There was no shortage of sports stories in 2010.
News came in form of a Native snowboarder going to the Olympics, a historic finish at Mount Marathon, a Yup'ik kickboxer winning a championship belt and one of the state's marquee events turning 40.
From basketball courts to swimming pools and wrestling mats to the gridiron, the year 2010 will never be forgotten at Alaska Newspapers Inc., which prints the Arctic Sounder, Bristol Bay Times, Cordova Times, Dutch Harbor Fisherman, Seward Phoenix Log and Tundra Drums.
Here is a month-by-month year in review:
JANUARY: John Baker wins K300
John Baker scored the biggest win of his 15-year mushing career when he pulled into Bethel victorious in the prestigious Kuskokwim 300 sled dog race.
Baker, of Kotzebue fame, outdueled two-time Kusko 300 champion Martin Buser as well as three-time defending Iditarod champion Lance Mackey.
The victory was worth $20,000 to Baker, a perennial contender for the last decade who was lacking a signature win.
Now he has it -- in the world's richest middle-distance race, no less.
Baker finished at 6:26 p.m. with 10 dogs. His overall time over the 300 miles was 47 hours, 56 minutes, 22 seconds.
Baker is no stranger to success. He has 10 career top-10 finishes in the Iditarod, including a third-place showing in 2002, and he has finished in the top five of the K300.
This year he beat a talented field of 15 mushers that included some of the biggest names in the game, from Buser and Mackey to Jeff King and Mitch Seavey.
FEBRUARY: Callan goes to the Olympics
When Alaska snowboarder Callan Chythlook-Sifsof zoomed down the slopes of Vancouver, she made history.
That's because the fun-loving girl with a warm smile and Yup'ik/Inupiaq heritage became the first Alaska Native to compete in the famed Olympic Games that date back to 1896.
The significance wasn't lost on Chythlook-Sifsof, who was raised in the Dillingham suburb of Aleknagik before moving to Girdwood with her family at age 12.
"I feel a tremendous honor," she said. "It's something I have no words to describe how honored I am to be that."
But at the same time, she believes that anything is possible.
Moreso, she'll sell the idea to anyone who will listen that if you apply yourself, you too could be Olympian -- no matter where you live or what you look like.
"I think it's a good illustration of the fact that people (from the Bush) are doing these things," she said. "They're not just on TV and they're not just people from far-distant lands ... these are real people.
"I'm an illustration that there are so many different people from rural Alaska who are doing a lot of cool things and so I think it's a good time, a good generation, for this because I think it's easier to see that these things are completely possible."
Chythlook-Sifsof finished 21st out of 24 riders in women's boardercross.
MARCH: Point Hope goes back-to-back
Nicknamed "Skittles," Ebrulik Frankson feasted on Klawock in the biggest game of the year.
The Point Hope boys basketball star exploded for 25 points to lift the Harpooners to a 71-58 victory over the Chieftains in the championship of the Class 2A state tournament in Anchorage.
A pro-Tikigaq crowd of some 2,000 fans watched Point Hope become the first 2A boys team in 20 years to capture back-to-back championships since Abbott Loop turned the trick in 1989 and 1990.
Frankson, an all-state senior guard, had his jump shot working early and often. And he let everyone know it, too, leaving his shooting hand hanging high in the air, especially after he drained a 22-footer to beat the third quarter buzzer and pad Point Hope's 17-point cushion.
"Oh, man, I was feeling it," Frankson said with a huge smile. "It's my senior year. I gotta do that."
State 2A Player of the Year Adam Sage added 12 points and 10 assists and Zacharia Lane added 20 points on a night when Point Hope head coach Rex Rock Sr. won his third state championship.
"I told them at the beginning of the year that if they worked hard I thought that could get another one," said Rock, a two-time state coach of the year. "And they bought into it. They believed it and we gotta another one. It's nice."
Behind the outside shooting of Frankson, inside game of Lane and playmaking skills of Sage, the Harpooners were the better team from start to finish.
"We knew we were the best team," Frankson said
APRIL: NYO turns 40
The year was 1971. Soft contacts were introduced, Federal Express and Greenpeace were just getting started and gas cost 40 cents a gallon.
It was also the year the Native Youth Olympics were born.
Native games had long been a custom in rural Alaska before the NYO competition was founded by a group of Anchorage teachers organized by Sarah Hanuske, a coordinator for the state's boarding home program.
