Welcome back to The Rewind, a weekly digest that puts a spotlight on the biggest stories and best performances from Alaska’s world of sports.
This past week featured several notable individual and team performances across the Alaska sports landscape at the high school and professional levels, as well as some developments on the college front. The 2025 season for high school flag and tackle football saw top contenders have their winning streaks snapped. On the college scene, the University of Alaska Anchorage volleyball team suffered its first loss to a conference foe. Outside the state, several Alaskans had impressive performances and career achievements worth recognizing and celebrating in their respective arenas.
Headlines and highlights
The final week of the high school football regular season was highlighted by lopsided wins with just a handful of thrillers. In what was technically the longest game of the season because it took nearly 24 hours to decide a victor, Service beat Hillside rival South Anchorage at home in the annual Southside Cup game 24-19.
While the game kicked off at 7 p.m. Saturday, a power outage at the Cougars’ home stadium long after the sun went down caused the game to be suspended, resuming Sunday afternoon. Senior quarterback Rock Phelps scored Service’s first points of the game with his legs on a 7-yard touchdown Saturday night just before the lights went out. He picked up where he left off the following day by rushing for two more scores to complete a hat trick.
The West Anchorage football team bounced back with a vengeance after suffering its first loss of the season to Bartlett last week by thrashing Juneau-Douglas 44-8 on Saturday afternoon. Highlighting the Eagles’ most prolific offensive output of the season to help them clinch the No. 1 seed in the playoffs was senior quarterback Baylor Wasson, who accounted for five total touchdowns, throwing for four and running for the fifth.
[Alaska prep football roundup: Bartlett and East use second-half shutouts to rally in regular-season finales]
The top-ranked Wasilla flag football team had its 11-game win streak snapped at the hands of reigning state champion North Pole during a 19-14 loss on the road Saturday. It marked the third time the two powerhouse programs have faced off this season, with the Patriots avenging a 48-27 loss to extend their win streak to 9-0 heading into the playoffs. Leading them to victory over the Warriors this time was junior Jade Skipps, who was a do-it-all playmaker. She accounted for all three of the team’s touchdowns, two rushing and one passing, and racked up 169 yards of total offense by rushing 15 times for 109 yards, catching three passes for 60 yards and completing a pass for 20 yards and a score.
The 2025 high school tennis postseason got underway this past weekend with regional action across the state. Here in town, the Region IV tournament took place at the Alaska Club East, and West repeated as team champions for the eighth year in a row. The Eagles were propelled by strong depth and swept both singles titles. Junior Lana Cebrian won her third in a row in the girls division while sophomore Adam Kaufman claimed his first in the boys by besting top-seeded Todd Debenham of Dimond for the second time this season.
“I have been really passionate about the game for several years and have had such good coaches and hitting partners,” Kaufman said. “It was cool to see it all translate into my game improving and into results. I faced four really tough opponents. Every match was neck and neck. It pushed me to my limit the entire tournament.”
Timber Fleischhacker and Mary Jo Landon of Chugiak kept West from claiming the girls doubles title as well by beating top-seeded Grace Yang and Sarah Kim in the finals.
“I want to thank our coaches, coach Ogden and Belmear for being super attentive and helpful to get both Mary Jo and I to play our best,” Fleischhacker said. “We’ve been working hard to strengthen skills specific to us for regions and state — which MJ and I are also definitely looking forward to the competition at!”
Evan Dimmick and Emery Bryan of Eagle River stayed unbeaten by preventing Cameron Hickman and Ivory Sobek from pulling off another upset by protecting their top ranking in mixed doubles finals.
“Our determination and teamwork really paid off,” Bryan said. “Regions was a huge win for us, but we know we’ll have to start preparing for state. We want to thank our coach and whole team for always showing up and supporting us.”
