A look back at some of our big stories from the past year www.alaskaportsreport.com A LOOK BACK AT 2022 40 stories from the past year . . . A look back at 2022, the first full calendar year of the Alaska Sports Report with 40 stories that stood out. Call it the Top 40 if you like. Whether it's breaking news, historical research, or human interest stories, we've enjoyed shining a light on Alaskans doing great things in sports. We are a donor-driven publication. If you enjoy our product please consider a contribution or sponsorship within your budget here. Thanks for reading! Brotherly love: Top college scoring tandems from Hajdukovich, Bailey & Butler to Laws, Sherman-Newsome & Karlberg by Van Williams | Jan 5, 2022 | Basketball Jim Hajdukovich has known Kyle Bailey since they were both little dribblers in Fairbanks. Hajdukovich is five years older and played in the Interior youth league with Bailey’s brother, Bill. Even at 5 years old, Bailey already showed flashes of excellences. “He was...Read More   Back Between The Boards: Anchorage’s Hunter Fejes returns to the rink after conquering cancer by Doyle Woody | Dec 23, 2022 | Cover Story, Hockey You’d be hard-pressed to find a better feel-good holiday hockey highlight than Hunter Fejes’ return to the rink Thursday night in Orlando, Fla. Fejes, the 28-year-old winger from Anchorage, played his first game for the ECHL’s Orlando Solar Bears after undergoing... Read More   Pride of Palmer: Eve Stephens gives UAA its first NCAA D2 National Player of the Year by Van Williams | Dec 2, 2022 | Cover Story, Volleyball Already the most decorated UAA volleyball player in school history, Eve Stephens of Palmer grabbed one more award on her way out the door. And it was a doozy. Stephens became the first Seawolf to earn NCAA Division II National Player of the Year honors. This news came...Read More   Young and Brash: Eight Alaskans Make Olympic Nordic Ski Team by Matias Saari | Jan 20, 2022 | Nordic Skiing They are young and they are brash — and they’re going to the Olympics for the first time. Anchorage’s Gus Schumacher and Luke Jager, along with UAA’s JC Schoonmaker and APU’s Hailey Swirbul and Hannah Halvorsen, are among eight Alaska-affiliated athletes — more than...Read More   Administrative error gets Dimond booted from CIC hockey tournament; state berth in limbo by Matt Nevala | Feb 3, 2022 | Hockey The Dimond High hockey team is out of this week’s Cook Inlet Conference tournament and a berth in next week’s First National Cup Division I state tournament isn’t a guarantee, Anchorage School District Secondary Education Director Marty Lang confirmed Thursday...Read More   State Football: Colony earns first state crown after beating Juneau 14-7 in defensive battle by Matt Nevala | Oct 21, 2022 | Cover Story, Football, Prep Spotlight As night descended on the chilled Anchorage hillside Friday, the breathtaking view of the snow-capped Chugach Mountains in the distance slowly vanished. At the same time, a defensive thriller ensued when the statistically high-powered offenses of the teams in the ASAA...Read More   Alaska’s Comeback Kid, Lance Mackey dies at 52 after second bout of lung cancer by Harlow Robinson | Sep 8, 2022 | Cover Story, Sled Dog Racing Alaska lost a legend Wednesday with the passing of Lance Mackey. Known as the Comeback Kid, Mackey beat cancer and overcame odds and adversity throughout his life to have one of the most decorated careers in sled dog racing history. Through many ups and downs, Mackey...Read More   Arctic Passage: Sailing the Edge of Alaska – A Four-Part Series by Ben Spiess | Nov 7, 2022 | Adventure, Cover Story, Sailing I got a call from my old friend Mark Synnott in late August. Mark was in the middle of sailing the Arctic Northwest Passage from Maine through to Nome. Could I join him in Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories in a week? He needed crew for the last leg of his voyage –...Read More   64-player GOAT bracket: Picking Alaska’s greatest women’s basketball player by Van Williams | Dec 24, 2022 | Basketball, Cover Story There were few layups when picking Alaska’s greatest women’s basketball player of all-time. However, there were definitely some slam dunks. In the 1970s, it was Debbie Benson. In the 1980s, Jeannie Hebert and Andrea Lloyd. The 1990s had Molly Tuter and Brit Jacobson....Read More   UAF’s Naomi Bailey and Kendall Kramer go 1-2 at regionals, qualify for NCAA D2 Nationals by Arielle Himelbloom | Nov 20, 2022 | Cover Story, Cross Country Running, Running On a day when most teams were out of their element, the Nanooks were right at home in the snowy climate of Billings, Montana. Fairbanks’ Naomi Bailey was victorious at the West Regional Championships, leading UAF to a seventh-place finish. Coming off a...Read More   Anchorage’s