped a 61-45 decision to White Mountain in the opening round.
In that game, Kwethluk had two players reach double figures offensively. Mary Guy led the KAMHS squad with 16 points. Charlie Phillip added 11.
The Lady Kings, despite 13 points from Kelly Ayapan and nine from Charlie Phillip, suffered a 77-38 loss to Alak (Wainwright) in the second round.
Comets take third at
Class 2A state tournament
by Tommy Wells
The Chevak Lady Comets went into the Class 2A girls state basketball tournament with a message for the rest of the state: Chevak is a team to be feared.
Consider the message delivered.
Armed with a roster that includes just one senior, the Lady Comets roared past the Point Hope Lady Harpooners, 56-45, Thursday evening in front of a large crowd in the Sullivan Arena to claim third in the tournament. Chevak finished the tournament with a 2-1 record -- with their only loss being a loss to eventual state champion Yakutat in the semifinals.
Chevak, under the direction of coach Lena Ferguson, used a balanced scoring attack from sophomores Chelsea Lake and Misty Olson and junior Martha Miles to subdue Point Hope, a perennial state tournament participant. The three combined to reel off 39 of the Lady Comets’ 56 points.
Olson, who finished the game with a game-high 16 points, was almost unstoppable. She tortured the Lady Harpooner defense from the outside throughout the game, sinking three three-point tries.
As a team, Chevak shot 67 percent from beyond the three-point arc, hitting four of their six attempts. Junior Katie Tall also collected a trey.
Point Hope found itself swamped in the first quarter by an aggressive Chevak offense. The Lady Comets reeled off a 17-9 run in the first eight minutes of the game.
Pat of Chevak’s success was due to a dominating defensive game on the boards from Misty and Mary Olson. The Olsons teamed to pull down 19 rebounds in the contest -- and played a pivotal role in the Lady Comets’ ability to outrebound Point Hope by a staggering 52-33 margin.
Chevak stretched its lead in the second quarter. The Lady Comets shot 67 percent from the field in the period and cranked out a 20-12 run that staked Chevak to a 37-21 advantage into the half.
Point Hope staged a brief rally in the third. The Lady Harpooners rode the hot hand of Priscia Memeo to a 14-6 run in the stanza.
Chevak held a 43-35 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Misty Olson led the Lady Comets in victory, throwing in 16 points and grabbing 10 boards. Lake finished with 13 points, while Miles chipped in 11 points and eight rebounds.
Chevak didn’t waste any time in nailing down its first win at the state tournament on Tuesday, Powered by an impressive game from Lake, the Lady Comets streaked to a 52-47 win over Galena in the first round.
Lake, a 5-foot-4 guard, pumped in a game-high 19 points and dished out five assists en route to helping Chevak earn the win.
The win over Galena didn’t come easy. The Lady Hawks managed to hang close in the early minutes. Galena hit of five of its first 12 shots and trailed by just three, at 13-10, heading into the second quarter.
Chevak began pulling away from there, however. The Lady Comets posted a 15-9 run in the ensuing frame and took a 28-19 lead into the half.
Chevak, which also benefited from nine points from Olson, padded its lead a bit more in the third. Keyed by several clutch shots by Lake, the KHS squad pumped out 15 points in the first eight minutes of the second half and built its lead to 12, at 43-31, heading into the fourth.
Galena threatened to rally in the final frame, outscoring Chevak by a 16-9 clip to pull to within five at the final buzzer.
With the win over Galena, Chevak earned the right to face Yakutat in the semifinal round.
Unfortunately for the Lady Comets, their offense didn’t get off to a fast start against Yakutat. Chevak made just one of its first 13 shots from the field in the first quarter and found itself looking up at a 12-3 deficit.
Yakutat didn’t ease up on the pressure, either. The Lady Eagles outscored Chevak by a 17-10 clip in the second period and took a 29-13 lead into the half.
Yakutat, which later defeated Ninilchik for the Class 2A state title, sealed the win by using a 34-17 spree in the final half to cement its 61-30 win.
Olson led Chevak in scoring in the loss, netting 11 points. Senior Clarissa Tall added 10, while Miles added eight.
Eielson, Grace end
Warriors’ title hopes
by Tommy Wells
All season long, Thomas Kalistook and the Bethel Regional High School Warriors fought tooth and nail for respect. Despite a tough pair of losses at this past weekend at the Class 3A state boys’ basketball tournament, they may have final found it.
Kalistook solidified his reputation as one of the state’s top players and the Warriors turned in a gutsy effort against two of the state’s top programs, and finished seventh in the final standings.
Bethel, which had to rally to claim the Western Alaska Conference runner-up berth earlier this month, gained plenty of respect with their opening round effort. Only a shooting slump in the second quarter stood in the way of the Warriors making a serious bid at advancing to the state semifinals.
The Warriors, after jumping to an early lead, made just 1 of their eight shots from the field in the second quarter and saw the Eielson Ravens build momentum.
Bethel did waste any time in taking the game to Eielson, who advanced to the state tournament at the No. 1 seed from the Aurora Conference. The Warriors, keyed by clutch shots from Kalistook and Alban Malaj, erupted for 13 first-quarter points and build a six-point advantage, at 13-7.
During the first quarter, the BRHS squad buried five of its 11 shots -- including three from behind the three-point line.
Bethel cooled off in the second, however. The Warriors made just one shot from the floor in the frame and watched on as Eielson reeled off a 12-4 second-quarter spree. The Ravens held a slim 19-17 halftime cushion.
The news didn’t get any better for Norm Boerger’s squad in the third. The Ravens, who would later fall to Nome-Beltz in the tournament’s third-place game, put together a 16-7 run in the frame and took a 35-24 lead into the fourth. Eielson closed out its 49-35 win with a 14-11 run in the final eight minutes.
Kalistook led all BRHS scorers with nine. Malaj and Kyle Chavez both chipped in eight, while John Herman added seven. Chavez and Malaj were both two-for-three from three-point land.
The Warriors made an even more impressive run in their second-round matchup with the Grace Christian Lions. Bethel rode the hot hands of Kalistook and Chavez to an impressive start.
Kalistook set the tome for the early moments of the game. The BRHS standout opened the game by knocking down a three-point shot from the right wing.
Grace Christian looked to answer Kalistook’s challenge from there. The Lions reeled off nine unanswered points and took a 9-3 cushion with 4:15 left in the initial frame.
Kalistook and senior Daniel Updegrove made sure Grace Christian didn’t enjoy the lead long. Kalistook knocked down his second trey of the period on Bethel’s ensuing possession and cut the lead to 9-6.
Updegrove added a three-pointer of his own less than a minute later to knot the score at 9-9 with 2:46 left in the first quarter. Malaj and John Herman each pushed home shots in the final 1:53 of the quarter, capping a impressive 10-0 run that gave Bethel a 13-9 advantage.
Grace Christian managed to break the run in the final seconds of the first with a bucket.
The Lions showed they could make a run, too, in the first minutes of the second. Grace Christian put together a 12-0 run to open the second and built a 21-13 lead before Malaj pushed in a shot to end the spree.
Not to be outdone, Bethel made a short run of its own from there. Chavez scored four of the game’s next six points and pulled the Warriors to within 23-19 with 2:06 left in the first half. Chavez, who finished with 11 points, nailed a three-pointer from the right wing moments later that helped offset a late 6-3 Lions’ run.
Grace Christian, sparked by an 18-9 run in the second quarter, held a 29-22 lead at the half. The Lions, despite two Kalistook three-point shots, extended their lead to 10, at 42-32, with a 13-10 spree in the third quarter.
Kalistook, who nailed six treys in the game, finished the contest with a game-high 24 points. With the two losses at the state tournament, Bethel finished the year at 15-17.
The appearance in the state tournament closed out the prep careers for seven BRHS standouts, including Chavez, Herman, Kalistook, Malaj, Updegrove, Doug Lucas and Michael McElwee.
Nome-Beltz claimed a 60-56 win over Eielson in the third-place game. The Nanooks, the 2007-2008 WAC champion, had missed qualifying for the state finals by falling, 61-49, to Heritage Christian in the semifinals.
Lady Warriors spring to sixth
at Class 3A state tournament
by Tommy Wells
The Bethel Regional High School Lady Warriors knew going into the 2008 Class 3A girls’ state tournament the road before them was going to be a tough one -- especially with their leading scorer sidelined for the season.
Tough ... but not impossible.