On the college sports scene, the UAA volleyball team headed to the Interior for its biggest matchup of the season Thursday against rival University of Alaska Fairbanks and fell in four sets. The Nanooks snapped the Seawolves’ six-match winning streak, and handed them UAA’s first loss of the season to a Great Northwest Athletic Conference opponent.
“There was some terrific volleyball on both sides of the net, but we just came up short on a couple key rallies,” UAA head coach Stacie Meisner said in a statement. “It was a packed gym and tough atmosphere, so despite the loss I think the experience should serve us well going into two more similar kinds of matches next week.”
The Seawolves had three players record double-doubles. Senior Tia Allen led the team with 15 kills and finished second in digs with 19. Junior Lee Ivakina was second in kills with 12 and tied for the fourth-most digs with 11. Sophomore Hannah Trotter led the team in assists with 34 and had the third-most digs with 12.
As for the nationally ranked Nanooks, they rolled to their 12th straight win and remain a perfect 5-0 against GNAC competition. They had four players log double-doubles, including redshirt junior Cynphany Henderson, who received Player of the Match honors after recording 20 assists, 18 digs, seven kills, four blocks and an ace.
“Both teams felt that motivation — we both had something we were fighting for, and something on the line,” UAF head coach Brian Scott said in a statement. “I believe that was the first time in history that the two Alaska schools had been battling for the top spot in the conference. We felt as though a little state pride was on the line for this match in particular.”
The UAA hockey team went 0-2 in its home-opening series over the weekend with visiting Bemidji State. After dropping the first game on Friday 9-2 with Anchorage’s own Raythan Robbins in front of the net for the Beavers, the Seawolves were shut out 5-0 on Saturday night. Wasilla’s Bryant Marks got to make his second career start at goalie in the second game and recorded 32 saves.
[Anchorage’s Raythan Robbins has warm homecoming playing for Bemidji State at UAA hockey’s expense]
Staying in the rink, the Anchorage Wolverines spent the final leg of their season-opening, three-week road stint in Wisconsin, where they split a two-game series with the Janesville Jets over the weekend. They won the first game 7-4 thanks in large part to a hat trick from forward Luc Bydal, but dropped the second game 6-3 despite getting a pair of goals from forward Caleb Mahar.
Alaska stars shining Outside
Anchorage’s Brandon Pili appeared in his third regular-season game for the Seattle Seahawks after being elevated from the practice squad. The former Dimond standout played a season-high 10 defensive snaps and added another six on special teams in the team’s 38-35 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 5.
Anchorage’s Deuce Zimmerman kept up his blazing start to the season for the Western New Mexico University football team. On Saturday, the former East star had a sixth straight prolific performance in a 41-20 loss to Western Oregon University. He led the Mustangs with 141 receiving yards and 11 receptions, both season highs, and scored his 10th touchdown of the season.
Anchorage’s Alani Makihele helped the University of Nevada Las Vegas football team continue its undefeated start in a commanding 31-17 win over the University of Wyoming on Saturday. The former star offensive lineman for West led the blocking effort from his guard spot, which paved the way for a fifth straight outing of 30-plus points and more than 140 yards on the ground with 153. Individually, Makihele continues to be one of the nation’s top players at this position as his overall Pro Football Focus grade of 66.9 is the 10th best.
Anchorage’s Fafo Lefano was an absolute ball magnet for the Valley City State University football team on Saturday in a 31-21 loss to Rocky Mountain College. The sophomore defensive back and former South standout recorded a pair on interceptions, a fumble recovery and a pair of tackles.
Anchorage’s Aaron Hampton tied his single-game career-high in total tackles with three, including a season-high two solos in the University of California, Berkeley’s 45-21 loss to Duke University on Saturday. The former West star and sophomore linebacker has now recorded at least one tackle in every game this season for the Golden Bears, and fourth straight with multiple takedowns.
Anchorage tennis player Charlie Rush and his teammate Artem Manov joined forces to claim a Northwest Regional title recently in Newberg, Oregon, for Whitman College. The former West star and his doubles partner won 44 of their 59 sets, posted a record and bested Kai Willis and Noah Sutin of Lewis & Clark College in the finals with a 6-4, 6-1 victory.