David Carle guides Denver to men’s NCAA hockey title – because NCAA titles are what the Carles do by Doyle Woody | Apr 10, 2022 | Hockey A member of the Carle family lifting the NCAA men’s hockey championship trophy might as well be the family crest. Saturday, Anchorage’s David Carle savored hockey hardware after he guided the Denver Pioneers to a 5-1 victory over Minnesota State-Mankato in Boston that...Read More   4A Boys State Final: South returns favor, beats East on buzzer beater one week after losing in same fashion by Van Williams | Mar 26, 2022 | Basketball, Prep Spotlight One week after losing on a buzzer beater to the East T-birds, the South Wolverines returned the favor. Zach Williamson scored on a fabulous fadeaway jumper at the buzzer to lift South to a 37-35 victory over East in the Class 4A boys championship game of the...Read More   After 2 years idle, the UAA-UAF wars between the boards are back with Governor’s Cup by Doyle Woody | Dec 9, 2022 | Cover Story, Friday Flashback, Hockey When UAA-UAF hockey flits across my mind, memories drift back to the late 1980s, when Mike Peluso was the Seawolves’ cornerstone defenseman and Ricky Pitta was the Nanooks’ spark plug. Peluso was 6-foot-4 with long arms, easy-going off the ice, but 200 pounds of...Read More   Sitka's Kimber wins national wrestling title, Hopkins & Bockman qualify for NCAAs, Antesberger & Sekona All-Americans by Van Williams | Mar 8, 2022 | Wrestling Sitka’s Sydnee Kimber was untouchable at the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships. Again. For the second consecutive year opponents were unable to score a point against the Alaskan, who posted a 4-0 record en route to winning the 191-pound championship.....Read More   State Football: Meet Bartlett’s O-line fueling top-ranked rushing attack entering First National Bowl D1 playoffs by Van Williams | Oct 5, 2022 | Cover Story, Football The Bartlett offensive line has had plenty of motivation this year to control the line of scrimmage. You’d think it would be pancakes but it’s actually donuts, courtesy of the running backs every time one of them eclipses 100 yards in a game. This got quarterback Carl...Read More   Scott Patterson shines at Olympics, named Alaska Athlete of the Week Feb 7, 2022 | Athlete of the Week, Nordic Skiing, Olympics Scott Patterson of Anchorage placed 11th in Saturday’s 30-kilometer skiathon, the best-ever U.S. men’s Olympic result in that event. His achievement earned him our Alaska Athlete of the Week honors. Racing in cold, slow conditions and at high altitude, Patterson was...Read More   Alissa Pili third-fastest Alaska woman to score 1,000 points at NCAA Division I level by Van Williams | Dec 17, 2022 | Basketball, Cover Story Anchorage’s Alissa Pili today became the 35th Alaska women’s basketball player to reach the 1,000-point benchmark after pumping in 15 points in 22 minutes for 13th-ranked Utah in a 92-45 win over Cal State Riverside in Salt Lake City. With 1,002 career points, Pili...Read More   The Anchorage’s Wolverines’ wonderful, improbable journey came up one win short by Doyle Woody | May 24, 2022 | Cover Story, Hockey Only one team gets to rejoice when the final horn sounds on the season. The Anchorage Wolverines, the most improbable of contenders, were not that club. A journey in which this first-year expansion team marched to the final game in the North American Hockey League...Read More   State Cross Country: Wrangell boys & Haines girls win D3 crowns, Grace Christian boys & Seward girls take D2 titles by Harlow Robinson | Oct 9, 2022 | Cover Story, Cross Country Running, Prep Spotlight Wrangell High School’s Daniel Harrison approached the finish line hands in the air. There was much to celebrate. In winning the Division III 2022 ASAA First National Bank Alaska Cross Country Running State Championships, the Wolves’ sophomore standout....Read More   Ketchikan’s 2019 fantastic fortune among the last 20 years of ASAA’s March Madness Alaska top 3A/4A moments and memories by Matt Nevala | Mar 20, 2022 | Basketball In the glow of the most momentous occasion and long-awaited celebration soon approaching, senior Kyle Smith, coach Eric Stockhausen and the rest of the 2019 Ketchikan High boys basketball championship squad waited on the Alaska Airlines Center bench and anticipated...Read More   LaTraviaus Kingsland goes from wearing Zack Bowman’s number at Bartlett High to playing for him at Midland by Van Williams | Sep 9, 2022 | Cover Story, Football Anchorage’s LaTraviaus Kingsland grew up idolizing hometown hero Zack Bowman, a former Bartlett High star who went on to the NFL. Kingsland wanted to copy Bowman in every way – repping Bartlett, playing cornerback and wearing No. 14, the same one Bowman sported in the...Read More   Motivated by sick