The Rewind: Dimond girls soccer and Chugiak softball notch big wins

Welcome to The Rewind, a weekly digest that puts a spotlight on the biggest stories and best performances from Alaska’s world of sports.

In high school sports, the defending Division I champion girls soccer team and two-time runners-up in softball avenged losses to rival programs. In college sports news, the University of Alaska Anchorage men’s basketball program appears to be bringing a pair of former local standouts back to the state after they announced on social media they’d committed to the Seawolves. And on the national scene, one Alaska-born player was triumphant on an international stage while a trio of teammates from Anchorage came up short of a national championship.

Headlines and highlights

The three-time defending Division I champion Dimond girls soccer team suffered its first loss in over two years last month at the hands of longtime rival South on the road. When the two teams met for the second time this season, the Lynx handed the Wolverines their first lost of the season in a 1-0 thriller that went down to the wire in what may very well have been another potential state preview.

“It was really good to get back on track against this team,” senior goalkeeper Brooklyn Stock said. “There’s always been a rivalry but I think if we put in our hard work, we can come out on top every time.”

[Dimond girls soccer avenges lone loss of the season in potential state preview with rival South]

On the boys side, reigning Division I state champion South avoided defeat but fell short of notching its 10th straight victory by playing Hillside rival Service to a stalemate in the second matchup between the two teams resulting in a 1-1 tie in the regular season finale.

The Dimond girls soccer team wasn’t the only prep team that had a bone to pick with South. The Chugiak softball team ended the 2023 regular season and will enter the postseason with a league-leading, 12-game winning streak. The second to last of those wins came in a 3-1 triumph over South. The Mustangs fell to the Wolverines 8-7 in their season opener in a tight contest where they held the lead for most of the game before allowing a late rally.

[Different personalities, same hard work ethic: Chugiak’s Transburg softball twins hope to go out on top together]

In prep baseball action, several of the top teams in the Cook Inlet Conference ended the regular season on heaters or with statement wins Saturday ahead of the start of the postseason this week. Reigning state champion South notched its fifth straight win and clinched the second seed with a 7-3 triumph over West. Eagle River locked up the top seed with a 21-0 blowout of Bartlett. Despite beating Service 6-3 in its regular season finale, Chugiak still got locked into the fourth seed behind the Cougars.

The 2023 track and field postseason got started over the weekend across the state, and in Anchorage, the defending Division I state champion Chugiak girls team dominated the two-day Region IV championships while the Bartlett boys team narrowly edged out Bettye Davis East in the final team score tally, 97-94.

The Mustangs dominated the podiums in almost every event and claimed eight regional title, including winning three out of the four relay races and dominating all of the distance races as well. Their final team score of 176.5 far exceeded runner-up South at 109.5. The Mustangs snapped the Wolverines five consecutive region championships streak by securing its first since 2017.

[Chugiak girls track and field ends South’s reign at regions by cruising to first title in 6 years]

Puni Pa’u came in fourth in the boys discus at regions on Saturday, but before that he was one of two Thunderbirds who received high school diplomas and signed national letters of intent to play football at the next level last week. He will be taking his talents on the gridiron to Mt. San Jacinto College in Riverside County, California, while his former teammate, Alphonso Dyett, will be playing Division II ball at Lincoln University in Oakland, California.

[Journeys for a trio of unheralded Anchorage prep athletes came full circle the week before graduation]

On the college recruiting scene, the University of Alaska Anchorage men’s basketball team appears to be keeping the pipeline of top local talent flowing. Former Bettye Davis East standout Hasaan Herrington and former Bartlett standout Bishop Tosi both recently announced that they’re coming back to Anchorage to play for their hometown college team in posts on social media last Wednesday.

Herrington is transferring from Division II University of Texas at Tyler and Tosi from Bellevue College. They will be joining Sloan Lentfer of Grace Christian, who was this year’s 3A Player of the Year, as the latest homegrown talent to commit to the Seawolves. The team already includes a pair of former Alaska prep stars in Jaron Williams formerly of East fame and former Wasilla standout Luke Devine.