Fast Forward
Prep
Football
Juneau-Douglas at South, Saturday at 1 p.m.
The 2025 postseason will officially get underway this weekend across the state with all four Division I matchups taking place in town. While all of them are regular-season rematches, the afternoon bout between the Wolverines and Crimson Bears features two teams that played a much closer game previously. (Back in Week 5, South traveled down to the capital city and eked out a narrow 29-28 victory.)
Flag football
ASAA State Championship at Wasilla High School, Thursday-Saturday
The second annual sanctioned state championship tournament will be held this week in the Mat-Su. Four games will take place Thursday, starting with a CIC clash between Dimond and Bartlett at 11 a.m. followed by a trio of interconference bouts. Reigning state champion North Pole and Service will play at 1 p.m. in a rematch of last year’s finals. South and Colony face off at 3 p.m. and Wasilla will close out the opening-day action against West at 5 p.m.
Tennis
ASAA State Championship at Alaska Club East, Thursday-Saturday
The postseason will officially come to a close this weekend with the annual state championship tournament. The first day of action gets going at 9 a.m. Thursday, 8 a.m. Friday and 10 a.m. Saturday.
NAHL
Anchorage Wolverines vs. Minnesota Wilderness at Sullivan Arena, Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
After spending the first three weeks of the season on the road, the Wolverines will host their Midwest Division foes for their 2025-26 season home opener.
Last week’s results
High school
Flag football
Monday
Bartlett 32, Chugiak 18
Tuesday
Colony 55, Palmer 0
Bartlett 7, Eagle River 0
South 25, East 0
Dimond 27, Service 7
Friday
Eagle River 12, Chugiak 6
Saturday
Dimond 54, East 6
North Pole 19, Wasilla 14
Football
Friday
Homer 48, Kodiak 8
Palmer 33, Wasilla 0
Bartlett 15, Colony 3
East 24, Dimond 20
Chugiak 17, Eagle River 14
Seward 66, Monroe Catholic 0
Saturday
Soldotna 29, North Pole 19
West 44, Juneau-Douglas 8
Barrow 16, Kenai Central 0
Sunday
Service 24, South 19
Volleyball
Tuesday
Houston 3, Redington 0 (25-14, 25-16, 25-19)
Monroe Catholic 3, North Pole 1 (22-25, 25-16, 25-17, 25-18)
Mt. Edgecumbe 3, Sitka 2 (22-25, 25-20, 25-21, 22-25, 17-15)
East 3, Eagle River 2
Chugiak 3, West 0
South 3, Bartlett 0 (25-10, 25-15, 25-9)
Dimond 3, Service 0 (25-16, 25-20, 25-22)
Wednesday
Lathrop 3, West Valley 1 (25-14, 14-25, 25-21, 27-25)
Thursday
Wasilla 3, Nikiski 2 (25-20,14-25, 25-18, 23-25, 15-8)
Friday
Nikiski 3, Mountain City 0 (25-16, 25-13, 27-25)
Homer 3, Grace Christian 0 (26-24, 28-26, 25-15)