Allison McIntyre and Marilyn Saddler both stepped up their games over the weekend and helped the Lady Warriors power their ways to a sixth-place finish in the state tournament standings. Bethel, playing without injured star Genevieve Maczynski, advanced to the state fourth-place game before stumbling and finishing the three-day event with a 1-2 mark.
Bethel, the No. 2 seed from the Western Alaska Conference, struggled to find offensive consistency throughout the tournament. Having averaged more than 50 points a game during the regular season, the BRHS girls managed just 29.6 points per game during the tournament.
Despite their offensive woes, Bethel opened the Class 3A state tournament with a solid effort on the defensive side of the ball. Sparked by the play of McIntyre, Saddler and Tillie Kaiser, the Lady Warriors held the Eielson Lady Ravens to just seven points in the first quarter of their tournament-opener. Eielson, the Aurora Conference champion, entered the game as one of the tournament’s top offensive squads, averaging more than 50 points a game.
Unfortunately for Bethel, the Lady Warriors’ defensive effort didn’t put points on the board. Bethel managed just five points in the initial eight minutes of the play. As a team, Bethel shot just 22 percent from the floor in the game.
Eielson managed to get its offense in gear in the second. The Lady Ravens outscored Bethel by an 18-6 margin in the second period and sprinted to a 25-11 halftime advantage.
The news got even worse for Bethel in the third. Eielson put together a 13-6 run in the first eight minutes of the second half and took a commanding 38-17 cushion into the fourth quarter.
The Lady Ravens, who later bounced Mt. Edgecumbe to take third in the final standings, closed out the game with a 9-6 spree in the final frame.
Overall, Eielson outscored Bethel by a 40-18 margin in the final three quarters of its 47-23 victory.
McIntyre, who struggled under a heavy double-team throughout the contest, led all BRHS scorers with six points. She also pulled down six rebounds.
Saddler chalked up five points in the game, while Kaiser, Charmae Chavez and Emery Fairbanks all knocked down four.
Kaiser -- one of seven seniors closing out the BRHS careers in the tournament -- had a team-high eight rebounds.
Bethel managed to bounce back from the loss in a grand way on Friday by trouncing the Petersburg Lady Vikings from the tournament with a 40-30 come-from-behind win.
The Lady Warriors, keyed by double-digit performances from McIntyre and Saddler shot 36 percent from the field against Petersburg -- a fact that helped then overcome a slow start. The team managed just one basket from the field in the first eight minutes and trailed by a 6-5 clip. The Lady Warrior offense hit stride in the second. The team connected on 50 percent of its attempt from the field in the frame -- and converted five of its eight attempts from the charity stripe -- and raced to a 16-13 halftime advantage.
Petersburg managed to hang close, however. The Lady Vikings matched Bethel point-for-point in the third quarter and entered the final frame trailing by three, at 26-23.
McIntyre and Saddler, along with help from Kaiser, made sure Petersburg wouldn’t enjoy a late run by turning in a stellar effort from the free-throw line. The three seniors played a key role in the Lady Warriors ability to connect on 10-of-12 attempts from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter.
Overall. Bethel went 20-for-29 in the game from the free throw line.
McIntyre led all Bethel scorers in the game, throwing in 13 points -- nine of which came via a 9-for-12 effort from the line. Saddler, who hit on 5-of-7 tries from the line, finished with 11. Kaiser just missed double figures in scoring, finishing with nine -- five of which came via a 5-of-6 effort from the charity stripe.
With the win over Petersburg, Bethel moved into the fourth-place game against the Cordova Lady Wolverines.
The Lady Warriors’ fortunes took a turn for the worse on Saturday at the University of Alaska at Anchorage’;s Wells Fargo Center. After grabbing an early lead, the BRHS squad went cold from the field. The team hit just 13 of 40 shots from the field and suffered a tough 38-26 loss to Cordova.
Bethel held its own early in the contest. The Lady Warriors hit three shots from the field in the first eight minutes and sent the game into the second with the score knotted at 6-6.
The Lady Wolverines got hot in the second, however. Cordova pounded out a 12-6 run in the frame and took an 18-12 lead into the half.
Bethel looked as if it had recovered in the second half. The Lady Warriors hammered out 10 points in the third quarter and headed into final stanza down by just six, at 28-22.
The wheels came of the BRHS wagon from there, however. Bethel managed just four points in the final eight minutes.
Kaiser and Saddler led the Bethel offensive effort with eight points apiece. Fairbanks, who pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds, added six, while McIntyre chipped in four.
Joining McIntyre, Saddler and Kaiser as seniors finishing out their BRHS basketball careers were Nicole Carl, Rhonda Jensen, Maczynski and Stephanie Moses.
Bethel, under the tutelage of head coach Sam Crow, finished its 2007-2008 season with a 21-9 record.
The Barrow Lady Whalers finished second in the final standings, falling to Anchorage Christian in the state finals on Saturday evening.
High school basketball
madness takes over Alaska
3-20-08
Alaska School Activities Association’s March Madness Alaska to crown eight state basketball champions, cheerleading champions in five full days of action. The event runs March 18-22.
Next week’s 2008 First National Bank State High School Basketball Championships – aka March Madness Alaska – are full of enough mind-numbing numbers to make a room full of accountants dizzy.
Six 2007 champions are among the 64 teams that will vie for eight state championships in the Alaska School Activities Association’s annual basketball bonanza. Starting Tuesday, teams in four classifications (Classes 4A, 3A, 2A and 1A) will play 88 games in five days at three different venues. March Madness Alaska culminates with the Class 3A and 4A title games Saturday, March 22 at Sullivan Arena.
The action begins Tuesday when the 1A (between 5-50 student enrollment) and 2A (51-100) boys and girls tournaments begin at Sullivan Arena. The 3A (101-400) and 4A (401+) tournaments start Thursday, March 20 – 3A at the University of Alaska Anchorage’s Wells Fargo Sports Complex and 4A at West High. A complete tournament schedule can be found here: www.asaa.org/sportsactivities/basketball/pdf/2008MMScheduleAllClassifications.pdf.
The March Madness Alaska Cheerleading Competition takes place Tuesday at Bartlett High. Competition starts at 5:30pm. (www.asaa.org/sportsactivities/cheerleading/index.html).
Defending basketball champions in this year’s field include the Wasilla High girls (4A), the Petersburg boys (3A), the Barrow girls (3A), the Noorvik boys (2A), the Yakutat girls (2A) and the Buckland boys (1A).
Six 4A schools are bringing both boys and girls teams to state (Colony, Dimond, Juneau-Douglas, Lathrop, Palmer and South). Four 3A schools are bringing both teams to state (Bethel, Eielson, Grace Christian and Petersburg).
In other more timely matters, the 3A Hutchison boys and 3A Grace Christian girls will make the schools’ first state tournament appearances. The 2A Northway girls are back at March Madness Alaska for the first time since 1985, the 3A Haines boys since 1996 and the 2A Seldovia boys since 2000.
McIntyre powers Lady
Warriors into state tournament
3-13-08
by Tommy Wells
Allison McIntyre knew the moment Genevieve Maczynski went down with a season-ending knee injury, the Bethel Regional High School Lady Warriors were going to need someone to step up and take control.
It was a job the 5-foot-8 senior was more than ready to assume.
McIntyre poured in a game-high 18 points Saturday evening and carried Bethel to basketball’s “Promised Land” with a 40-28 victory over the Dillingham Lady Wolverines. With the win, the Lady Warriors claimed second in the Western Conference tournament standings and earned their first trip to the state basketball tournament in more than five years.
Bethel dominated Dillingham on both ends of the court during the second-place matchup, which was played in front of a large crowd in the Dillingham High School gymnasium. The Lady Warriors used a stifling first-half defensive effort to forced 12 turnovers and set the stage for a 20-8 run.
Bethel wasted no time in taking control of the contest. The Lady Warriors picked up a pair of baskets from Marilyn Saddler and freshman Charmae Chavez in the first three minutes of the game and rolled to a quick 8-0 cushion.
The Lady Wolverines first points of the game didn’t come until nearly five minutes had expired off the game clock. Elena Bartman-Wahlman notched Dillingham’s first basket with a short jumper at the 3:14 mark.
There wasn’t anything else for the Lady Wolverines to smile about in the first. Senior Tillie Kaiser and McIntyre combined for six points over the final three minutes of the first and pushed the BRHS lead to 14-2.
Kaiser, a 5-foot-6 guard, finished the game as the Lady Warriors’ second-leading scorer by finishing with 10 points.