The idea of creating a statewide competition was to give the relocated students living with strangers in Anchorage a taste of home because prior to NYO they had no real connection with where they came from during the school year.
While they were hundreds of miles from their villages, life in the big city made them feel millions of miles away.
That's why starting something like NYO was so important, said David Gransbury, a former state liaison officer who found students boarding homes.
"We knew it was important to the kids," said Gransbury, who later opened and still owns the Ulu Factory. "We knew right away that it was worth while because you could see the enthusiasm level."
NYO is open to all Alaska students in grades seven to 12 regardless of ethnic origin. Events include the One-Foot High Kick, Eskimo Stick Pull, Seal Hop, One-Hand Reach and more.
The inaugural NYO featured a dozen teams from places like Sitka, Nome and Kotzebue, in addition to an Anchorage team from the boarding schools.
The first competition took one afternoon and featured 100 students.
Now it stretches three days and includes more than 600 kids.
MAY: Seward relays win state
Seward's Jesse Atherton was in perfect position to watch of the end of the boys 4x100-meter relay race. After completing the second of four legs for the Seahawks, he found a spot where he could see the last part clearly.
However, not even Atherton could tell who had won after a photo finish between anchor legs Aaron Sorenson of Seward and Bill Kelly of Monroe Catholic.
"I had an angle, but it was too close for me to call," the senior said. "The heads were so close. I was just hoping it was us."
It was.
Seward prevailed by the slimmest of margins, beating Monroe by 0.01 second to secure the 400 relay title at the track and field state championships in Fairbanks. The victorious team also included Evan Pullins and Jacob Willis.
Together, they made a dream come true.
"A state championship in the 4x100 just feels amazing," Atherton said. "The experience of carrying the Alaska flag before the crowd was an exhilarating experience. It was fun, it was hard and I was on top of the world."
Overall, Seaward athletes bagged three state titles (all in relays) and enjoyed 11 season-best performances in the biggest meet of the season. The other two titles came when the Seahawks swept the boys and girls 4x800 relay crowns.
Allison Barnwell teamed with Kelley Sefton, Maggie Herbert and Kristina Atherton to win the girls 4x800 relay title.
The Lady Seahawks didn't just win they crushed the second-place team by six seconds (which is like four or five touchdowns in football).
"When Kristina went out we were so scared because the Monroe Catholic girl, Lizzy Bennett, was their anchor and she started out really fast," Barnwell said. "Kelley, Maggie and I were all hiding our faces because we were so nervous."
Best of all, it meant the Atherton family enjoyed two titles for siblings Jesse and Kristina.
"Two state champions in the same household couldn't be a better gift," Jesse said. "Me and my sister love running. She definitely deserves it. My sister is incredible gifted."
The Seward boys made it a clean sweep in the 4x800, setting a Class 1-2-3A state record on the feet of Brett Chase, Austin Gillespie, Jared Lindquist and Andrew Buchanan.
Their relay time of 8:26.50 was nearly 12 seconds faster than the second-place team and almost nine seconds ahead of the previous state record set last year by Grace Christian.
JUNE: Wilt debuts at NCAAs
The hottest day of the week melted Hallidie Wilt's championship hopes, yet it couldn't spoil the Unalaska native's first-time experience at the NCAA Division II Track and Field Championships in Charlotte, N.C.
The University of Alaska Anchorage runner competed in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase and was the fastest Alaskan in the field.
Wilt finished 15th out of 18 runners with a time of 10 minutes, 57.68 seconds in the preliminaries, helping her improve her national seeding by three places. As a bonus, she finished ahead of Seward's Denali Foldager of Cal State Stanislaus, who was 16th in 11:09.41 for top honors among runners from the 49th state.
"It turned out all right, I guess," Wilt said. "It was 90 degrees and humid; the hottest day of the week. It was kind of draining after a few laps."
Wilt was the final qualifier in the national race and she made the most of her second chance. It was especially satisfying to get another opportunity to run after she had bombed at the conference meet.
"It was a better race to finish my season with," she said. "Overall I had a good experience."
It capped a sensational junior season that saw Wilt qualify for nationals in both cross-country running and track and field. Even better was the fact her parents, Sinclair and Annabelle, were on hand to watch their daughter on the biggest stage of the year. Plus, they finally got to see the steeplechase in person.
"It was nice to have my mom and dad here to cheer me on," she said. "I think they really enjoyed it. Hopefully seeing what the steeplechase is rather than just hearing about it and not fully understanding it."