Service 3, Bartlett 1 (25-17, 19-25, 27-25, 25-13)
Chugiak 3, East 1 (25-21, 27-25, 23-25, 25-14)
South 3, Dimond (20-25, 25-21, 25-23, 25-19)
Valdez 3, Monroe Catholic 0 (25-20, 26-24, 25-22)
Nome-Beltz 3, Hutchison 0 (25-8, 25-11, 25-14)
Saturday
Nome-Beltz 3, North Pole 0 (25-17, 25-15, 25-15)
Nikiski 3, Grace Christian 0 (25-21, 25-12, 25-15)
Homer 3, Mountain City 0 (25-16, 25-16, 25-18)
Nome-Beltz 3, West Valley 0 (30-28, 25-17, 25-17)
Tennis
Region IV Championship
Saturday
Finals
Girls singles: Lana Cebrian (West) over Emerson Sims (Chugiak), 5-7, 6-4, 1-0 (10-6)
Girls doubles: Timber Fleischhacker/Mary Jo Landon (Chugiak) over Grace Yang/Sarah Kim (West), 7-5, 6-2
Boys singles: Adam Kaufman (West) over Todd Debenham (Dimond), 6-3, 7-6, 1-0 (7-4)
Boys doubles: Finn Albertson/Jonathan Church (East) over Avery Driscoll/ Corben Merchent (Dimond), 2-6, 6-2 1-0 (10-7)
Mixed doubles: Evan Dimmick/Emery Bryan (Eagle River) over Cameron Hickman/Ivory Sobek (Service), 6-2, 6-1
Cross country
ASAA State Championship
Varsity boys
Division I
Team scores
1. South 42; 2. Colony 82; 3. Kodiak 91
Individual
1. Katahdin Staples 16:33.2, East; 2. Vebjorn Flagstad 16:36.4, South; 3. Trygve Vang-Thompson 16:46.7, Colony; 4. Weston Roberts 16:51.4, Kodiak; 5. Ethan Elliott 17:07.9, South
Division II
Team scores
1. Homer 38; 2.Grace Christian 64; 3. Mountain City Christian Academy 85
Individual
1. Breyden Nottingham 16:29.2, Mountain City Christian Academy; 2. Johannes Bynagle 17:06.1, Homer; 3. Caleb Bunker 17:10.6, Homer
Division III
Team scores
1. Petersburg 10; 2. Wrangell 15; 3. Unalaska 38
Individual
1. Boomchain Loucks 16:40.7, Wrangell; 2. Aulis Nelson, 16:56.8, Craig; 3. Gaje Ventress 18:01.7, Petersburg; 4. Seth Paniptchuk 18:03.3, Shaktoolik; 5. Nathan Kerr 18:15.7, Petersburg
Varsity girls
Division I
Team scores
1. Chugiak 42; 2. Colony 118; 3. West Valley 120
Individual
1. Hailee Giacobbe 19:18.8, Wasilla; 2. Rosie Conway 19:30.8, East; 3. Maddison Kukuk 19:33.9, Chugiak; 4. Miriam Armstrong 19:36.0, West Valley; 5. Hannah Shaha 19:44.2, Chugiak
Division II
Team scores
1. Homer 41; 2. Seward 54; 3. Grace Christian 60
Individual
1. Iris Haas 20:12.1, Delta Junction; 2. Olive Jordan 20:14.9, Seward; 3. Ariela Garvey 20:28.6, Homer; 4. Etta Bynagle 20:33.6, Homer; 5. Jennifer Sidorenko 20:47.7, Delta Junction
Division III
Team scores
1. Wrangell 12; 2. Unalakleet 15; 3. Petersburg 25
Individual
1. Jenna Meissner 20:29.8, Wrangell; 2. Arielle Tucker 20:42.8, Petersburg; 3. Ourea Busk 20:53.0, Unalakleet; 4. Isabella Eller 20:54.7, Unalakleet; 5. Bella Ritchie 21:46.4, Wrangell
College
Volleyball
Thursday