The Gold Nugget Triathlon was run Sunday in Anchorage and Kinsey Laine finished on top of the more than 1,200 competitors that finished what is considered the largest and most longstanding all-female triathlon in the country. It was Laine’s fourth victory and her first race since 2017.

Alaska stars shining Outside

Anchorage’s Obed Vargas helped lead the U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team to a thrilling 1-0 shutout victory over Ecuador on Saturday to open its 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup championship campaign in San Juan, Argentina. Vargas got to start the game and while he didn’t score his team’s only goal, he did cover for U.S. goalkeeper Gaga Slonina and made a goal-line clearance to prevent Ecuador from finding the back of the net. Team USA can advance to the next round with a win against Fiji on Tuesday.

A trio of Anchorage hockey players saw their junior hockey season and championship aspirations come to a bitter end this past Friday after the Youngstown Phantoms completed the series sweep of the Fargo Force in the third game of the USHL’s Clark Cup Finals. The narrow 1-0 defeat sent wingers Mac Swanson and Bret Link as well as defenseman Camden Shasby home packing after they were part of a record-setting season the past eight months.

Swanson in particular had a sensational rookie season in which he was voted to the USHL All-Rookie Team by top junior league general managers after he racked up 12-43—55 totals in 57 games and finishing fifth overall in assists while leading all rookies.

Last week’s results

Prep

Soccer

Girls

Monday

Grace Christian 2, Palmer 0

Tuesday

Dimond 1, South 0

Lathrop 4, North Pole 0

Juneau-Douglas 2, Thunder Mountain 0

Wednesday

Chugiak 3, Wasilla 0

Grace Christian 4, Redington 1

Thursday

West 4, East 0

Dimond 10, Bartlett 0

West Valley 3, North Pole 0

Friday

Grace Christian 4, Kodiak 1

Juneau-Douglas 1, Ketchikan 1 (tie)

Lathrop 2, Chugiak 0

West Valley 1, Eagle River 0

Colony 2, Wasilla 1

Saturday

Grace Christian 4, Kodiak 0

South 1, Service 1 (tie)

Colony 3, East 0

Lathrop 2, Eagle River 0

West Valley 2, Chugiak 0

Boys

Monday

Palmer 1, Grace Christian 0

Tuesday

South 2, Dimond 1

Juneau-Douglas 6, Thunder Mountain 1

North Pole 8, Ben Eielson 1

Wednesday

Chugiak 4, Wasilla 0

Thursday

Dimond 5, Bartlett 0

West 6, East 0

Lathrop 4, North Pole 1

Friday

Grace Christian 4, Kodiak 0

Ketchikan 1, Juneau-Douglas 0

Lathrop 4, Chugiak 1

West Valley 5, Eagle River 1

Colony 7, Wasilla 0

West 7, Thunder Mountain 0

Saturday

Colony 6, East 0

West Valley 1, Chugiak 0

Lathrop 1, Eagle River 0

Grace Christian 3, Kodiak 0

Juneau-Douglas 3, Ketchikan 0

South 1, Service 1 (tie)