The Lady Warriors continued to dominate the contest on the defensive side in the second. Bethel, thanks to several blocked shots by Saddler, held Dillingham scoreless over the first 6:37 of the second quarter.
Bartman-Wahlman notched Dillingham’s first points of the second half by nailing a three-point attempt with 1:37 left in the half.
Bethel carried a commanding 20-8 advantage into the start of the second half.
McIntyre all but put the Lady Wolverines away for good with a remarkable third-quarter performance. She pumped in all 10 of the Lady Warriors’ third-quarter points and sent Bethel into the final eight minutes holding a 13-point lead, at 30-17.
Dillingham managed to cut into Bethel’s lead a bit in the fourth by reeling off an 11-9 run.
Bethel, now 20-6 overall, fell into the second-place bout following a tough 65-40 loss to the Barrow Lady Whalers in the girls’ championship game.
Barrow used a torrent of second-half three-point shots to break open a close game and sprint to their third straight berth in the state Class 3A basketball tournament, which tips off March 20 in Anchorage.
The Lady Warriors suffered the toughest loss of their season in the opening round. In route to claiming a 47-37 win over Dillingham in the tournament opener, Bethel lost Maczynski to an injured knee.
The Lady Warriors’ top scorer this season, Maczynski injured her knee in the first quarter of the Lady Warriors’ game against Dillingham while driving to the basket. She was transported to the local hospital. She returned on crutches to watch Bethel defeat the Lady Wolverines in the second-place game.
Warriors upend Barrow,
return to state tournament
by Tommy Wells
The Bethel Regional High School Warriors entered the 2007-2008 basketball season with one goal – return to the Class 3A state basketball tournament. On Saturday evening in front of a large crowd in the Dillingham High School gymnasium, the Warriors made that goal a reality.
Using a gutsy effort from senior Thomas Kalistook, the Warriors pounded out a stunning 66-54 victory over the Barrow Whalers in the second-place game at the Western Alaska Conference tournament. The win avenged an earlier loss in the tournament to Barrow and gave the Warriors’ the conference’s No. 2 seed in the state tournament, which begins March 20 in Anchorage.
The win enabled Bethel to advance to the state tournament for the second year in a row. The Warriors went 0-2 at state last season.
Bethel went into the second-place showdown a decided underdog. En route to earning a spot in the WAC championship game, Barrow had claimed a 15-point win, 49-34, in the tournament’s second round on Thursday.
Bethel, which also had solid performances from John Herman, Alban Malaj and Kyle Chavez during the four-day tournament, made sure the Whalers wouldn’t enjoy a second meeting. Bethel used a stifling defensive press to keep Barrow off-balance and set up a 12-point win in the finale.
Barrow had fallen into the second-place matchup after losing to Nome, 64-47, in the boys’ championship game.
The Warriors, 15-12 overall, opened the WAC tournament on a high note on Wednesday by routing the Kotzebue Huskies, 57-33.
The tournament’s No. 3 seed, the Warriors sealed the opening-round win with an impressive fourth quarter against Kotzebue. Bethel broke open a 40-30 game after three quarters by reeling off a 17-3 run in the final eight minutes.
Offensively, the Warriors were led by Kalistook. The BRHS senior pushed in a game-high 28 points – nine of which came on three long three-point shots. Herman also hit double figures in the win, notching 16.
Bethel didn’t enjoy the same luck in their ensuing semifinal showdown with Barrow. The Whalers used a 14-3 run in the first eight minutes of the second half and rolled to the easy win.
The Warriors struggled to get on track offensively against Barrow’s defensive pressure. Bethel managed just two points in the early minutes of the first quarter and found itself looking up at an 11-2 deficit.
Kalistook helped BRHS regain some of the ground later in the first. He nailed a clutch trey late in the period and pulled the Warriors to within 13-9 at the start of the second.
Both teams scored 13 points in the second quarter, sending the game into the half with Barrow clinging to a slim 26-17 lead.
Barrow’s fortunes changed for the better in the third, however. Bethel’s only scored once from the field in the third quarter – a drought that enabled the Whalers to build a 40-20 cushion. Bethel went on a late run – pulling to within 13 in the final frame.
Following the loss to Barrow, Norm Boerger’s squad fell into a consolation round matchup with the Dillingham Wolverines. It was a game the Warriors likely won’t forget for a while.
Bethel fought off a determined Dillingham squad on Friday, claiming a nail-biting 56-55 victory as the Wolverines’ buzzer-beating shot missed.
The Warriors, who played much of the game with Kalistook, who got into early foul trouble, were led by an outstanding effort from Chavez. The BRHS standout poured in 10 points in the first half and helped the Warriors battle to a 29-29 deadlock at the half.
Kalistook got into the groove in the third. He scored all 10 of his points in the game in the first eight minutes of the second half and helped Bethel build a 10-point lead.
Dillingham rallied late in the third to cut Bethel’s lead to one.
Chavez, who finished with a team-high 20 points, allowed Bethel to finish strong. He pumped in six points in the fourth and keyed the win. Herman also hit double figures in the BRHS win, netting 11.
The win over Dillingham propelled Bethel into a rematch with Barrow for second in the final tournament standings.
Area teams set to take center stage at state tournaments
by Tommy Wells
One thing will be for certain when the 2008 Alaska Schools Activities Association state basketball tournaments get under way later this month in Anchorage. There will definitely be a Yukon-Kuskokwim feel to the respective events.
Nine Y-K Delta teams, including the Bethel Regional High School boys and girls basketball teams, will be competing in the state basketball tournament action, which gets under way on March 18 with the Class 1A and Class 2A tournaments. The Class 3A and Class 4A events will start March 20.
It won’t take long for the Kalskag Grizzlies to find a familiar face when they take to the floor of Sullivan Arena on March 18 for the start of the Class 1A boys’ tournament. Kalskag, the Greater Kuskokwim Conference champion, is slated to square off against fellow Y-K power Russian Mission in the first round.
Russian Mission earned its second trip to the state tournament in the past four years by winning the Yukon Delta Conference. The Kalskag-Russian Mission game is set for 1 p.m.
Napaskiak, the Coastal Conference champion, will also be in action on the opening day. The Hawks will face Bering Straight Conference champion Elim beginning at 6:50 p.m.
Two more Y-K superpowers will square off in the first round of the girls’ Class 1A tourney on March 18. Akiachak, the Greater Kuskokwim winner, will meet Yukon Delta champ Alakanuk at 9:40 a.m.
The Kwethluk Lady Kings will open their quest for the Class 1A state title at 3:30 p.m. when they face the White Mountain Lady Wolves. White Mountain won the Bering Strait Conference title.
In Class 2A girls’ action, the Chevak Lady Comets will be representing the Y-K Delta. The Comets won the Yukon Delta crown this past weekend in Mountain Village – and earned the right to square off against Galena in the opening round. The Lady Comets’ first-round matchup is slated to begin at 6:50 p.m.
The Bethel girls are scheduled to begin play in the Class 3A state tournament on Thursday, March 20 with a first-round matchup against the Eielson Lady Ravens. The game will tip off at 9:40 a.m. at the University of Alaska Anchorage Sports Center. Bethel, 20-6 overall, is the No. 2 seed from the Western Alaska Conference. Eielson, 21-4, is the Aurora Conference champion.
The BRHS boys, who are making their second consecutive trip to the state tournament, will begin their state title chase at 11:20 p.m. at UAA with a matchup against Eielson. Bethel enters the game at 15-12. Eielson, the Aurora Conference champion, is 26-2.
Russian Mission, Alakanuk
claim Yukon Delta title
The Russian Mission boys and Alakanuk girls basketball teams claimef the Yukon Delta Conference championships this past weekend in Mountain Village. With the wins, Russian Mission and Alakanuk will now advance to the Class 1A state basketball tournament, which begins March 18 at Sullivan Arena.
The Russian Mission Raiders are making their first trip to the state tournament since 2005, when the team placed fourth overall.
Last-second jumper
lifts Bethel past Unalaska
3-6-08
by Tommy Wells
When Unalaska’s Cameron Lynch pulled up and buried a three-point shot from the wing left with 10 seconds left in regulation Saturday night, Bethel Regional High School head coach Norm Boerger didn’t panic.
The veteran head coach called a timeout to allow his team to regroup itself. Then he did what any other coach would do. He put the ball into his leading scorer’s hands.
Thomas Kalistook buried a short 15-footer with 1.8 seconds left on Saturday evening and carried the Bethel Warriors to a thrilling 48-47 come-from-behind win over the Unalaska Raiders in the regular season finale for both squads.
