Sports

Juneau Ski Club U16 racer Eva Meyer competes in a slalom run during the Coca-Cola Classic Sunday at Girdwood. (Photo courtesy Bob Eastaugh)

Meyer, Satre lead Juneau Ski Club down Girdwood course

First competition of the ski season gives JSC firm footing for national qualifications

Juneau Ski Club U16 racer Eva Meyer competes in a slalom run during the Coca-Cola Classic Sunday at Girdwood. (Photo courtesy Bob Eastaugh)
Juneau athletes compete in the state softball title (left), Gold Medal Basketball Tournament (center) and ASAA State Swim & Dive Championships during some of 2023’s local highlight sports moments. (Juneau Empire)

Juneau’s top 10 sports stories of 2023

State titles for many, a historic losing season and death of a coaching icon among headline moments.

Juneau athletes compete in the state softball title (left), Gold Medal Basketball Tournament (center) and ASAA State Swim & Dive Championships during some of 2023’s local highlight sports moments. (Juneau Empire)
Colony High School senior Jasmine Anderson, Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé junior Emma Fellman, Service High School senior Preston Kwon and Thunder Mountain High School senior PJ Foy at the USA Swimming 2023 Speedo Winter Junior Championships in Westmont, Illinois. (Courtesy photo)

Foy chasing FMC Natatorium pool record

Glacier Swim Club stars competing at USA junior championships

Colony High School senior Jasmine Anderson, Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé junior Emma Fellman, Service High School senior Preston Kwon and Thunder Mountain High School senior PJ Foy at the USA Swimming 2023 Speedo Winter Junior Championships in Westmont, Illinois. (Courtesy photo)
A light dusting of snow covers the ground at Eaglecrest Ski Area on Wednesday morning. The planned opening for the ski area has been delayed a week until Saturday, Dec. 9, according to General Manager Dave Scanlan. (Photo courtesy of Eaglecrest Ski Area)

Eaglecrest delays scheduled opening by one week until next Saturday, Dec. 9

Warm temperatures and rain dissolved much of ski area’s snowpack, but cold and snow in forecast.

A light dusting of snow covers the ground at Eaglecrest Ski Area on Wednesday morning. The planned opening for the ski area has been delayed a week until Saturday, Dec. 9, according to General Manager Dave Scanlan. (Photo courtesy of Eaglecrest Ski Area)
Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire Casey Blackwell, 10, crosses the finish line after running 27 laps around the indoor track at Dimond Park Field House to complete the 5K Pajama Jog on Sunday.

Juneau Girls on the Run go the distance during 5K Pajama Jog

Participants finish looking like stars — 27 of them — after completing that many laps around track.

Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire Casey Blackwell, 10, crosses the finish line after running 27 laps around the indoor track at Dimond Park Field House to complete the 5K Pajama Jog on Sunday.
Juneau’s Zack Bursell, 30, wins the Run The Rock 50-mile ultra race at Smith Rock State Park, Saturday, in Terrebonne, Oregon. (Photo courtesy Jamie/John Bursell)

Bursell wins Oregon 50 miler

New ultra runner hits new personal best.

Juneau’s Zack Bursell, 30, wins the Run The Rock 50-mile ultra race at Smith Rock State Park, Saturday, in Terrebonne, Oregon. (Photo courtesy Jamie/John Bursell)
Suzanne Morris, left, and Melissa Anderson finish the Halloween Half Marathon on Saturday. (Klas Stolpe for the Juneau Empire)

Miller, Kruger win scary Halloween Half

Gentemann, Tracy top costumes; Janes 5K winner

Suzanne Morris, left, and Melissa Anderson finish the Halloween Half Marathon on Saturday. (Klas Stolpe for the Juneau Empire)
Carlos Boozer, a former Juneau high school basketball player and retired NBA all-star, talks with a student at his basketball camp in Juneau in 2017. (Nolin Ainsworth/Juneau Empire File)

Carlos Boozer memoir includes full life story, Juneau years

NBA star and hometown hero pens “Every Shot Counts”

Carlos Boozer, a former Juneau high school basketball player and retired NBA all-star, talks with a student at his basketball camp in Juneau in 2017. (Nolin Ainsworth/Juneau Empire File)
Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé junior Ida Meyer, right, wins the Sitka Invitational by a fraction of a second in front of Sitka junior Clare Mullin on Saturday. (James Poulson / Sitka Sentinel)

JDHS girls, boys crush Sitka course

Largest field in Southeast history sees Crimson Bears on top

Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé junior Ida Meyer, right, wins the Sitka Invitational by a fraction of a second in front of Sitka junior Clare Mullin on Saturday. (James Poulson / Sitka Sentinel)
Zack Bursell, left, stands with father John, right, after winning the Equinox Marathon in Fairbanks, Saturday, Sept. 16. (Photo courtesy Jamie Bursell)
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Juneau’s Zack Bursell wins Equinox Marathon

Local runner finishes more than seven minutes ahead of runner-up at Fairbanks race

Zack Bursell, left, stands with father John, right, after winning the Equinox Marathon in Fairbanks, Saturday, Sept. 16. (Photo courtesy Jamie Bursell)
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Tom Thompson and Klas Stolpe at the start of the 44-mile solo ultra during the 40th Annual Klondike Road Relay, Saturday, Sept. 9. Stolpe was running as team No One Fights Alone in support of his brother James who is fighting cancer. (Photo by Tom Thompson)