JULY: Going out on top
It was déjà vu all over again.
Seward's Cedar Bourgeois trailed Olympian Holly Brooks of Anchorage by more than a minute on the Mount Marathon trail, just like last year.
And just like last year, Bourgeois rallied to catch and pass Brooks in the second half to win the women's title in Alaska's most celebrated footrace.
It was the seventh straight victory for Bourgeois, who then announced her retirement at age 34.
"I'm done," she said at the finish line. "No matter what I did I was 100 percent sure I was done."
Bourgeois finished the 3.5-mile race that covers 3,022 feet in 51 minutes, 48 seconds -- four seconds off her personal best but 10 seconds ahead of Brooks, a nordic skier who represented the U.S. at the 2010 Olympics.
Her seven titles are the most for a Seward runner and rank third on the all-time list, trailing only Bill Spencer's eight titles and Nina Kemppel's record nine titles.
Bourgeois captured her seven championships in just 10 tries, a remarkable winning percentage.
But now she's ready for the next chapter of her life, which includes raising two small children (Coral and Zen) and operating her own espresso bar, "Nature's Nectars," in the harbor.
"It was time. Time to pass the torch," Bourgeois said. "Mount Marathon has been my best girlfriend through thick and thin for a decade. It's bittersweet."
AUGUST: Yup'ik kickboxing champion
Falon Ring was outweighed and overmatched, yet he still found a way to win. And that's a true sign of a champion.
The Yup'ik 16-year-old defeated an older, stronger opponent in a five-round decision in Orlando, Fla., to claim the International Kickboxing Federation bantamweight championship belt.
Ring improved his amateur record to 7-0 en route to winning his first world title in the IKF, the largest kickboxing sanctioning body on the planet.
"You know, in the beginning, I don't think I ever imagined getting this far and becoming world champion," Ring said. "It is pretty fun getting all those wins under my belt."
Ring was born in Anchorage and lived in Alaska before his family moved to New Mexico when he was 6.
He doesn't remember much about the Last Frontier, yet he still calls it home.
"I still consider myself an Alaskan," Ring said.
His mother Sophie Evan-Ring's parents are from Napaskiak and St. Mary's. His father Robert is an Ahtna Athabascan from Chitina. And his great-grandfather is the late Native leader William Tyson of St. Mary's, a renowned Yup'ik dancer and Catholic deacon.
His Alaska heritage isn't lost on Ring, who uses it to drive him in the violent, combative world of mixed martial arts.
"I'm a Native from Alaska," he said. "I'm different from these people down here (in New Mexico). That helps me get motivated."
SEPTEMBER: Barrow football makes playoffs
A season that began with so many question marks ended with an explanation point for the Barrow High School football team.
Led by virtually a new cast of playmakers, the Whalers clinched their third consecutive Class 3A playoff spot after beating up Delta Junction 45-0 on the final weekend of the regular season.
"I'm real proud of them," Barrow head coach Mark Voss said. "They really hadn't played together as a group and now they've spent a season together and here we are starting to jell."
Quarterback Eddy Benson had a hand in five touchdowns (four through the air, one on the ground) and the entire defensive unit played perhaps its most complete game by pitching a shutout.
"The defense played a real strong game and controlled the tempo," Voss said.
The win gave Barrow a 5-3 overall record and a third-place finish in the Greatland Conference, good enough to advance to the eight-team small-schools playoff.
"We wanted to come out of this game with a good amount of momentum," Voss said. "A good solid win like this allows us to go home and start working hard in preparation for Kenai."
Not surprisingly, the Barrow defense made the first big play after blocking a field goal and getting a touchdown return from Trace Hudson in the first quarter.
It wasn't his first trip to the end zone. Hudson also caught three touchdown passes in his greatest scoring game in a Whaler jersey.
Colin Long also had a touchdown catch and teammate Victor Unutoa rushed for a score.
"We did what we had to do," Voss said. "We were able to put some points up on the board and get some of our younger kids in to play some ball, too. Everybody got time on the field and it was a good experience."
OCTOBER: Hall of Fame picks Mount Marathon
As one of the oldest known footraces in all of America, Mount Marathon in Seward has become part of Alaska's legacy like fishing and the northern lights.
Now the race finally has its rightful place in history after it was inducted into the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2011.