With the win, Bethel swept both ends of a weekend twinbill with Unalaska and closed out the regular season with an 11-11 record.
Bethel, which is scheduled to play in the Western Alaska Conference tournament this week, struggled to find its shot early in the series finale with the Raiders. Unalaska, powered by eight points from Eric Southworth, outscored the Warriors by an 18-15 clip in the first eight minutes.
The situation got even tougher for Bethel in the second,. The Raiders held the Warriors to just two shots from the field in the ensuing eight minute span and took a 32-21 lead into the half.
Bethel’s lone points of the second quarter came on a pair of baskets from Kyle Chavez and a pair of free throws from Kalistook.
Bethel managed to regroup a bit in the third. The Warrior defense cleared the way for an 11-4 run in the frame and helped cut Unalaska’s lead to four, at 36-32, heading into the fourth quarter.
The Warriors continued to carry the hot hand in the final frame. Bethel outscored Unalaska by a 14-8 clip in the initial 7:50 of the fourth and took a 46-44 advantage.
Lynch, who finished with 11 points, nailed a trey with 10 seconds left and threatened to give Unalaska avoid the two-game sweep. His three-pointer put the Raiders up 47-46.
Unalaska’s hopes faded away, however. Following Boeger’s timeout, Kalistook dared a short jumper that put Bethel on top.
Kalistook finished the game as the Warriors’ top offensive weapon, scoring 14 points. Chavez also hit double figures with 12.
Jake Herring led all Unalaska scorers with 13. Southworth added 12.
The Warriors didn’t have any trouble taking Game 1. Bethel reeled off five shots from the field and sank six free throws in the first quarter and sprinted to a 55-46 win on Friday.
The Warriors, sparked by a three-pointer from Kalistook, built a 17-9 lead in the first quarter.
Michael McElwee provided the bulk of Bethel’s heroics in the second. He pushed in eight of his 10 points in the frame and led the Warriors to a 36-18 halftime cushion.
Unalaska rallied in the third. The Raiders put together a 14-8 spree in the frame and pulled to within 12, at 44-32.
Kalistook and Chavez led the BRHS effort, scoring 17 and 14, respectively. John Herman added seven.
Herring led Unalaska with 17.
Lady Warriors sweep two from Unalaska in historic homestand
by Tommy Wells
Genevieve Maczynski, Allison McIntyre and Marilyn Saddler all scored into double figures Saturday and helped the Bethel Regional High School Lady Warriors head into the upcoming Western Alaska Conference tournament on a historic note.
Armed with a balanced scoring attack, the Lady Warriors completed a two-game sweep of the Unalaska Lady Raiders over the weekend and became the first girls’ team in the school’s history to go unbeaten at home.
With the wins over Unalaska, Bethel finished the season at 8-0 at the WarriorDome.
Bethel didn’t waste any time in setting up the win. The Lady Warriors picked up first quarter baskets from Maczynski, McIntyre, Emerie Fairbanks, Morgan Charlton and Charmae Chavez in the first eight minutes of Game 2 and sprinted to a 12-9 lead.
Bethel all but salted the game away in the second. Keyed by six points from Saddler, McIntyre and Charlton, the Lady Warriors put together a 24-6 spree in the second and cruised into the half holding a 36-15 lead.
Bethel, 18-5 overall, added to its lead in the third. The BRHS girls used five points from Maczynski to spearhead a 15-10 third-quarter run, and take a commanding 51-25 lead into the fourth period.
Maczysnki finished the game as Bethel’s top offensive scorer, netting 15 points. McIntyre and Saddler added 12 and 10, respectively.
Other scoring in Bethel’s 31-point win were Tillie Kaiser, Fairbanks, Nicole Carl, Rhonda Jensen, Charlton, Florence Ashepak and Chavez.
Meta Mendenhall led Unalaska with 16.
The Lady Warriors had an even easier time in winning the first game of the twinbill. Bethel held the Lady Raiders to just 11 shots from the field in Game 1 and cruised to a 62-27 win on Friday evening.
After grabbing a 15-8 lead in the first quarter, the Lady Warriors blew the wheels off the Unalaska wagon in the second. Keyed by six points from Maczynski and a clutch three-point shot by Jensen, Bethel hammered out a convincing 19-8 run in the second and took a 34-16 lead into the half.
The news got even worse for the Lady Raiders from there. Maczynski pushed home eight points in the third and spirited an 18-5 run in the frame that stretched the BRHS lead to 31, at 52-21.
The Warriors closed out the game with a 10-5 run in the final eight minutes.
Maczynski led all BRHS scorers in the win by netting 20 points. Saddler also hit double figures with 13.
Catina Merrifield led Unalaska with 10.
Tunt Bluejays win boys
Mid-Coast League tourney
by Tommy Wells
The Tuntutuliak Bluejay boys beat the Eek Cougars and the Kongiganak Wolverines to win 1st place at the 1A Midcoast League Basketball Tournament in Kongiganak this past weekend.
Game 1 was between the Quinhagak Seahawks and the Eek Cougars. Phillip Alexie of Eek was at his best, pouring in a game-high 41 points to lead Eek to a 96-51 victory over Quinhagak. Eek also picked up double-digit performances from Byron Cleveland, Carlie White and Wassilie Henry.
For Quinhagak, Arthur Abalama scored 20 points. Teammate Tim Beebe Jr. netted 14.
Game 2 between the Kongiganak Wolverines and the three-time champion Kwigillingok Eagles. Kwigillingok collected 21 points from Adrian Andrew and Patrick Daniel also hit double figures with 15 points.
Double-figure scorers for the Kong Wolverines were Valdamire Kinegak who scored 19, Andrew Phillip with 18, and Lawrence Phillip who had 11. The Kongiganak Wolverines won 60-55 and advanced to the championship round.
In Game 3, the Tuntutuliak Bluejays took on the Eek Cougars. The Bluejays, led by 26 from Jerome Carl, 17 from Jerrold Simon, 16 from Phillip Lupie, 14 from Kevin McIntyre, and 10 from Nicolas McIntyre pounded out a 83-70 win.
Three Eek players scored in the double-figures: Phillip Alexie 31, Wassilie Henry with 16, and Byron Cleveland with 12.
In Game 4, the Kwig Eagles grabbed the upper hand early in the first, outscoring Eek by a 19-15 margin in the first quarter. Adrian Andrew led all Eagles by scoring 16. Patrick Daniel and Mikey John finished with 15 and 12, while Arlen Lewis added 11. They led the game until the final quarter when Eek outscored Kwig 25-10.
Phillip Alexie of Eek finished the game as the top scorer, netting 31 points. Henry and Byron Cleveland added 16 and 12, respectively. Eek won 68-65 taking third place.
For the championship game between Tuntutuliak and Kongiganak, Bluejay Jerome Carl scored 22 points in the final 16 minutes of the contest, and was Tuntutuliak’s top scorer with 35. Teammates Kevin McIntyre and Nicholas McIntyre added 19 and 16, respectively.
Offensively, Kongiganak was led by Kinegak’s 21 points. Lawrence Phillip and Andrew Phillip finished with 17 and 15, respectively, while Nick Phillip II added 13.
Boys Results: 1st Tuntutuliak Bluejays, 2nd Kongiganak Wolverines, 3rd Eek Cougars, 4th Kwigillingok Eagles, 5th Quinhagak Seahaws.
Toksook Bay sweeps Island League titles
by Tommy Wells
The Toksook Bay Islanders can’t head home and claim to be the best in the Island League rankings. That’s because they have to share the league’s bragging rights with the Lady Islanders.
Toksook Bay wrapped up the Island League boys’ and girls’ basketball championships this past weekend with solid outings at the Island League Tournament. Both teams edged out rival Chefornak in the championship game of their respective divisions.
The Islanders, led by Joey Lincoln and Bosco Julius, defeated Chefornak by a 46-42 margin in the boys’ championship. Shannon Tulik, Alicia Chagluak and Abby Moses led the Lady Islanders to a 56-37 win over the Lady Shamans in girls’ action.
Newtok, behind the efforts of Bosco Waska, took third in the boys’ standings with a 91-70 win over Tununak.
Lincoln and Julius highlighted the boys’ all-tournament squad. The two Toksook Bay standouts joined Chefornak’s Tim Kinegak, Tununak’s Thomas Albert and Waska on the boys’ team.
Tulik, Chagluak and Moses were joined by Newtok’s Vanessa George and Cherfornak’s Marilyn Billy on the girls’ team.