teammate, Kenai boys hoops team caps comeback with buzzer-beater by Van Williams | Dec 18, 2022 | Basketball, Cover Story, Prep Spotlight This one was for Zach. Motivated by a pre-game text message from a sick teammate, the Kenai Central boys basketball team came into Saturday night’s game against Houston highly inspired and delivered a hallmark win on the Peninsula. The Kardinals scored five points in...Read More   Clair DeGeorge hopes her historic college hockey success will inspire Alaska’s next generation of girls by Van Williams | Feb 11, 2022 | Hockey When Anchorage’s Clair DeGeorge was in middle school, her knowledge of major women’s college hockey was limited. Her world revolved around the Aces and Seawolves. Her only connection to the women’s game was the Hickel sisters; Zoe played at Minnesota Duluth,....Read More   Obed Vargas helps Seattle Sounders become first MLS team to win Concacaf Champions League by Van Williams | May 6, 2022 | Soccer At 14, Anchorage’s Obed Vargas joined the Seattle Sounders Academy. When he was 15, he became the third-youngest player to start a game in the MLS. Now he’s 16 and the Alaskan just played a pivotal role in helping the Sounders become the first MLS team to win the...Read More   UAF’s fairytale postseason run comes to end in Sweet 16 of NCAA Tournament after loss to Chico State by Van Williams | Mar 14, 2022 | Basketball The clock struck midnight on UAF’s Cinderella run. The underdog Nanooks saw their fairytale six-game postseason winning streak come to an end in the West Region final after dropping a 70-52 decision to Chico State in San Bernardino, California. Chico State (22-4) held...Read More   Anchorage’s Ana Jager wins 800-mile Arizona Trail race to secure triple crown in bikepacking series by Matias Saari | Nov 21, 2022 | Adventure, Bikepacking, Cover Story, Mountain Biking Anchorage’s Ana Jager is doing a fine job of following in the bike tracks of her “hometown hero” Lael Wilcox. Earlier this month, Jager capped her first full season of bikepacking by winning the 800-mile Arizona Trail Race after more than 12 days on the trail....Read More   Prep basketball star Sayvia Sellers has never lost a game in Alaska as ACS runs winning streak to 88 by Van Williams | Feb 15, 2022 | Basketball, Prep Spotlight Sayvia Sellers is a junior in high school and she’s never lost a basketball game in Alaska. She is 42-0 with the Anchorage Christian School Lions. That stat almost doesn’t seem real, but Sellers is the real deal. The 5-foot-7 guard is without a shadow of a doubt the...Read More   A half century of Iditarod: The ‘Last Great Race’ celebrates a milestone by Lew Freedman | Feb 25, 2022 | Sled Dog Racing Martin Buser is signed up for his 39th Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, which at 1,000 miles and perhaps an average of 10 days at a time, means he has invested more than a year of his life standing on the back of sled runners mushing across the historic trail. This is... Read More   Jim Young celebrates coaching retirement, speaks to troubles he sees in high school sports by Matt Nevala | Jan 27, 2022 | Basketball Given all the success of his 21 years coaching high school basketball, Jim Young could’ve quietly ridden off into the retirement sunset. Young’s Dimond teams won 76 percent of their games and captured five Class 4A state championships with him on the staff. The Lynx...Read More   Colorado’s Allie McLaughlin delivers a dynamite debut in record-setting Mount Marathon women’s win by Doyle Woody | Jul 4, 2022 | Cover Story, Mountain Running As debuts go, Allie McLaughlin’s proved dynamite. The 31-year-old from Colorado Springs, Colo., crushed the field in her debut trip on Mount Marathon, and she crushed the women’s record too. McLaughlin, whose mountain-running pedigree is powerful, clocked 47 minutes,...Read More   Alyeska Freeride Team goes big at inaugural Girdwood competition by Matias Saari | Mar 24, 2022 | Alpine Skiing One day before a major freeride skiing competition in Girdwood was scheduled to start, Cameron Hoessle sat on the waitlist in racer limbo. Then, after another skier’s cancellation, the call finally came that he’d get to compete. Hoessle took full advantage, placing...Read More   Lydia Jacoby pops blistering time in 100 breast to break national age-group record by Van Williams | Dec 3, 2022 | Cover Story, Swimming and Diving Seward’s Lydia Jacoby on Friday popped a record-breaking performance at the Minnesota Invitational in Minneapolis. The University of Texas freshman touched the wall in 57.54 seconds to place second in the women’s 100-yard breaststroke, finishing just 0.06 seconds...Read More   State Cross Country: Chugiak’s Campbell Peterson and Mustangs complete undefeated D1 girls seasons by Arielle Himelbloom | Oct 10, 2022 | Cover