By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Sports Editor
Closely contested regional championships, a newly reorganized basketball conference, high performance running on tracks and trails, and a baseball tournament complicated by heavy fog marked the year 2022 for Sitka athletes.
The year opened in January with a basketball season offering more varied competition than in years prior. Softball and baseball players laced up their cleats in the spring, as did track and field runners. Little League returned with the summer before cross country heralded the return to fall. As the days grew short, volleyball and swim seasons heated up.
New Conference, New Challenges
As the high school basketball season got underway all four local teams strived to peak in time for the Region V contest in March. But unlike previous years, which pitted the Sitka High Wolves and Mt. Edgecumbe Braves against each other in a one-on-one tournament, the conference widened this year to include the Houston Hawks and Redington Huskies – two teams from the Matanuska-Susitna Valley.
Lady Wolves Ava Brady takes a shot against Houston High, at Sitka in January.
Brady led her team in scoring with 15 points. Sitka won. (Sentinel photo)
With only one quarter left in the March 11 championship game, the Sitka High Lady Wolves were down by 2 against Redington, but mounted a counter-offensive in the final minutes to claim the first title of the new conference.
In a close game, the outcome can hinge on the basics.
“We just have to stay poised and take care of the ball at that point. Run our offense, play solid defense,” then-sophomore Maitlin Young said.
For now-graduated senior Tawny Smith, it’s critical not to think about the score when on the court.
“I feel like in most situations it would be pretty nerve-wracking, but our coach has instilled in us so much that the score is always 0-0… During the game I have zero concept of what the score is,” Smith said.
While the Lady Huskies attempted to push back in the closing seconds, a handful of fouls gave Sitka breathing room. With 11 seconds left, Chloe Morrison scored to give Sitka a 36-32 victory, capping an undefeated run through the Eastern Conference tournament double-elimination bracket.
Two weeks later, the Lady Wolves flew to Anchorage for the state championship tournament.
After a series of hard-fought games and close competition, a significant injury and two decisive free throw shots, the Sitka High Lady Wolves took second place in the state basketball tournament, March 27.
It was the second year in a row for the Lady Wolves to place second in the state tourney.
After a first round win, Tawny Smith was sidelined with an injury – later diagnosed as a torn ACL - in the team’s match against Monroe Catholic.
Marina Olney-Miller had been subbed out and was on the bench when Smith went down.
“I was assuming Tawny could get right back up and we were all super hyped for that foul being called,” Olney-Miller recalled. “But then once I was subbed in for her and I had to shoot the free throws – I’ve never had to do that, subbed in for somebody and had to shoot their free throws for them. I have been in high-intensity situations where I do have to shoot free throws of my own, but in that moment, it was just I drowned everything out. I don’t know, I knew what I had to do.”
She sank both shots and gave the Lady Wolves the 2-point lead that clinched the win.
In the championship game, Barrow won 51-46 and claimed the state title as Sitka took second.
Determined Underdogs
Much like the Lady Wolves, the Mt. Edgecumbe Braves basketball team faced an uphill fight at the regional tournament this year, and ultimately fell to the undefeated Houston Hawks. The Braves took second place in the first regional tournament for the new conference.
The Braves fell to Houston 65-43 after a tough fight in the final match.
Houston took an early lead and ended the first quarter up 14-5, but the Braves pushed back in the second and at the half the Hawks led by only 6.
Braves junior Ranen Wassillie said his goal was to make others proud.
“My mindset was I’m doing for my teammates, for the coach, the school, all my family. I wanted to play hard and make them proud,” he said. He’s from Newhalen.
Wassillie was happy with his team’s work ethic.
“We hustled pretty good, we got boards when we needed them and just shot as much as we could,” he said.
Unlike tournaments in recent years, a crowd of well over 100 fans from across the state cheered teams at the conference championship matches.
“It feels weird after all this COVID, but it’s amazing. I missed the crowd,” Wassillie said.
Despite the loss, Edgecumbe earned a spot in the state championship, seeded eighth out of eight teams. Nonetheless, the squad rebounded from a first-round loss to claim fourth place.
Because the Braves went north as the lowest seed in the bracket, their first game was against the state’s top-seeded team in the 3A division, the Houston Hawks. Edgecumbe fell 58-42.
Though the initial loss knocked Edgecumbe into the consolation bracket, the Braves pulled together and scored a 53-41 win over Hutchison High the next day.
Moving through the bracket, the Braves faced a final challenge against the Barrow Whalers.
In a hard fought game that came down to the closing minutes, Edgecumbe secured a 63-60 victory and the fourth place spot.