Bethel Wrestlers win back to back MS wrestling crown
Bethel yesterday won its second straight Small School State Wrestling Championship at the Tanana Middle School Wrestling Tournament. 21 Bethel wrestlers competed in the two day event. 12 of the Bethel wrestlers placed for the highest total ever, including Kayla White who became Bethel’s first girl to place. Placers include:
80 lbs: Evan Dyment - 3rd; 90 lbs: Carlie Romer - 7th and Kayla White - 8th; 105 lbs: Corbin LePore - 8th (injured in quarterfinals and had to forfeit rest of matches); 110 lbs: Chris Jerry - 3rd and Brayton Lieb - 5th; 115 lbs: Trevour Chavez - 4th and Marjus Kuqo - 7th; 121 lbs: Jeremiah Klejka - 6th; 133 lbs: John Olson - 8th; 148 lbs: Martin Oulton - 7th; HWT: Timmy Robb - 8th
Also wrestling from Bethel were Carlie McIntrye, Charles Strickland, Jerek Pete, Avery Coplin, Chessman Samson, Austin Miller, Cristof Swope, JBruce Crow, and Iljber Kadriu. Bethel scored 142 points to beat Eielson (Fairbanks) and Gilson (Valdez), which tied for second with 117 points each in the small schools division. Brackets and complete team points are available online at Akmat.org.
-Andrew Gillilan, Bethel Wrestling Coach
Klejka mushes way to Junior Iditarod championship
2-28-08
by Tommy Wells
The fourth time was a charm for Bethel’s Jessica Klejka.
Klejka, a senior at Bethel Regional High School, mushed her way into Iditarod history Sunday morning when she guided her nine dogs across the finish line at the Willow Community Center to win the 2008 Junior Iditarod Sled Dog Race in one of the closest finishes ever.
Klejka, who finished third a year ago in the 135-mile event, beat Fairbanks’ Cain Carter by a mere 2 seconds. The 17-year-old pushed across the finish line at 8:49 a.m. just a whisper ahead of Carter, who had 10 dogs in harness when he finished.
The win was a major victory for Klejka, who last month completed half of the rugged Kuskokwim 300 race. The win capped a race in which she started out of the gate as the second-to-last musher, and was eighth in the standings for much of the first 70 miles.
After starting 20th overall, Klejka quickly moved up in the standings. After the first 30-mile stretch to the Sustina River checkpoint, she had moved up 11 spots to eighth.
Wade Marrs held the early lead in the race. He completed the first stage in 2 hours and 26 minutes.
Klejka held on to her position over the ensuing 14 miles, going into the Eagle Song Lodge at Trail Lake eighth.
A multi-sport standout at BRHS, Klejka began making her move from there.
After leaving Eagle Song Lodge, she picked up four more spots in the standings during the 26-mile run from Trail Lake to the race’s mid-point at Yentna Station.
Cain Carter held the race’s lead at the midway portion. He had passed Quinn Iten on the trail from Eagle Song Lodge. Marrs stood third overall.
Carter’s lead was a short-lived experience. On the inbound trail from Yentna Station to Eagle Song Lodge, she leapfrogged Carter, Iten and Marrs into first place.
Klejka never looked back from there.
She roared past the Trail Lake and Susitna River checkpoints and held a 5-minute lead on Carter heading into the final 30 miles of the event.
Iten finished third overall. With 10 dogs in harness, he completed the race just three minutes later than Klejka.
Marrs was fourth, checking in at 9:05 a.m. – 16 minutes ahead of fifth-place finisher Ava Lindner.
Warriors close out regular season with sweep of Dillingham
by Tommy Wells
Bethel Regional High School head coach Norm Boerger hoped all along his team would finish the regular season strong and head into the Western Alaska Conference finals on a high note.
The Warriors turned his hopes into reality this past weekend as they completed their regular season with a two-game sweep of the Dillingham Wolverines in front of a large crowd at the WarriorDome. Bethel, after having last weekend off, finished the regular season at 9-11.
The Warriors set the tome for the weekend early, reeling off a dominating 74-29 victory over Dillingham on Friday evening. Bethel had 11 different players score in the game, including 30 from Thomas Kalistook.
Kalistook helped the Warriors take complete control early in the first quarter. The BRHS senior pumped in 13 points in the first eight minutes of the game and powered Bethel to a 22-4 first-quarter advantage.
Alban Malaj, Daniel Updegrove and John Herman also pushed home baskets for the BRHS squad in the first quarter.
Dillingham managed to find its offensive game in the second. The Wolverines, despite seven points from Kalistook, outscored Bethel by a 16-12 clip and cut the Warriors’ lead to 34-20 at the half.
Kalistook and Christian Osentoski helped Bethel regain the momentum in the third. Kalistook pushed in 11 points and Osentoski added seven more in the frame to key a 21-6 spree.
The Warriors closed out the game with a 19-3 run in the fourth.
Malaj, Herman and Osentoki all finished the game with seven points for BRHS. Michael McElwee added six, while Nicholas Sharp chipped in five. Others scoring for Bethel were Kyle Chavez, Trevor Henderson, Doug Lucas, Nicholas Wasierski and Chuckie Herman.
The Warriors closed out the two-game sweep with a 72-58 victory on Saturday.
In that game, Kalistook, Chavez and John Herman all hit double figures for the Warriors offensively. Kalistook pushed in a team-high 16, while Chavez and Herman added 12 and 10, respectively.
Despite three first-quarter three-point shots by Dillingham, Bethel dominated the opening frame. The Warriors hit 10 shots from the field – including a trey from Kalistook and Malaj – and sprinted to a 24-13 lead.
Bethel posted a 16-11 run in the second and never looked backed, taking a 40-24 lead into the half.
With the loss, Dillingham closed out its regular season with a 6-12 mark.
Bethel, along with the rest of the Western Alaska teams, will compete I the WAC Tournament this coming weekend. The top two teams at the tournament will advance to the state basketball tournament in Anchorage.
Klejka to make run at
Junior Iditarod title
2-20-08
by Tommy Wells
Jessica Klejka knows one thing for certain as she heads into the Junior Iditarod Sled Dog Race: Everyone will be watching her.
Klejka has, after all, finished in the top 10 in each of the last two races, including a third-place finish last year.
The Bethel Regional High School senior is expected to make a strong push for the top spot in the race when it gets under way on Feb. 23 at Knik Lake. Entering her fourth year in the race, she is one of the more experienced participants in the race.
Klejka, who finished less than 45 minutes behind 2007 Junior Iditarod champion Rohn Buser last year, is the top finisher from a year ago returning. Buser and second-place finisher Megan Hedgecoke have moved out of the division.
The race will begin at Knik Lake, Mile 12.2 of Knik Road on Saturday February 23. The mushers will race to the Yentna Station Roadhouse via Eagle Song Lodge. They will overnight at Yentna and return for a finish at the Willow Community Center on Feb. 24.
Buser, who competed against Klejka in the recent Kuskokwim 300, will be running the Iditarod in March.
Klejka, the daughter of Joseph and Jackie Klejka has been a force on the Junior Iditarod scene since her debut in 2005. In her first year in the race, she finished 20th and garnered the race’s red lantern honors.
In 2006, she mushed her team of dogs to a seventh-place finish, and set the stage for last year’s third-place effort.
Maczynski powers
Lady Warriors to win in Valdez
by Tommy Wells
Genevieve Maczynski did everything but pop the popcorn and serve the drinks for the Bethel Regional High School Lady Warriors this past weekend at the Valdez Elks Basketball Tournament.
She might have done that, too, if the team had needed it.
Maczynski poured in a season-high 30 points and Allison McIntyre added 11 more en route to helping Bethel close out its appearance in the annual Valdez tournament on a high note with a 59-55 victory over the Delta Junction High School Huskies.
Delta Junction, despite the offensive show put on by Maczynski and McIntyre, managed to stay close early in the contest, which was played Saturday afternoon in the Valdez High School gymnasium. The Lady Huskies managed to battle their way to within 29-26 in the first half.
Bethel, which will close out its regular season next weekend in Dillingham, stretched its lead to eight in the third quarter. The Lady Warriors posted a 16-11 run in the frame and took a 45-37 advantage into the final eight minutes of play.
The tournament didn’t get off to a good start for the BRHS girls, however. Bethel dropped a 69-42 decision to Anchorage Christian in the opening round on Thursday.
Anchorage Christian used the win as a springboard to vault itself to the Elks championship. ACS defeated Cordova in the finals to net the 2008 honors.
