Sports

Alaska sports notebook: Anchorage couple wins gold at regional pickleball tournament; All-ABL teams announced

The husband and wife team of Dave and Theresa Reeves of Anchorage took a trip to Spokane, Washington, in mid-July and returned home with some impressive hardware.

The duo put their skills to the test at the Pacific Northwest Diamond Regional Pickleball Championships and brought home multiple gold medals.

In total, they won four golds and one bronze medal from the tournament in addition to qualifying for the Diamond National Tournament in Pictona, Florida, which will be played in December. Even though the tournament was held as a regional competition for pickleball players from Alaska, Washington, Oregon and Idaho, it featured participants from four countries and 20 different states according to Dave Reeves.

ABL All-League teams released

The Alaska Baseball League’s 2022 season ended Monday with the Top of the World Series. Before a champion was crowned, the All-ABL first and second teams were announced.

The Mat-Su Miners, Anchorage Glacier Pilots and Anchorage Bucs each had five players on the first team. Pilots skipper Dave Serrano won coach of the year.

The Miners had the league’s top player in Alex Vergara. He was named Player of the Year, Top Prospect, Silver Slugger and to the starting outfield on the first team. His teammate, Blake Avila was named second-team Top Prospect, first-team designated hitter and to the starting outfield on the second team.

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Ali Camarillo of the Glacier Pilots was the Golden Glove recipient on the first team while teammates Shunsuke Sakaino and Trey Becker of the Peninsula Oilers were co-winners on the second team.

Anchorage’s Clarice Ruhlin-Hicks receives All-American honors in collegiate rowing

After helping lead the Western Washington University women’s rowing team to a strong finish at the NCAA Division II Championships, 2019 West High graduate Clarice Ruhlin-Hicks earned Pocock Racing Shells All-America First Team selection honors.

Ruhlin-Hicks concluded a sensational junior season in which she received the top All-America honor as well as being a first-team All-GNAC selection. The political science major shined bright in the classroom as well with a 4.0 GPA and swept the academic awards, earning CRCA Scholar Athlete, GNAC Academic and the NCAA Elite 90 Award.

Schmidt, Derrick win Moose Nugget Triathlon

Jennifer Schmidt and Mackie Derrick took titles at the Moose Nugget Triathlon on Sunday. The pair won the Olympic Distance races but there were also Sprint categories. The course covered areas from Little Campbell Lake to Kincaid Park to the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail.

The top five finishers in the women’s Sprint Distance were Pam Conn (1:18:44), Morgan Aldridge (1:19:06), Pamela Schamber (1:19:50), Kristin Riall Female (1:22:44) and Sara Cleaver (1:34:25). The top five in the men’s race were Riley Fugere (1:19:16), Chad Aubin (1:26:50), Roy Norris (1:32:43), Alexander Foytik (1:47:54) and Lawrence Bigelow (1:55:12).

In the women’s Olympic Distance, the top five finishers were Jennifer Schmidt (2:33:21), Shannon Derthick (2:41:05), Sarah Chinn (2:44:39), Jill Aho (2:50:11) and Erika Bennett (2:55:20). The top five in the men’s were Mackie Derrick (2:05:54), Jacob Kelly (2:12:06), Jon Iannaccone (2:23:08), Brad Manderfeld (2:25:15) and Chris Bancroft (2:28:57).

Josh Reed

Josh Reed is a sports reporter for the Anchorage Daily News. He's a graduate of West High School and the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.

Chris Bieri

Chris Bieri is the sports and entertainment editor at the Anchorage Daily News.

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