Bases Loaded
As springtime rolled around again, Sitka’s baseball players returned to the diamond and, by season’s end, shattered a supposed curse and earned a regional title.
In the May 27 championship game at Ketchikan, the Sitka Wolves clinched that championship by toppling the Kayhi Kings. Though Sitka entered the conference tournament with a losing record in the regular season, the Wolves pulled together and went undefeated at regionals.
Sitka won the championship game 10-9 after a walk-off error in the bottom of the eighth.
Wolves junior Dylan Marx recalled the decisive moment.
“Garren (Henning) got on base – I think it was like a single or a walk. And then I got up next and he stole second to (be) in scoring position. And Kenny (Carley, Sitka’s coach) told me to just hit the ball. I needed to hit this ball, because we need to win this game. So I hit a ground rule double and scored Garren and I got on second,” Marx said. “Bridger (Bird) bunted me over to third… Then Chance (Coleman), the freshman, hit that ground ball to third. I scored and it was a bad throw. And then everyone starts cheering. That’s when we won it right there.”
In his last ever Region V tournament, it was clear to now-graduated Sitka senior Nik Calhoun that the team had broken a curse.
“These guys here were on the 2017 All Stars in Ketchikan, and we won every game until we got to the championship and lost twice and didn’t get to finish that,” Calhoun said. “And this year, same teams for all the teams in Southeast and we actually won, so it was pretty cool… We broke our curse… You could ask any one of these guys. We always talk about it. We were like, ‘What would it have been like if we actually won that tournament?’ And now five years later, we won the tournament.”
After a heavy fog layer interrupted air traffic to and from Sitka, the Wolves found an unconventional way to travel to Anchorage for the state championship tournament.
Fresh off their Region V victory, the squad boarded an Allen Marine boat bound for Juneau and flew north from there.
Once in Anchorage, the Sitka High players knew they faced long odds in competition with the best teams in the state.
Following wins over Eagle River and Chugiak, the Wolves advanced to the championship game with South Anchorage High, where they pulled together in a hard-fought game to take second place in the tourney.
While Sitka’s regular season record this year was 9-8, South Anchorage’s win-loss record over two years was 43-0. The Wolverines beat Sitka 6-0 to secure their second consecutive state title.
Back on the Track
Records fell and Sitka High’s track and field teams both earned a Region V title in late May.
Then-freshman Clare Mullin cracked the Region V record in the 800 meter race by nearly a second only two weeks after breaking the school record in that race. She crossed the finish line in 2:17.01.
Running distance events on the boys side, junior Silas Demmert set a personal record and took first in the mile in 4:41.69. He did the same in the two-mile race, crossing the finish line in 10:12.75.
“I wanted to go into it pretty confident. So I was basically trying to prepare myself for anything,” Demmert said. “The week leading up to regions, I wanted to hit my splits, go in as confidently as I could.”
Only a week later, the team endured unusually hot weather and finished out the season with a number of first-place finishes at the state championship meet in Anchorage, May 27 and 28.
In the women’s distance running events, Clare Mullin recovered from illness just in time to sweep the first place spots in the half-mile, mile and two-mile races.
“It feels good, obviously, but it’s kind of hard. It hasn’t set in yet… I didn’t have any PRs or anything, but it was a good surprise,” she told the Sentinel.
Sitka’s Anna Prussian, second from the right, hands off the baton to Clare Mullin, far
right, in the four-by-400 meter relay, April in Sitka. (Sentinel photo by James Poulson)
Overall, Sitka’s women took second place in the state, behind Anchorage Christian School. All told, 18 women’s teams competed. Sitka’s men finished eighth place out of 20 teams.
In the 800 meter race, Mullin finished first in 2:33, barely half a second ahead of the runner-up. But in the mile, Mullin stretched her lead and won by four seconds in 5:31. In the two-mile race, Mullin crossed the finish line in only 11:50 – a full 13 seconds ahead of the second place runner.
Little League, Big Talent
Some athletes remained in uniform through the summer for the Sitka Little League season.
A strong comeback attempt by Ketchikan’s All Stars Junior League softball team failed to overcome Sitka’s softball squad, which held on and swept a three-game series to claim the District 2 championship title, July 9.
Ketchikan was one solid hit away from tying the game or securing a lead, but Sitka relief pitcher Alina Lebahn hoped to prevent that.
“I was honestly just focused on pitching strikes,” said Lebahn. “I had a really nice, quick warm-up in the bullpen, and I was consistent. So I was kind of confident going up to the mound. Just pitching right down the middle.”
She stepped onto the mound halfway through the top of the seventh and struck out the first Ketchikan batter she faced. The next batter connected with the ball, but Sitka’s defense sprang into action and the runner from third base was out at home.