The Barrow Lady Whalers finished third overall.
Williams withdraws
from Iditarod race
Veteran Iditarod musher Mike Williams withdrew as a participant from the Iditarod Sled Dog Race, recently. The 55-year-old Akiak resident has completed the 1,200-mile race from Anchorage to Nome 14 times, including an 18th place finish in 1999.
Williams isn’t the only big-name musher taking a break from the Iditarod trail this year. Others announcing they would not be competing this year include Linwood Fiedler, Sonny Lindner, Tollef Monson and Lynda Plettner.
Williams most recently competed in the Kuskokwim 300 Sled Dog Race.
Bethel weekend JH basketball results
Friday, February 15, 2008
Toksook JH Boys 81 – BRHS JH Boys 36
Billy Lincoln scored 32 points for the Toksook Bay Islanders while teammate Jefferson Lincoln scored 18 points. For the Bethel Warriors, Elliot Hoffman scored 11 points and Ilber Kadriu had six.
Aniak JH Girls 19 – BRHS JH 8th Grade Girls 44
For the Bethel Warriors, Olivia Shields had 11 points and teammate Kayla Williams scored 10. For the Aniak Wolfpack, Charlene Wolf was top scorer with 8. Wendy Kameroff had 5.
Aniak JH Boys 43 – BRHS JH Boys 39
For the Aniak boys, Riley Morgan sank three 3-point shots and had a total of 13 points. Teammate RJ Morgan also scored 13. For Bethel, Francis Johnson had 16 points. His teammate Robert Carpenter had 6.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Ayaprun Girls 15 – BRHS Gold JH Girls 13
Nicole Jimmy scored 6 for Ayaprun. Teammate Rebecca Brink had 4. For BRHS, Natalia Mochin had six and teammate Chelsea Polk had 3.
BRHS JH Girls 46 – Aniak JH Girls 29
For the Bethel girls, Olivia Shields scored 9. Ashleigh Naneng and Kira Polk both had 8. For the Aniak girls, Charlene Wolf scored 13 points. Teammate Trisha Morgan had 7.
Aniak JH Boys 57 – BRHS JH Boys 34
Harry scored 12 points for the Aniak Wolfpack. Teammate Ryan had 9. For the BRHS Warriors, Jordan Demientieff had 10 while teammate Martin Oulton scored 6.
Toksook JH Boys 67 – BRHS JH Boys 55
Jefferson Lincoln scored 27 for the Nelson Islanders while Billy Lincoln had 26. For BRHS Francis Johnson scored 14 and teammate Robert Carpenter had 10.
Kwethluk sweeps two from Lady Warrior JV
2-14-08
by Tommy Wells
Katya McDalton scored 25 points and Kelly Ayapan added nine more Friday and powered the Kwethluk Lady Kings to a 51-43 victory over the Bethel Regional High School Lady Warriors junior varsity – and set up a two-game sweep of the weekend doubleheader.
Kwethluk came back on Saturday to claim a 47-32 win in front of a large crowd in the WarriorDome.
The Lady Kings, despite making just five of their 18 free throw attempts, struggled early against the BRHS defense. Kwethluk managed just three shots from the field in the first quarter and trailed by an 11-6 margin heading into the second.
Bethel used a balanced scoring attack to gain the upper hand, The Lady Warriors picked up points from five different players in the first, including Charmae Chavez, Audrey Leary, Lauren Forbes, Crissy Elliott and Dani Beaver.
The Lady Kings rallied in the second. Kwethluk, led by seven points from McDalton, outscored the BRHS girls by a 14-11 clip in the frame and went into the half trailing by just two, at 22-20.
McDalton breathed plenty of life into the KHS offense in the third. She poured in 14 of the team’s 23 third-quarter points and spirited the Lady Kings to a commanding 43-31 lead.
Bethel, which was led in the game by Leary’s 10 points, attempted to rally in the fourth. The Lady Warriors posted a 12-8 run in the final minutes but came up short.
Charlie Phillip and Mary Guy contributed to the Lady Kings’ win in Game 1 by scoring six and five points, respectively. Tatiana Larson and Jackie Alexie added four and two.
Florence Ashepak and Forbes both finished at the Lady Warriors’ second-leading scorers with six apiece. Patricia Bushey added five, while Beaver, and Chavez chalked up four each.
Kwethluk rode a 19-point performance from Ayapan to a 15-point win in Game 2 on Saturday. Phillip tallied eight in the game, while McDalton and Alexie each threw in six.
Leary led all BRHS scorers in the contest, finishing with 14 – 10 of which came in the third quarter.
Beaver also hit double figures for the Lady Warriors, scoring 10.
Foxes, Grizzlies light up scoreboard in cross-village showdown
by Tommy Wells
To say the Akiuk Grizzlies and Akula Tundra Foxes know how to score would be a huge understatement. Both enter February averaging more than 70 points a game.
So what happens when the two Yukon-Kuskokwim juggernauts – who are located within shouting distance of each other – get together? You got it. A lot of offense.
Unfortunately for the Grizzlies, the Tundra Foxes had a few more shots in the bag of tricks. Akula, sparked by a wild 127-121 double overtime victory on Saturday, took two of their three games over the weekend with their cross-village rivals and put themselves in the driver’s seat when it comes to postseason aspirations. With the win, Akula improved to 7-2.
Akiuk and Akula turned in a game for the ages in the final game of the three-game showdown on Saturday. Both teams had five players reach double figures in the game – including three that reached scored at least 30.
Akiuk, which was powered by Michael Andrew, grabbed the early lead in the game. The Grizzlies, powered by eight points apiece from Michael Martin and Alexie Brink, outscored Akula by a slim 29-29 clip in the first eight minutes.
Ryan White and George Isaac led Akula’s early offensive efforts with nine and eight points, respectively.
The Tundra Foxes, who are coached by Charlie Isaac, stepped up their game a bit in the second. Akula posted a 25-22 run in the frame and took a 53-51 lead into the half.
Akiuk co-captain Harry Berlin led the Grizzlies in the second by pushing in 10 of his 28 points in the frame.
Akula continued to escalate its game in the first eight minutes of the third. The Tundra Foxes, led by 10 from Andrew White, reeled off 30 points in the third quarter and built an 83-75 advantage heading into the final stanza.
The Tundra Foxes sealed the win with a 25-19 run in the fourth.
Ryan White finished as the game’s top scorer, netting 37 points. Isaac also surpassed the 30-point plateau for the Foxes, going for 33.
Harry Tinker and Andrew White added to the Akula effort by scoring 22 and 20 respectively. David Twitchell pushed in 15.
Michael Andrews finished with a team-high 30 for Akiuk, while Martin chipped in 26. Alexie Brink and Lane Andrews added 16 and 15, respectively, while Lonny Strunk pushed in six.
Akula notched a second win over Akiuk earlier in the weekend by pounding out a hard-fought 93-85 victory – thank to a career-high 52 points from Ryan White.
White sank 23 shots from the field – including five three-pointers – and three free throws in the contest.
The Tundra Foxes, keyed by 18 first-quarter points from White, raced to a 27-16 lead during the first eight minutes of the game.
The Grizzlies managed to cool White off in the second. Akiuk held the Akula standout to just eight points in the frame and sneaked into the half trailing by just 13, at 44-31.
White exploded again in the second half. He led the Tundra Foxes to the win by pushing in 10 in the third and 17 more in the fourth.
George Isaac and Andrew White also hit double figures for Akula. Isaac finished with 13, while White netted 12.
Ryan White’s offensive performance overshadowed a spectacular effort from Akiuk’s Uyang Berlin, who poured in 34 in the loss.
The Grizzlies also collected 21 from Michael Andrew. Brink and Lane Andrews added 13 and 11, respectively.
The Grizzlies avoided by swept by Akula, however Akiuk defeated Akula by a 79-75 in their other game against the Foxes.
In that game. Lane Andrews went off for 28 points. Michael Martin Jr. added 20, while Michael Andrew and Harry Berlin added 19 and 10.
Ryan White led Akula with 35.
With the two wins, Akula improved its season mark to 7-2 heading into this weekend’s action. Akiuk fell to 4-6.
Keene, Brink lead Lady Grizzlies to sweep of rival Akula
by Tommy Wells
Renae Keene scored 29 points and Anastasia Brink added 20 more Saturday and led the Akiuk Lady Grizzlies to a 63-50 victory over the Akula Lady Tundra Foxes in Kusko-Delta League action.
The games were held at the Akiuk Memorial School in Kasigluk.
