Alaska News

Alaska sports report for Tuesday, July 16

Halibut Derby

New angler in second

Wasilla's Julie White vaulted into second place in the Valdez Halibut Derby on Monday after reeling in a 169.4-pound halibut.

North Pole's Jeff Johnson still leads the derby with the 208.6-pounder he caught last month. White's big catch moved her ahead of one-time leader Julie Deakin of Arizona, whose catch of 158 pounds in May is now in third place.

The Valdez Halibut Derby concludes Sept., 1, with the winner snaring a grand prize of $15,000. Second is worth $5,000 and third is worth $2,000.

legion baseball

Eagle River 10, East 6

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A seven-run fourth inning catapulted Eagle River Post 8 to a 10-6 victory over East Post 34 in an American Legion baseball game at Loretta French Field on Monday.

Eagle River pitcher Lauren Frost earned a win in relief, with Mike Rosenberg's three hits and R.J. Dirscherl's two RBIs leading the Wolves' offense.

Matt Schnellbaecher and Carl Gatter each went 2-for-4 for East, which led 4-1 at one point. Austin Dabbs added a double for the Thunderbirds.

softball

Storm wins tourney

Top softball players from around the state gathered for the Alaska State Junior Olympics tournament last weekend at Albrecht Fields, where the Arctic Storm triumphed over the AK Krush 9-4 in a championship game for girls 18 and younger.

The Storm included players from Anchorage and Juneau, with the Krush being made up entirely of Anchorage girls. The Northern Stars, made up of players from Wasilla and Colony High, finished third.

Two Arctic Storm teams equipped with Anchorage players battled in the championship game for the girls 14 and younger, with a team coached by Joe DesJarlias prevailing over one coached by Eric Hanson 11-3 in the title game. Palmer's Tsunami team finished third.

The Delta Heat of Delta Junction won the tournament for girls 12 and younger, beating Eagle River's Arctic Heat 3-1 in a best-of-five series.

State Junior Olympics

Tournament All-Stars

18 and younger -- Arctic Storm) Kayla Balovich (MVP); Pauline Tufi, Nikki Olsen, Peagan Mergan, Heather Breslin. AK Krush) Gabby Meyerson (MVP), Taylor Lawson, Alise Arnold, Rachel White, Ellie O'Brachta.

14 and younger -- Daisy Page (MVP); Ashton Jessee (MVP); Megan Luther; Danni DesJarlias; Randi McMullen; Celeste Jensen; Lesley Bingham; Jasmine Tobin; Nicoloette Dabbs; Makayla Forrest.

martial arts

Martinez wins three

Michael Martinez was one of three Anchorage athletes to represent Alaska in last week's U.S. Open International martial arts competition in Orlando, Fla., where he earned three first-place trophies.

Martinez, 13, competed in four events within a division for boys 12 and 13, winning titles in black belt traditional forms, continuous sparring and clash sparring. He also took third in black belt weapons.

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Courtney and Micah Karns were the other two athletes from Anchorage. Courtney, 14, took first in an advanced traditional forms division for boys and girls age 14 and 15. Micah, 19, won the men's black belt extreme forms division and was runner-up to overall forms grand champion.

Anchorage Daily News

sports@adn.com

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