Baseball

Monday

Service 12, Bartlett 2

Wasilla 9, Palmer 3

Wasilla 10, Colony 8

Colony 14, Pamer 5

South 9, West 4

West Valley 16, Lathrop 6

Tuesday

South 2, Wasilla 1

Soldotna 8, Kenai Central 4

Chugiak 4, Eagle River 3

Lathrop 13, North Pole 7

North Pole 9, Lathrop 8

Wednesday

Service 4, West 1

Soldotna 8, Homer 5

South 1, Eagle River 0

Thursday

Palmer 25, Grace Christian 1

Chugiak 8, Dimond 6

Bartlett 18, East 8

Friday

Service 14, Wasilla 4

Colony 8, Soldotna 5

Palmer 14, Houston 4

Eagle River 7, West 2

Saturday

Chugiak 6, Service 3

Dimond 14, East 4

Kodiak 4, Palmer 2

Eagle River 21, Bartlett 0

Lathrop 19, Hutchison 1

Colony 7, Wasilla 6

North Pole 6, Monroe Catholic 1

South 7, West 3

Softball

Monday

South 10, Service 1

East 11, Dimond 9

Tuesday

Dimond 18, Eagle River 10

Wednesday

Eagle River 7, Bartlett 0

Chugiak 16, West 0

Eagle River 6, West 4

Chugiak 7, Bartlett 0

Friday

West 7, Service 5

Service 3, Dimond 0

Eagle River 5, East 2

Saturday

Dimond 8, Eagle River 1

Chugiak 3, South 1

South 10, Eagle River 0

Chugiak 11, Service 1

Track and Field

Region IV Championships

Friday

Boys 3200 Meters

1. Blaise Boyer 10:05.59, South Anchorage

2. Ethan Howe 10:05.78, East Anchorage

3. Jarrett Jackson 10:06.65, Dimond

4. Dylan Soberay 10:12.86, West Anchorage

Girls 3200 Meters

1. Campbell Peterson 11:23.10, Chugiak

2. Hannah Shaha 12:00.13, Chugiak

3. Allison Macy 12:11.56, Chugiak

4. Mia Stiassny 12:16.67, South Anchorage

Boys Shot Put

1. Deuce Alailefaleula 44′00.00, Bartlett

2. George Lane 43′03.00, East Anchorage

3. Sone Falealo 42′08.75, West Anchorage

4. Eric Bushnell 42′04.00, East Anchorage

Girls Discus

1. Norah Brown 105′09.00, West Anchorage

2. Isabella Pederson 104′10.00, Eagle River

3. Shayvon Williams 102′10.00, Chugiak

4. Liberty Lobe 99′04.00, South Anchorage

Boys High Jump

1. Malachi Casey 6′0.00, Dimond

2. Phoenix Perkins 5′10.00, Service

3. Dylan Amy 5′6.00, Service

4. Akeem Sulaiman 5′6.00, East Anchorage

Girls High Jump

1. Hannah Bodkin 5′0.00, Chugiak

2. Kayla Cagle 4′10.00, South Anchorage

3. Lilah Johnson 4′10.00, Dimond

4. Delaney Fagerstrom 4′8.00, Dimond

Boys Triple Jump

1. A’lante Owens-Player 45′00.25, Bartlett

2. Anders Larsen 44′02.75, Chugiak

3. Tyler Drake 40′07.25, Bartlett

4. Kaleb Fautanu 40′04.00, Dimond

Girls Triple Jump

1. Makaylen King 36′02.00, South Anchorage

2. Gabrielle Okorodudu 34′06.75, Eagle River

3. Maya Tirpack 32′08.75, South Anchorage

4. Isabella Pederson 32′08.50, Eagle River

Saturday

Region IV Championships

Boys 100 Meters

1. Marquez Nevitte 11.28, Bartlett

2. Brian Morris 11.30, East Anchorage

3. Beckett Stolp 11.49, West Anchorage

4. Cody Tirpack 11.53, South Anchorage

Girls 100 Meters

1. Olyvia Mamae 13.26, East Anchorage

2. Tamiyah Moses 13.51, Dimond

3. Gabrielle Okorodudu 13.80, Eagle River

4. Magdalena Frydrychova 13.84, East Anchorage

Boys 200 Meters

1. Brian Morris 22.76, East Anchorage

2. Alan Szewcyk Jr. 22.98, Eagle River

3. Marquez Nevitte 23.13, Bartlett

4. Beckett Stolp 23.52, West Anchorage

Girls 200 Meters

1. Olyvia Mamae 26.98, East Anchorage

2. Sarah Dittman 27.24, Dimond

3. Skyler Belmear 27.60, Chugiak

4. Anna Green 27.94, South Anchorage