UAF 3, UAA 1 (16-25, 25-22, 25-21, 27-25)
Hockey
Friday
Bemidji State 9, UAA 2
Saturday
Bemidji State 5, UAA 0
NAHL
Friday
Anchorage Wolverines 7, Janesville Jets 4
Saturday
Janesville Jets 6, Anchorage Wolverines 2
2025 Girdwood Trails Marathon
Girdwood Trails 5k Female Overall
1: Nonie Mucha, Girdwood, AK 1:21:00; 2: Alisa Vereshchagin, Anchorage, AK 1:49:00; 3: Brittany Sedlacek, Anchorage, AK 2:07:00; 4: Abbi Wagle, Hampton, VA 3:35:00; 5: Serenity Steinfort-Leeds, Anchorage, AK 5:26:00; 6: Mary Bartell, Anchorage, AK 7:12:00; 7: Rhiannon Nicoll-Huggins, Big Lake, AK 8:13:00; 8: Richelle Sonnenberg, Wasilla, AK 8:25:00; 9: Kelsey Turney, Chugiak, AK 9:16:00; 10: June Takagi, Anchorage, AK 10:41:00; 11: Marguerite Leeds, , 10:42:00; 12: Michelle Smith, Anchorage, AK 11:10:00; 13: Beth Spence, Eagle River, AK 12:45:00; 14: Emily Sloth, Homer, AK 15:17:00; 15: Beatriz Mirabal Garces, Wasilla, AK 17:02:00; 16: Elizabeth Joslin, Niles, MI 17:31:00; 17: Christina Irvin, Anchorage, AK 21:39:00; 18: Kaya Overturf, Anchorage, AK 21:46:00; 19: Joan Nelson, Wasilla, AK 21:47:00; 20: Rebecca Schikora, Anchorage, AK 21:48:00
Girdwood Trails 5k Male Overall
1: Cohen Newins, Anchorage, AK 1:34:00; 2: Micah Strickland, Anchorage, AK 2:31:00; 3: Andrew Essman, Palmer, AK 3:19:00; 4: Darren Essman, Palmer, AK 5:53:00; 5: Connor Priest, Anchorage, AK 6:46:00; 6: Taewoong Jang, AK 8:31:00; 7: Burt Spence, Eagle River, AK 9:02:00; 8: Chris Steinfort-Leeds, Girdwood, AK 9:51:00; 9: Chase Berenson, Girdwood, AK 11:33:00; 10: Hannan Veera, Kingwood, TX 13:30:00; 11: Dylan Woods, Soldotna, AK 14:34:00; 12: Gregory DuBois, Anchorage, AK 16:30:00; 13: Matthew Whitaker, Wasilla, AK 16:57:00; 14: Joseph Horazdovsky, Anchorage, AK 23:24:00; 15: Ron Nelson, Wasilla, AK 6:48:00; 16: Rohn Lester, Eagle River, AK 7:12:00; 17: Brian Burns, Fritz creek, AK 11:47:00; 18: Kevin Goetsch, Merrill, WI 1:01:14; 19: Brian Cook, Eagle River, AK 1:02:04
Girdwood Trails Half Marathon Female Overall
1: Anna Dalton, Anchorage, AK 1:52:01; 2: Jenna DiFolco, Fairbanks, AK 1:58:19; 3: Holly Brooks, Anchorage, AK 2:06:43; 4: Alison Matthews, Anchorage, AK 2:08:13; 5: Megan Murphy, Anchorage, AK 2:10:11; 6: Nylene Warner, Wasilla, AK 2:15:10; 7: Delaney Whalen, Eagle River, AK 2:14:54; 8: kaitlin huskey, Kenai, AK 2:15:23; 9: Meghan Adair, Anchorage, AK 2:16:41; 10: Jackie Harmon, Anchorage, AK 2:16:41; 11: Ashley Van Hemert, Anchorage, AK 2:20:05; 12: Lupua Oba, Soldotna, AK 2:21:48; 13: Melanee Stiassny, Girdwood, AK 2:22:48; 14: Lauren Rocco, Anchorage, AK 2:23:53; 15: Rachel Goldberger, Anchorage, AK 2:24:22; 16: Jana Seaman, Anchorage, AK 2:24:39; 17: Laurel Renkert, Anchorage, AK 2:26:43; 18: Allison Keith, Anchorage, AK 2:27:16; 19: Aubrey Olson, Anchorage, AK 2:28:06; 20: Brooke Gottmeier, Anchorage, AK 2:29:02