With the win, Akiuk, coached by Danny Andrews, managed to claim a two-game sweep of Akula.
After battling to a 22-22 deadlock in the first half on Saturday, the Lady Grizzlies managed to break free. Akiuk, sparked by 11 third-quarter points from Keene, posted a 19-16 run in the frame and took a 41-38 lead into the final eight minutes.
Brink took over from there. She scored 14 of the Lady Grizzlies’ 22 fourth-quarter points.
Jerrilyn Andrew led Akula in the loss, scoring 15 points. Teammate Caroline Hoover chipped in 14. Akula coaches are Charlie Isaac and Howard Tinker.
Akiuk led off the weekend twinbill by winning Game 1 by a 54-47 margin.
The Lady Grizzlies had three players score into double figures in the win, including Keene, who finished with a team-high 20. Danya Andrews and Brink added 11 and 10, respectively.
Jamie Nicholas led all Akula scorers with 18. Hoover and Karlene Peter tallied nine and eight, respectively.
With the two victories, the Akiuk girls improved to 4-7 for the year. Akula slipped to 4-6.
Bluejays, Warriors split weekend twinbill
by Tommy Wells
The Tuntutuliak Bluejays outscored the Bethel Regional High School Warriors’ junior varsity by a slim 18-14 margin in the final eight minutes and rallied to claim a wild 57-54 victory in non-conference play at the WarriorDome.
The win enabled Tuntutuliak to salvage a split of the two-game weekend twinbill with Bethel. The Warriors, powered by Patrick Hopstad, had won the opener on Friday.
Bethel, which also had solid outings from Jermaine Saddler and Nick Sharp got off to a strong start in Game 2. The Warriors, sparked by an early three-point shot by Randy Hanson, knocked down six shots from the field in the first quarter and sprinted to a 14-10 cushion.
Jerome Carl supplied most of the offense for the Bluejays in the first, scoring six points. Teammate Phillip Lupie tallied the remaining four.
Bethel maintained the upper hand in the second. Spurred on by four second-quarter points from Joey Glasheen, Chuckie Herman and Sharp, the Warriors pounded out 14 points in the frame and took a 28-25 lead into the half.
Tuntutuliak began chipping away at the BRHS lead in the third, however. Carl pushed in 10 of his game-high 38 in the frame and helped pull the Bluejays to within one, at 40-39, heading into the fourth.
Kevin McIntyre and Lupie also scored for Tutntutuliak in the third.
Jerrold Simon and Carl combined to score 11 of the Bluejays’ first 11 points in the fourth quarter and set the stage for the fourth-quarter rally.
Hanson led all BRHS scorers in the loss, finishing the game with 11 points. Sharp and Glasheen tallied nine and eight points, respectively, while Eric Pavil and Herman both chipped in seven.
Saddler completed the contest with six points.
Lupie was Tuntutuliak’s second-lead scorer, netting eight. McIntyre and Simon finished with seven and five, respectively.
Bethel was the one walking away with the come-from-behind win in Game 1. The Warriors rallied from an early first-quarter deficit to claim a 39-36 victory on Friday.
After falling behind by a slim 9-7 margin in the first quarter, Bethel put Tuntutuliak on its heels with a solid second period run.
Keyed by eight points from Nate Wade, Bethel put together a 12-5 run and took a 19-14 lead into the half.
The Bluejays’ only points of the second came on a basket and a free throw by Simon and two shots from the charity stripe by McIntyre.
Tutntutuliak rallied back a bit in the third. The Bluejays got six third-quarter points from Simon and five more from Carl and outscored Bethel by a 13-10 clip.
Bethel held a slim 29-27 cushion at the start of the final frame.
Wade and Hopstad both hit double figures for the Warriors in the win, netting 12 and 11, respectively. Pavil, Hanson, Glasheen, Brodie Smith, Brandon Lupie, Sharp and Herman also scored.
Tuntutuliak, which played the game with two female players – Susan Jimmie and Andrea Joseph, was led by 16 from Simon and 11 from Carl.
Kilbuck/Ayaprun Immersion Basketball games results
Friday, Feb. 8th Results:
Game 1: Kilbuck/Ayaprun Elitnaurvik Girls Blue 30 and Gold 25
For the Blue team, Ruby Shantz’s scored 12 pts and Theresa Williams 8 pts. Gold team’s Florencia Barrera scored 10 pts.
Game 2: BRHS JH Girls 36 and Kilbuck/AE Gold 16
BRHS Girls were led by Natalia Mochin who had 10 pts and Noel Peter with 8. Kilbuck/A.E. Gold team’s top scorers were Amber Shields with 8 pts and teammate Theresa Willams who scored 6 pts.
Game 3: Tunt Boys 28 and Kilbuck/AE Gold Boys 37
For the Tuntutuliak Bluejays Richard Pavilla had 13 pts and Angilan Enoch scored 6. For the Kilbuck/A.E .Gold team, William Charles had 9 pts and Doug Palacios scored 8 pts.
Game 4: BRHS JH Boys 32 and Kilbuck/AE Blue Boys 45
The leading scorer for the BRHS Boys was Kenneth Owens with 11 pts and teammate Kenny Dostert had 8. For the Kilbuck/A.E. Blue team, Theodore Naneng scored 21 and teammate John Oulton had 10 pts.
Game 5: Tuntutuliak Boys 45 and Kilbuck/AE Girls 26
For Tuntutuliak, Richard Pavilla was the top scorer with 20 pts and teammate Thomas Friday with 12 pts. For the Kilbuck/Ayaprun Girls Anna Vanasse had 6 pts.
Saturday, Feb. 9th Results
Game 6: Tuntutuliak Boys 23 and BRHS Boys 55
For Tuntutuliak, Richard Pavilla scored 8 pts. The BRHS Boys top scorer was Kyle Koester with 12 pts followed by Logan Applebee with 10 pts.
Game 7: BRHS Girls 26 and Kilbuck/AE Girls 16
For BRHS, Ashley Achee scored 10 pts and teammate Natalia Mochin had 6. For the Kilbuck/A.E. Girls Amber Shields was the top scorer with 6 pts.
Game 8: Tuntutuliak Boys 30 and Kilbuck/AE Blue Boys 34
Tuntutuliak’s leading scorer was Richard Pavilla with 5 pts and Nick David 4 pts. For the Kilbuck/A.E. Blue team, John Oulton was the top scorer with 14 pts and Alex Gregory had 12.
Game 9: BRHS Boys 52 and Kilbuck/AE Boys 28
For the BRHS Boys Trevour Chavez was the highest scorer with 14 pts. Teammate Kyle Koester had 9. On the Kilbuck/A.E. Boys team, Theodore Naneng had 11 pts and Canaar Hoffman scored 6.
Lady Warriors rally past
Nome, take Bethel title
2-5-08
by Tommy Wells
Emerie Fairbanks, Tillie Kaiser and Marilyn Saddler didn’t finish as the Bethel Regional High School Lady Warriors’ leading scorer Saturday in the finals of the 2008 Bethel Basketball Classic. They did, however, come up big when their team needed them both.
Fairbanks, who made just two shots in the contest, buried a shot from the floor in the final moments and then watched on as Kaiser and Saddler each buried a free throw en route to helping Bethel rally to claim a wild 45-42 victory over the Nome-Beltz Lady Nanooks in the championship game of the three-day tournament at the WarriorDome.
With the win, Bethel finished the tournament with a perfect 3-0 record and edged out the Sitka Seawolves for the top spot.
Neither Bethel nor Nome burned up the offensive boards in the early minutes of the contest. In fact, the two teams combined to score just three times from the floor in the first eight minutes.
Allison McIntyre carried the brunt of the Lady Warriors’ first-quarter offensive efforts. She pushed in a shot from the inside and then added a free throw.
Kaiser scored later in the first and helped Bethel take a slim 5-4 lead into the second.
Nome, which had entered the tournament at the top-rated team in the Western Alaska Conference, managed to get its offense untracked a bit in the second. Keyed by eight points from Melissa Samuels, the Lady Nanooks posted a 12-8 run in the frame and carried a 16-13 cushion into the half.
Genevieve Maczynski was the BRHS offense in the second. She scored all eight of the Lady Warriors’ second-quarter points.
Maczynski, one of two BRHS players named to the all-tournament team, finished the contest with a game-high 19 points.
Saddler was also named to the all-tournament squad, joining Nome’s Rachel Bauman, Sitka’s Leisha Trani and Unalakleet’s Giaana Eckenweiler. Sitka’s Kelsea Johnson was tabbed the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
Nome kept the pressure on in the third. The Lady Nanooks inflated their lead to 31-25 with a 15-12 third-quarter spree.