Boys 400 Meters

1. Anders Larsen 50.25, Chugiak

2. Garrett Simon 51.64, Service

3. Cody Tirpack 51.79, South

4. Ethan Stiller 51.86, Dimond

Girls 400 Meters

1. Skyler Belmear 1:00.46, Chugiak

2. Alliyah Fields 1:01.30, Chugiak

3. Petra Knox 1:02.46, Chugiak

4. Addison Capozzi 1:02.95, Chugiak

Boys 800 Meters

1. Max Johnsen 2:00.20, Dimond

2. Murphy Kimball 2:01.58, West

3. Jarrett Jackson 2:05.23, Dimond

4. Jack Molloy 2:07.10, Eagle River

Girls 800 Meters

1. Addison Capozzi 2:24.51, Chugiak

2. Campbell Peterson 2:25.07, Chugiak

3. Elliana Zock 2:26.95, South

4. Alliyah Fields 2:28.00, Chugiak

Boys 1600 Meters

1. Jarrett Jackson 4:38.44, Dimond

2. Max Johnsen 4:41.26, Dimond

3. Blaise Boyer 4:41.45, South

4. Vebjorn Flagstad 4:43.02, South Anchorage

Girls 1600 Meters

1. Campbell Peterson 5:22.19, Chugiak

2. Ava Murphy 5:31.17, South

3. Adria Wuerth 5:31.48, Service

4. Hannah Shaha 5:31.98, Chugiak

Boys 110m Hurdles - 39″

1. Alan Szewczyk Jr. 15.72, Eagle River

2. Tyler Drake 16.56, Bartlett

3. Zuriel Guzman 17.17, Bartlett

4. Hayden Foss 17.44, Bartlett

Girls 100m Hurdles - 33″

1. Olyvia Mamae 15.27, East Anchorage

2. Magdalena Frydrychova 15.87, East Anchorage

3. Makaylen King 16.29, South

4. Ellen Kruchoski 16.87, Chugiak

Boys 300m Hurdles - 36″

1. Alan Szewczyk Jr. 42.22, Eagle River

2. Makai Warren-Dowl 43.25, Chugiak

3. Fafo Lefano 43.36, South

4. Zuriel Guzman 44.30, Bartlett

Girls 300m Hurdles - 30″

1. Karsen Beaglee 48.01, West Anchorage

2. Magdalena Frydrychova 48.87, East Anchorage

3. Milan Eisenmayer 50.81, Eagle River

4. Audra Burrill 51.14, Chugiak

Boys 4x100 Relay

1. East Anchorage 43.25

2. Chugiak 43.40

3. West Anchorage 43.71

4. Dimond 45.53

Girls 4x100 Relay

1. Dimond 51.90

2. West Anchorage 52.02

3. East Anchorage 52.36

4. Chugiak 53.45

Boys 4x200 Relay

1. East Anchorage 1:31.20

2. Chugiak 1:31.47

3. South Anchorage 1:36.27

4. Service 1:36.45

Girls 4x200 Relay

1. Chugiak 1:48.77

2. South Anchorage 1:49.73

3. Dimond 1:50.08

4. Eagle River 1:53.44

Boys 4x400 Relay

1. South Anchorage 3:33.44

2. Service 3:34.75

3. Dimond 3:36.29

4. Bartlett 3:36.96

Girls 4x400 Relay

1. Chugiak 4:13.44

2. South Anchorage 4:24.30

3. Service 4:27.38

4. Dimond 4:31.95

Boys 4x800 Relay

1. Eagle River 8:25.34

2. Service 8:25.37

3. Dimond 8:26.93

4. South Anchorage 8:34.58

Girls 4x800 Relay

1. Chugiak 10:08.08

2. South Anchorage 10:22.92

3. Dimond 10:25.08

4. East Anchorage 10:30.70

Girls Shot Put

1. Faith Mata 33′08.50, West Anchorage

2. Josephine Mata 32′03.50, West Anchorage

3. Serah Vaafuti, 31′00.50, West Anchorage

4. Tonya Karpow 30′11.50, West Anchorage

Boys Discus

1. Eric Bushnell 144′03.00 East Anchorage

2. Sone Falealo 140′09.00 West Anchorage

3. Mathias VaiVai 132′11.00 East Anchorage

4. Puni Pa’u 130′00.00, East Anchorage

Boys Long Jump

1. Anders Larsen 21′03.75, Chugiak

2. Willie Zamora 20′10.50, West Anchorage

3. Ariel Sanchez 20′04.50, West Anchorage

4. Marquez Nevitte 19′11.00, Bartlett

Girls Long Jump

1. Sarah Dittman 16′11.00, Dimond

2. Gabrielle Okorodudu 16′06.75, Eagle River

3. Finley Moffett 16′04.75, Chugiak

4. Makaylen King 16′02.50, South Anchorage

Alaska Heart Run

Saturday in Anchorage

Women