Lebahn walked the next batter and, with bases loaded again, the next Ketchikan player hit the ball. Again Sitka’s defense held firm and the runner from third was out at home – ending the game with an 8-6 win and the district title for Sitka.
On the boys’ side, after a hard loss in the opening game of the state Little League championship series in Ketchikan in late July, the Sitka Junior All Star baseball team rallied to claim the state title.
Sitka got off to a rocky start with an 8-3 loss to the home team, but followed that by winning the next three games to seal the championship in the best-of-five series.
For longtime Sitka player Mason McCloud, that victory wasn’t a first, but it still felt good.
“It’s our third year going as state champs – we just kept it going,” McCloud said. “It felt pretty good to win after that first loss, and we came back.”
Many of the players on the Sitka 13- and 14-year-old Junior League squad were on the 11-12 Major League team that took the state title in 2019.
An Alpine Adventure
Runners competing in Sitka’s annual Alpine Adventure Run on July 16 faced dense cloud cover in the alpine high country of Gavan Hill and Harbor Mountain.
Leading the pack by more than a 3-minute margin, Chris Brenk was the first to finish at the Harbor Mountain shelter in just 1:08:10. Though he’s an experienced distance runner, Saturday was Brenk’s first time competing in the Alpine Adventure Run, which this year drew 96 runners, including 26 competitors from outside of Sitka.
Brenk had trained on the high country route, but said after the race that he wasn’t certain what to expect in the race itself.
Taking first place in the women’s race, Sitkan Anna Laffrey finished first in 1:29:39 and ran much of the course alongside friends.
“Running with friends, both my roommates and some of my best friends were with me the whole time… Very neighborly, and we live here, so we run a lot,” Laffrey said after completing the race. She was familiar with the course, and got ready for the race by resting the week before.
Five Kilometer Loops
Sitka cross country runners finished the season with a strong performance on a hilly, muddy course in Anchorage in early October. After leading the pack in numerous races around Southeast during the regular season, the Sitka High men’s team took second place out of all Division II teams in Alaska, while the Lady Wolves took fourth. Individually in the women’s race, Sitka’s Anna Prussian was first across the finish line, closely followed by her friend and longtime running partner, Clare Mullin.
For Prussian, the race marked the end of an era. As a senior, it was her final high school cross country race.
“It didn’t really hit for a while, but I was just incredibly happy with how I felt throughout the race. Especially coming off of last year where I didn’t feel good, like pretty much the entire race. I felt really strong and smooth,” Prussian recalled.
Another Sitka senior, Silas Demmert, secured a fifth-place finish in 16:56, helping anchor his team’s overall second place result.
“I really did put it all out there. You know, I decided – like I did for regions – that it’s state but really, it’s just another race. I can’t really do anything but enjoy myself and put out my best effort. I think I would have liked a best time. But, you know, nothing I can do about that,” Demmert said.
Demmert went into the race with a goal of breaking the 17-minute barrier and achieved that.
He was happy with how the team did, especially at the close of the season.
“I think we did really great. Everybody really pulled through,” the senior said. “I think we had a guy or two that were in a rough spot this season, but they really got past that in that race. I think we had some breakthroughs.”
Volleyball Takes Third
Powerful hitting and a tough defense propelled the Sitka High Lady Wolves to another Region V championship title over the Mt. Edgecumbe Lady Braves, Nov. 2. Sitka won the title in two matches in the best-of-three competition.
The Lady Braves fought hard to prevent Sitka from running away with the game and briefly held a 6-point lead in the second set of the final match, but with Ava Brady and her teammates, Andrea and Michele Winger, at the helm, Sitka’s offensive firepower proved to be an overmatch.
A week later the Lady Wolves made it through tough competition to place third at the state tournament in Anchorage. The team won two and lost two matches at the end-of-season competition.
Getting so close to the championship game, said junior Dalila Callahan, was a solid way to conclude the season.
“Getting third place, I believe that is a huge accomplishment for us. That’s the highest we’ve ever gotten (at the state tournament),” Callahan said. “But it’s also a hunger thing. We’re still hungry for more and we want that first place title.”
While in recent years the current Sitka High volleyball team has consistently taken the Region V 3A title against their sole opponent, the Mt. Edgecumbe Lady Braves, the Lady Wolves have sometimes struggled in the state bracket.
Like Callahan, sophomore Jaira Costelo hopes the team will use the offseason to prepare for next year.
“It’s very motivating to work harder in the offseason and to just work hard… and be in the championship game next year,” Costelo said.