Story, Cross Country Running On a blustery autumn day, the top Division I athletes gathered at the Bartlett High trails prepared to give their utmost effort at the ASAA First National Bank of Alaska Cross Country Running Championships. Campbell Peterson left nothing up to chance in a race that...Read More   Win title, get parade: Nome boys receive royal treatment after netting first state championship since 1983 by Van Williams | Mar 29, 2022 | Basketball, Prep Spotlight The reality of winning a state title didn’t hit home for Dawson Schaeffer until he got back to Nome. The parade did it for him. “It was really cool. We were all in the school bus, just waving at everybody,” Schaeffer said. “There were a lot of people; like, the whole...Read More   Goalkeeper Shaylin Cesar of Juneau stretches scoreless streak to 390 minutes for Pacific Lutheran by Van Williams | Sep 15, 2022 | Cover Story, Soccer Pacific Lutheran University women’s soccer goalkeeper Shaylin Cesar of Juneau hasn’t allowed a goal in 10 months. It seems unbelievable, but the senior netminder owns a 390-minute scoreless streak that stretches back to PLU’s last loss on Nov. 13, 2021 – a 1-0...Read More   Brody Jessee settles into life with Reds’ rookie team, motivated to move up and hold it down for Alaska by Van Williams | Aug 30, 2022 | Baseball, Cover Story Now that he’s in Arizona with the Cincinnati Reds rookie-ball team, Brody Jessee of Anchorage has met a ton of people. They all seem to have the same reaction when he tells them where he’s from. “They have never met a baseball player from Alaska,” he said. Jessee, 21,..Read More   Jessica Moore, Reggie Tongue, Joe Floyd highlight Alaska Sports Hall of Fame’s Class of 2023 by Alaska Sports Report | Dec 5, 2022 | Alaska Sports Hall of Fame, Basketball, Cover Story, Football, Nordic Skiing Two contemporary athletes who shined on every stage and a man who transformed a community through sports highlight the incoming class of Alaska Sports Hall of Fame inductees. Reggie Tongue of Fairbanks, Jessica Moore (now Waldrop) of Palmer, and Joe Floyd of Kodiak....Read More   After 306-mile trek from Knik to McGrath, Iditarod Trail Invitational race ends in rare tie by Matias Saari | Mar 9, 2022 | Adventure, Cycling, Mountain Biking The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is now hogging the headlines — but a hardy band of bikers, skiers and runners have been traversing the trail for more than a week. Fairbanksan Tyson Flaharty and Canadian Ryan Atkins led the way in the 306-mile trek from Knik to...Read More   East’s 46-game winning streak vs. Alaska foes doesn’t drive T-birds, winning another state title does by Van Williams | Feb 26, 2022 | Basketball, Prep Spotlight Riding a 46-game winning streak against Alaska competition hasn’t overwhelmed the East High boys basketball team. The exact opposite, actually. “The funny thing is we didn’t really know we were on that high of a streak until the article came out before the Alaska...Read More   Anchorage’s Santiago Gomez-Prosser delivers All-American finish as NAU claims sixth NCAA title by Arielle Himelbloom | Nov 19, 2022 | Cross Country Running, Running In the race that mattered most, Anchorage’s Santiago Gomez-Prosser delivered the performance of his career. The former Dimond High star was key in helping Northern Arizona claim its sixth national title at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships in Stillwater,...Read More   Happy anniversary to Alaska’s greatest college basketball upset: UAA over Michigan in 1988 by Van Williams | Dec 28, 2022 | Basketball, Cover Story, Friday Flashback The Seawolves made history on a Wednesday. It was Dec. 28, 1988. Just four days before ringing in the new year, the UAA men’s basketball team put No. 2-ranked Michigan through the ringer at the Utah Classic. The Seawolves executed their stall-ball strategy flawlessly...Read More   Join our Family of Sponsors The Alaska Sports Report is a non-profit entity owned by the 501(c)3 Alaska Sports Hall of Fame. We say "no" to paywalls and pop-up ads, "yes" to community partners. Make a tax deductible donation and we'll recognize you on our site, social media posts, and in this weekly review! Our Team Van Williams, Editor Arielle Himelbloom, Reporter Matt Nevala, Reporter Matias Saari, Reporter Doyle Woody, Reporter Bryan Boyett, Photographer Natalie Osborne, Web Development Shelley Romer, Dev. Director Harlow Robinson, Exec. Director Learn more about the Alaska Sports Report staff here WWW.ALASKASPORTSREPORT.COM SUBSCRIBE TO WEEK IN REVIEW Alaska Sports Report | 11901 Industry Way STE A9, Anchorage, AK 99515 Unsubscribe [email protected] Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice Sent by [email protected] in collaboration with Try email marketing for free today!