The race was honored under the greatest events category, joining other signature events such as the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, the Great Alaska Shootout, the World Eskimo-Indian Olympics and the 100-year-old Midnight Sun Baseball Game.
"I am absolutely thrilled," said Laura Cloward, executive director of the Seward Chamber of Commerce. "I think it puts this race up there with some legendary Alaska events. It is part of Alaska's history ... something that identifies our Alaska athletes." The grueling, 3.5-mile, 3,022-foot mountain race overlooking picturesque Resurrection Bay dates back to 1915, when it all started over a bar bet between two locals.
Now 83 years old, Mount Marathon is a can't-miss summer extravaganza with the town of Seward swelling from a few thousand to nearly 40,000 overnight.
Race day feels like the Super Bowl. Fans gather at the base of the mountain and line Fourth Street at the downtown finish line, cheering on Alaska's rock stars as well as mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, and grandmas and grandpas.
The Alaska Sports Hall of Fame was created in 2007.
Mount Marathon has been close in recent years, especially last year, but it didn't make the cut until now.
"It's exciting and I think it's rewarding on behalf of all those hundreds of volunteers that come together every year to make it happen," Cloward said.
The class of 2011 also included legendary high school basketball coach Chuck White, who won a record 921 games and 18 state championships, and Olympic skier Kikkan Randall, who made history in 2009 by winning a silver medal to become the first American female cross-country skier to make the podium at the World Championships.
NOVEMBER: O'Leary swims to two title
The best male swimmer in Seward High School history finally bagged the elephant.
Ryan O'Leary collected the first two state titles of his remarkable, record-breaking career at the state championships in Anchorage.
The all-state senior won the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard freestyle races in a field against the fastest swimmers in Alaska. Yet even against the best, the 6-foot-3 O'Leary was head and shoulders above the rest.
That's why he was voted Alaska Swimmer of the Year after the meet.
"I wanted to win two races in the worst way," O'Leary said. "It's pretty awesome. It was quite the way to end my high school career."
He won the 50 free with a smoking time of 21.31 seconds, although it wasn't his best. He was about a tenth-of-a-second off his school record.
"The 50 free is all about perfection," he said. "One mess up can cost you a lot."
It wasn't his finest performance.
That came an hour later.
O'Leary delivered his second state title by winning the 100 free in personal-best 46.45, only 0.18 seconds off the state mark set in 1998 by Derek Gibb of Petersburg.
He said a slight mistake cost him the all-time mark.
"I was kind of disappointed because I was so close to the state record," he said. "I botched my turn so badly it wasn't even funny, so I know that if I had just nailed that turn I would have had it."
Still, you can't take the shine off O'Leary's sparking showing.
He already holds virtually every swimming record at Seward, so it figures he should join Jacqueline Vandriessche as the school's only state champions.
It's even more impressive when you consider that swimming is the only sport in Alaska that throws everybody into the same pot, unlike other sports that are split into classification based on enrollment.
That meant O'Leary swam against 4A kids from schools five times the size of Seward.
DECEMBER: Bethel wrestlers take state
Bethel used a deep and talented lineup to basically secure the championship on Day 1 of the two-day state tournament last weekend in Nikiski.
The top-ranked Warriors were heavy favorites all season long after winning virtually every tournament. They backed it up at state with a 59-point tournament win, the largest margin of victory since 1998.
"It feels outstanding. It's like a relief, a monkey off our back," Bethel head coach Darren Lieb said. "We've had a great season and people were talking about that at every tournament we went to, so the pressure kept building on and on. It's nice to be done and on top."
Led by individual champions Zach Pleasant and Seth O'Brien, the Warriors amassed the most points with 228, easily outdistancing second-place Nikiski (169) and third-place Dillingham (141).
Most of the Bethel wrestlers have been on the team for the last few years when the Warriors came up just short at the state tournament.
Last year, they lost by 13 points to Dillingham. The year before that Petersburg broke their hearts with a one-point victory in the final match of the night.
This year, though, Bethel wouldn't be denied.
"I had a good feeling about them being hungry after the last two seasons," said Lieb, who also led the Warriors to a state title in 2002. "I'm just happy for these kids. They grew up together. They've worked hard."
This story is posted with permission from Alaska Newspapers Inc., which publishes six weekly community newspapers, a statewide shopper, a statewide magazine and slate of special publications that supplement its products year-round. Reporter Van Williams can be reached at vwilliams(at)alaskanewspapers.com, or by phone at (907) 348-2452.