Wolves in the Pool
In January, months before the start of the high school swim season, Olympic champion Lydia Jacoby visited Sitka, sharing stories and offering advice to local athletes. Originally from Seward, Jacoby won a gold medal in the 2021 Tokyo games.
“It’s been really fun coming home and I’ve been getting lots of opportunities,” the 17-year-old star swimmer said. “I now have a platform that I can share what I believe in and what I stand for, that kind of thing, and then use that to inspire kids.”
At a swimming clinic with the Baranof Barracudas Swim Club, Jacoby said she enjoyed the chance to give back to Alaska swimmers. Barracudas were among the first to receive training from Jacoby since the Olympics.
“I’m excited to give back to Alaska Swimming a little bit. They’ve always done so much for me, so to be able to inspire some of these younger swimmers, it’s been great to be here,” she said.
While she is one of the top swimmers in the world, Jacoby hopes her message will extend beyond the pool.
“Of course I love swimming and I hope other people love swimming, but I recognize that’s not for everyone. But just instilling a love for whatever you’re doing, dedication to whatever you do is really important,” she said.
In early November, after a strong showing at the regional meet, Sitka High’s top swimmers competed in the state championship in Anchorage, where a small cadre of Wolves raced with the best swimmers from across Alaska.
Sitka High senior Emma Gassman dives into the 100 yard freestyle race at a
meet in Sitka early in the season. (Sentinel photo by James Poulson)
Sitka senior Emma Gassman took third place in the 100-yard butterfly in 59.18, precisely 2 seconds behind the first-place finisher.
“Both of my individual events were extremely competitive,” Gassman said later. “Between first and fifth, I would say, it was like two seconds. So it was just kind of a fun and very fast twitch race, who could touch the wall first.”
Just a few seconds behind Gassman was Sitka freshman Klayeah Lozada, who took seventh in 1:02.90.
Gassman finished fourth in the state in the 100 backstroke in 59.99, again exactly 2 seconds behind the leader. Looking back on her final state championship swim meet, she was happy with the performances she witnessed.
“I’m just very proud of myself, my whole team worked really hard and I like trying to represent for us,” she said.
Overall, Sitka’s women took ninth place out of 17 teams at the meet.
A week earlier at the Region V meet in Juneau, Sitka’s girls earned third place out of seven teams, while the boys squad took fourth.
Wrestlers Peak at Right Time
With only days left in 2022, local wrestlers in December geared up to represent their schools at the state championship meet, where the Mt. Edgecumbe Braves earned eighth place and the Sitka Wolves were right behind in tenth out of 49 teams. The Lady Braves took 15th in the girls’ competition, with 55 teams present.
Though she initially was nervous at her first state championship, Mt. Edgecumbe freshman Tahira Akaran overcame a number of opponents and took fifth in the 120-pound bracket.
“I was pretty nervous at first, but then when I got into the match I just cleared my head and went after it… I was really nervous because it was state – my first year ever! So I was pretty excited too. It just was amazing overall,” Akaran said
She plans to return to the Lady Braves’ team in 2023.
“I think I will do it next year too. I really liked it this year,” she said. “And there were a lot of challenges that I have overcome… The hardest part about learning wrestling is probably the moves and competing and just having to keep going.”
One of Edgecumbe’s more experienced wrestlers, senior Isabella Kness, fought her way through much of the 165-pound bracket, but couldn’t quite make it onto the podium. Regardless, she was glad for the chance to compete.
“My top moment would probably have to be winning at least a few matches and not just automatically getting bumped off,” Kness said. “I tried to fight my way to the top as much as possible and I almost got there.”
Sitka sophomore Silas Ferguson earned an at-large bid to compete at the state level, where he outperformed expectations.
“Stuff actually went better than I thought,” Ferguson said. “The 171(-pound) weight class was dominated mostly by seniors and juniors, and it was me and another sophomore in that weight class. And he got fifth place and I got sixth place, so we did really well.”
That other sophomore was Edgecumbe’s RJ Didrickson.
In recognition of her coaching work with high school wrestlers, Mt. Edgecumbe’s Deedee Creed was named Assistant Coach of the Year for the female division at the state championship meet.
A week earlier, the Braves and Lady Braves both won a Region V title at the competition in Ketchikan.
Full Circle
With the wrestling season finished just in time for the winter holidays, basketball players have already returned to the court and are primed for a tournament in Ketchikan this week after canceled flights prevented a planned trip to Idaho.
The Braves and the Wolves will compete in local rivalry games, as well as in distant tournaments, before March Madness returns. The spring will herald in the start of the track and baseball seasons as the sports cycle continues into a new year.