Girdwood Trails Half Marathon Male Overall
1: Chad Trammell, Anchorage, AK 1:40:35; 2: David Ryland, Eagle River, AK 1:40:58; 3: Sebastian Szweda Mittelstadt, Indian, AK 1:41:15; 4: Eric Vilce, Anchorage, AK 1:44:49; 5: Joshua Taylor, Wasilla, AK 1:45:44; 6: Sebastian Reed, Anchorage, AK 1:52:41; 7: Spencer Newins, Anchorage, AK 1:53:49; 8: Marcus Walsted, Anchorage, AK 2:02:21; 9: Nathan Kelley, Anchorage, AK 2:03:14; 10: Dmitry Surnin, Anchorage, AK 2:04:17; 11: Kevin Crane, Anchorage, AK 2:05:23; 12: Daniel Campbell, Anchorage, AK 2:06:33; 13: Jeremy Dvorak, Anchorage, AK 2:09:26; 14: Michael Robinson, Deridder, LA 2:12:40; 15: Thomas Brown, Palmer, AK 2:13:10; 16: Nolan Quigley, Girdwood, AK 2:13:48; 17: Kevin Brown, Eagle River, AK 2:14:21; 18: Timothy Samuelson, Anchorage, AK 2:15:02; 19: Billy Homestead, Wasilla, AK 2:15:37; 20: Lucas Salzbrun, Baltimore, MD 2:18:34
Girdwood Trails Full Marathon Female Overall
1: Shauna Severson, Eagle River, AK 3:48:13; 2: Lauren Fritz, Girdwood, AK 3:58:27; 3: Bailey Matthys, Girdwood, AK 4:16:35; 4: Emily Pearson, Girdwood, AK 4:19:23; 5: Carolyn Stwertka, Ogden, UT 4:22:18; 6: Rachel Peterson, Girdwood, AK 4:42:09; 7: Kayla Nowak, Anchorage, AK 4:49:27; 8: Rachel Whitmore, Fairbanks, AK 5:08:21; 9: Emily Lamb, Homer, AK 5:20:22; 10: Dakota Carlyle, Palmer, AK 5:23:42; 11: Erin Sivitz, Anchorage, AK 5:25:07; 12: Elizabeth Hermanson, Anchorage, AK 5:29:43; 13: Laura McDonough, Anchorage, AK 5:31:28; 14: Bridgid Cody, Salt Lake City, UT 5:36:09; 15: Katy Rice, Homer, AK 5:39:57; 16: Sarah Bannister, Wasilla, AK 5:53:49; 17: Andrea Clark, Anchorage, AK 5:56:19
Girdwood Trails Full Marathon Male Overall
1: Lars Arneson, Anchorage, AK 2:55:56; 2: Scott Patterson, Anchorage, AK 2:58:20; 3: Jeshurun Small, Golden, CO 3:07:18; 4: Cody Priest, Anchorage, AK 3:11:00; 5: Toomas Kollo, Anchorage, AK 3:22:00; 6: Zach Bassett, Anchorage, AK 3:42:11; 7: Ben Matheson, Anchorage, AK 3:55:50; 8: Jesse Drick, Wasilla, AK 3:59:05; 9: Josh Wilson, Anchorage, AK 4:11:30; 10: Soren Wuerth, Girdwood, AK 4:13:58; 11: Ethan Wallner, Jber, AK 4:14:43; 12: Christopher Cornelius, Anchorage, AK 4:21:38; 13: Doug Shaftel, Anchorage, AK 4:22:30; 14: Brian Pautzke, Girdwood, AK 4:25:33; 15: Ivan Leeck, Anchorage, AK 4:28:59; 16: John Hellen, Girdwood, AK 4:29:31; 17: Mason Tarkenton, Eagle River, AK 4:39:49; 18: Nathan Edney, Anchorage, AK 4:40:57; 19: Martin Davis, Clearfield, UT 4:42:13; 20: Tony Crow, Anchorage, AK 4:46:39