No one fights alone on the Klondike Road Relay

A victorious 44-mile solo quest among 1,800 participants at 40th annual Skagway-to-Whitehorse race

Tom Thompson and Klas Stolpe at the start of the 44-mile solo ultra during the 40th Annual Klondike Road Relay, Saturday, Sept. 9. Stolpe was running as team No One Fights Alone in support of his brother James who is fighting cancer. (Photo by Tom Thompson)
Runners ascend the old ski hill on the campus of the University of Alaska Fairbanks at the start of the 2015 Equinox Marathon. (Photo by Ned Rozell)

Alaska Science Forum: Running over the same old ground

Oh my, it’s that time again. The Equinox Marathon starts with a cannon blast on the third Saturday of September here at the University of… Continue reading

Runners ascend the old ski hill on the campus of the University of Alaska Fairbanks at the start of the 2015 Equinox Marathon. (Photo by Ned Rozell)
Juneau Huskies players and coaches storm the field in celebration after Hayden Aube runs for a touchdown in double overtime to win 55-49 at Washington’s Auburn State on Friday night. It was the first win of the season for Juneau, which returns home after a three-game road trip for another night game next Friday. (Screenshot from Juneau Huskies Football video)

Friday night northern lights: Huskies win 55-49 shootout classic in Washington in 2OT

Juneau gets first win as replacement QB Hayden Aube overcomes goal-line fumbles, scores winning TD.

Juneau Huskies players and coaches storm the field in celebration after Hayden Aube runs for a touchdown in double overtime to win 55-49 at Washington’s Auburn State on Friday night. It was the first win of the season for Juneau, which returns home after a three-game road trip for another night game next Friday. (Screenshot from Juneau Huskies Football video)
Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire Athletes practice new moves while wrestling during a Labor Day weekend clinic at the Juneau Youth Wrestling Club’s new building on Monday.

New wrestling club building means more gym time for aspiring athletes

Nearly 60 youths flocked to building to partake in first weekend clinic since its opening.

Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire Athletes practice new moves while wrestling during a Labor Day weekend clinic at the Juneau Youth Wrestling Club’s new building on Monday.
A sign opposing the participation of trans girls in girls sports is propped against a fire hydrant outside of the George A. Navarre Admin Building on Thursday, June 8, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. The Alaska Board of Education met in the building to discuss a resolution that would ban trans girls from girls high school sports. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

State Board of Education bars trans girls from girls’ high school sports teams

Alaska becomes 24th state to impose such restrictions.

A sign opposing the participation of trans girls in girls sports is propped against a fire hydrant outside of the George A. Navarre Admin Building on Thursday, June 8, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. The Alaska Board of Education met in the building to discuss a resolution that would ban trans girls from girls high school sports. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Runners compete in a men’s 5,000-meters heat during the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, on Thursday. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Disappointing World Championships track finish for Ketchikan’s Isaac Updike

Last-place finish in first global competition will serve as experience entering Olympic year.

Runners compete in a men’s 5,000-meters heat during the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, on Thursday. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
Senior captains Edgar Vera and Etta Eller lead the Juneau-Douglas Yadaa.at Kalé High School cross-country team in a warmup jog during a rainy day practice near the Mendenhall Glacier Visitors Center on Monday. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

JDHS runners return to Juneau’s roads and trails with big ambitions

Cross-country coaches and captains share early season goals ahead of joint race with TMHS.

Senior captains Edgar Vera and Etta Eller lead the Juneau-Douglas Yadaa.at Kalé High School cross-country team in a warmup jog during a rainy day practice near the Mendenhall Glacier Visitors Center on Monday. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
Photos by Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire Robin Welling, a Juneau resident, sprints to the finish line to win the Nifty Fifty 50K race Saturday afternoon with a time of four hours, 56 minutes and 55 seconds.

Runners dominate slippery trails for annual Nifty Fifty races amid rain storm

The 50K, 25K and 10K races were a success despite weather, race director says.

Photos by Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire Robin Welling, a Juneau resident, sprints to the finish line to win the Nifty Fifty 50K race Saturday afternoon with a time of four hours, 56 minutes and 55 seconds.
Players collide during the second quarter of the Juneau Huskies’ season opener against East Anchorage Saturday afternoon at Adair-Kennedy Memorial Park. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

Huskies return with fresh faces, defeated in the season opener

Head coach optimistic for the season despite major turnover.

Players collide during the second quarter of the Juneau Huskies’ season opener against East Anchorage Saturday afternoon at Adair-Kennedy Memorial Park. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
Volunteers work on the intermediate-level trail for the new Thunder Mountain Bike Park on Saturday. The new park, scheduled to be ready to ride early next week, will also initially feature a beginner’s trail. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Volunteers ramping up for new Mendenhall Valley mountain biking trails

Two trails at new Thunder Mountain Bike Park expected to open during coming week.

Volunteers work on the intermediate-level trail for the new Thunder Mountain Bike Park on Saturday. The new park, scheduled to be ready to ride early next week, will also initially feature a beginner’s trail. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)