Bethel didn’t roll over and die, however.
After Kaiser had pulled the Lady Warriors to within four, at 31-27, with a quick basket to open the fourth quarter, Saddler found her offensive stroke. The BRHS standout pulled Bethel to within striking distance with the first of her two fourth-quarter three-point shots.
Saddler scored all seven of her points in the final eight minutes.
Bethel managed to nail down the come-from-behind win with a 20-11 run in the final eight minutes.
McIntyre finished the game as Bethel’s second-leading scorer, netting 10.
Kaiser and Fairbanks closed out the game with five and four points, respectively.
The Unalakleet Wolfpack also walked away from the tournament with high praise. The Wolfpack earned the Sportsmanship honors.
Maczynski earned the Hot Shot Championship title, while Nome’s Amber Otten won the Free Throw honors.
Nome boys, girls ranked
among state’s best
by Tommy Wells
The Nome-Beltz High School Nanooks and Lady Nanooks were the only Western Alaska Conference teams ranked in the latest Alaska Sportswriters Prep Basketball Poll, which was released last week.
Nome, which suffered a loss to Bethel on Saturday in the 2008 Bethel Basketball Classic, was ranked fourth in the Class 3A poll. The Nanooks entered this weekend’s tournament with a 9-0 record.
The Lady Nanooks, who lost to Bethel in the championship game of the Bethel Basketball Classic on Saturday, were fifth in the girls’ 3A rankings.
Petersburg edged out Eielson and Heritage Christian for the top spot in the boys’ rankings.
Anchorage Christian was the top vote-getter among 3A girls’ teams.
Class 1A and Class 2A polls are scheduled to be released beginning next week.
Alaska Sportswriters prep basketball poll - below is a look at the ASPB poll with first-place votes in parentheses and total points based on a 5-4-3-2-1 scale.
Class 4A Boys: 1. Dimond 13-1 (5) 37; 2. Ketchikan 14-1 (3) 30; 3. Colony 8-1 20; 4. South Anchorage 7-1 15; 5. Service 8-3 10; Others receiving votes: Kenai, 10-2, 5, West Anchorage, 9-3, 3.
Girls: 1. Chugiak 8-0 (9) 39; 2. Colony 6-2 (1) 27; 3. Wasilla 9-3 18; 4. Palmer 8-3 12; 5. East Anchorage 7-3 8; Others receiving votes: Ketchikan, 10-4, 6; Juneau-Douglas, 8-5, 5; South Anchorage, 7-1, 3; Soldotna, 7-3, 2.
Class 3A Boys: 1. Petersburg, 6-2 (3) 27; 2. Eielson 13-1 (1) 25; 3. Heritage Christian 8-4 (2) 23; 4. Nome, 9-0 (2) 21; 5. Grace Christian 4-3 11; Others receiving votes: Hutchison, 8-4, 5; Haines, 11-2, 4; Anchorage Christian School, 5-5, 4.
Girls: 1. Anchorage Christian 10-0 (8) 40; 2. Eielson 11-2 26; 3. Cordova 9-2 21; 4. Haines 10-2 18; 5. Nome 6-2 7; Others receiving votes: Valdez, 7-5, 5; Nikiski, 6-8, 3.
Warriors salvage tournament with win over Nome
by Tommy Wells
Heading into the 2008 Bethel Basketball Classic, the Bethel Regional High School Warriors knew one thing: If they wanted to prove to everyone they could compete for the Western Alaska Conference championship they would have to play well against the Nome-Beltz Nanooks.
They did better than that.
Keyed by an outstanding first quarter effort by Thomas Kalistook, Bethel stunned the conference’s top-ranked team on Saturday evening, taking a wild 53-52 victory. The Warriors held off a late Nome rally to claim the win.
Despite the loss, Nome claimed the overall team title at the three-day tournament. Sitka finished second in the team standings, just ahead of Bethel.
Having struggled earlier in the tournament, Bethel got off to an impressive start against Nome. Kalistook pushed in 13 of his team-high 15 points in the first eight minutes of the game and helped the Warriors streak to a surprising 21-8 lead.
Alban Malaj, John Herman, Christian Osentoski and Michael McElwee all joined Kalistook in scoring for Bethel in the first quarter.
The Nanooks cut the Warriors’ lead to 12 in the second quarter. Nome, led by six second-quarter baskets by Josh Head, outscored Bethel by a slim 10-9 margin in the frame and went into the half trailing 30-18.
Kyle Chavez supplied the majority of the Warriors’ offense in the second, netting six points.
Osentoski and Herman each pushed in two shots from the field in the third quarter and helped Bethel enter the final eight minutes with a 43-35 lead.
Nome outscored Bethel by a 17-13 margin in the third.
The Nanooks continued to press the issue in the fourth. Nome cut Bethel’s lead to single digits in the final frame and pulled to within striking distance before Herman and Osentoski teamed to end the rally.
After Herman had scored a basket, Osentoski sealed the Nanooks’ first conference loss by tallying Bethel’s final three points.
Kalistook, who had opened the BRHS scoring onslaught with a three-pointer, highlighted the Bethel Basketball Classic all-tournament squad. He joined Sitka’s Ryan Peters and Connor Dunlap, Unalakleet’s Tyrone Towarak and Josh Head on the squad.
Osentoski finished as the Warriors’ second-leading scorer, netting 13 points. Herman and Chavez added eight apiece, while Malaj chipped in five.
Head lead all Nome scorers with 18. Tournament MVP Jesse Blandford tallied 13.
Blandford also won the tournament’s Hot Shot competition, while Unalakleet’s Matthew Towarak claimed the free throw title.
Raiders salvage split with Toksook Bay
by Tommy Wells
Kenny Vaska scored 19 points and four other members of the Russian Mission Raiders scored into double figures Saturday and helped their team claim a stunning 78-71 win over the Toksook Bay Islanders.
With the win, the Raiders salvaged a split in their Island League doubleheader.
Russian Mission used a balanced scoring attack in the second game to offset a stellar effort from Toksook Bay’s Joey Lincoln. Five of the Raiders’ six scorers hit double figures.
Art Askoar was Russian Mission’s second-leading scorer with 18, while teammate David Kozevnikoff added 13. Travis Houser and Kyle Nicoli both chipped in 11, while Nocanoff Evan contributed six.
Lincoln was a one-man offensive highlight reel in the loss. The NIHS star pushed in a game-high 36 points.
Toksook Bay also netted 13 points from Bosco Julius, and seven from Michael White. Silas Moses and Simeon Aluska added six and five, respectively, while Jason Tulik chipped in two.
Toksook Bay walked away with an 84-77 win in Game 1 of the series. In that game, the Islanders picked up double-digit efforts from five starters, including a game-high 27 from Lincoln and 16 from Tulik.
Others reaching double figures for the Islanders were Julius with 14, Aluska with 11 and Moses with 10.
Nickoli led all Russian Mission scorers with 24. Askour and Vaska put in 20 and 16, respectively.
Game results from Basketball Classic
Thursday, January 31:
Bethel Girls 52 – Unalakleet Girls 37
Allison McIntyre scored 17 points to lead Bethel against the Unalakleet Wolfpack girls. Bethel hit 3 of their 9 free throw shots. Melinda Ivanoff of Unalakleet was the high scorer for her team with 15, with 2 three pointers. Giaana Eckenweiler of Unalakleet also had 2 three point shots. The Wolfpack made 4 out of 14 freethrows.
Unalakleet Boys 54 – Bethel Boys 50
Tyrone Towarak and Earvin Ivanoff of Unalakleet both scored 13 points in this match against Bethel. Towarak sunk 2 three pointers in the first half. John Ivanoff fouled out for Unalakleet. For Bethel, Thomas Kalistook scored 22 points, with 2 three pointers before fouling out. Teammate Alban Malaj scored 14. Bethel hit 14 of their 26 free throws while Unalakleet got 7 out of 13.
Friday, February 1:
Sitka Boys 49 – Bethel Boys 45
Ryan Peters and Conor Dunlap, both 6’3” of the Sitka Wolves scored 15 and 9 points in this game against the Bethel Warrior Boys. Thomas Kalistook of Bethel had 18 points, with 3 three pointers, teammate Kyle Chavez had 8. Bethel outscored the Sitka wolves in the first three quarters.
Bethel Girls 49 – Sitka Girls 48
Genevieve Maczyns
