High School Sports

The Valdez Buccaneers won the 3A state volleyball championship on Saturday, beating the Kenai Central Kardinals 3-2 at the Alaska Airlines Center.

History was made by a pair of young women who competed in the 2020 Summer Olympics as the Alaska high school swim and dive season came to a close Saturday evening. Dimond girls and Kodiak boys won the team championships.

Bartlett High School hosted the 2021 high school state championship swimming and diving meet on Friday and Saturday.

South’s girls and Service’s boys finished the meet in second place.

One of their players has spent the season in Seattle receiving cancer treatment, and multiple players and coaches also lost loved ones to COVID-19. Coach Jeff Trotter said: “That’s who we’re playing for.”

A loss to Juneau earlier in the season kicked East High’s championship run into gear, and the Thunderbirds were able to exact their revenge on the biggest stage in Alaska high school football.

East will face the winner of the Juneau-Bartlett semifinal game on Friday night at 7 p.m. at Service High

Soldotna, who had won the last eight championships, lost twice to Lathrop this season

The Huskies completed a perfect 9-0 season with a 46-12 win over defending champ Houston High.

West was in its sixth-straight title game and finished second each time.

“When it comes to Anchorage Football Stadium, we’re now at the point where facilities at our high schools are nicer,” said ASAA executive director Billy Strickland.

The Thunderbirds led 27-14 at the half and didn’t allow any points in the second half in the 48-14 victory

West Valley’s Daniel Abramowicz, South High’s Robyn Miller, Grace Christian’s David Sliwinski, Kenai’s Jayna Boonstra, Petersburg’s Uriah Lucas and Haines’ Ariel Godinez-Long all won individual races.

West High quarterback Jaideven Suesue ran in the game-winning score with less than a minute remaining in regulation.

Five of the eight first-round games are scheduled for Friday.

Eighteen schools competed in the two-day meet at the Bartlett and Chugiak pools.

The Stars scored the winning touchdown with 30 seconds left in the game.

Dimond’s Jared Gardiner and South’s Robyn Miller claimed the individual championships and West’s boys and Chugiak’s girls took the team titles.

West won both singles titles and South won two of the three doubles titles.

Earlier in the week, Bartlett swept East.