1. Anna Dalton, Anchorage, 18:22, 2. Ashlee Weller, Anchorage, 18:52, 3. Mandy Vincent-Lang, Anchorage, 19:09, 4. Megan Murphy, Washington, DC 20:13, 5. Becky Butler, Anchorage, 21:15, 6. Michelle Isaev, Anchorage, 21:34, 7. Melanie Beale, Anchorage, 21:49, 8. Annie Connelly, Chugiak, 21:56, 9. Skylar Schoen, Anchorage, 23:38, 10. Jackie Ryan, Anchorage, 23:38.

Men

1. Riley Howard, Anchorage, 15:53, 2. Gabe Martin, Anchorage, 16:01, 3. Corbyn Jahn, Anchorage, 16:07, 4. Brian Kirchner, Anchorage, 16:28, 5. Owen Marcotte, Anchorage, 16:32, 6. Pyper Dixon, Seward, 16:37, 7. Pete Pounds, Anchorage, 17:03, 8. Patrick Conway, Anchorage, 17:48, 9. Chad Trammell, Anchorage, 18:22, 10. Max Shayer, Anchorage, 18:34.

Fast Forward

Prep

Baseball

Cook Inlet Conference Tournament at Mulcahy Stadium

The 2023 high school postseason will officially get underway this week with a bid to next week’s state tournament in Sitka on the line. All eight of the CIC teams will be in action with games starting on Tuesday and wrapping up on Friday. First up will be seventh-seeded Bartlett vs. sixth-seeded West at 5 p.m. and eighth-seeded Bettye Davis East vs. fifth-seeded Dimond at 7:30 p.m. for a Tuesday night.

Track and Field

ASAA State Tournament at Palmer High School

Even though this event won’t be going down in town, the top prep runners, sprinters, jumpers and throwers from Anchorage and across the Last Frontier will be heading to the Mat-Su Valley to face off for the final time this season. Many athletes will be attempting to break personal, program and state meet records over the course of the two-day event.

Soccer

ASAA state tournament at West/Service/South

The 2023 season will come to a close this week and champions will be crowned as the top teams from around the state will converge on Anchorage and duke it out at three different schools over the course of three days starting on Thursday and running through Saturday. At the Division I level, the Dimond girls and South boys will be looking to defend their titles as will both of the Juneau-Douglas soccer squads at the Division II level.

Division I girls soccer state tournament

First round

Thursday

No. 3 Chugiak vs. No. 6 West Valley, 11 a.m. at South

No. 1 Dimond vs. No. 8 West, 1 p.m. at West

No. 2 South vs. No. 7 Wasilla, 3 p.m. at South

No. 4 Service vs. No. 5 Lathrop, 5 p.m. at

Friday

Consolation

Loser Dimond/West vs. Loser Service/Lathrop, 9 a.m. at West

Loser Chugiak/West Valley vs. Loser South/Wasilla, 9 a.m. at Service

Semifinals

Winner Dimond/West vs. Loser Service/Lathrop, 5 p.m. at West

Winner Chugiak/West Valley vs. Loser South/Wasilla, 5 p.m. at Service

Saturday

4th/6th place, 11:30 a.m. at South

3rd/5th place, 11:30 a.m. at Service

Championship, 4:30 p.m. at West

Division I boys soccer state tournament

First round

Thursday

No. 3 West Valley vs. No. 6 Lathrop, 3 p.m. at Service

No. 1 Colony vs. No. 8 Chugiak, 1 p.m. at South

No. 2 South vs. No. 7 Dimond, 5 p.m. at South

No. 4 Service vs. No. 5 West, 7 p.m. at Service

Friday

Consolation

Loser Colony/Chugiak vs. Loser Service/West, 11 a.m. at West

Loser West Valley/Lathrop vs. Loser South/Dimond, 11 a.m. at Service

Semifinals

Winner Colony/Chugiak vs. Loser Service/West, 7 p.m. at West

Winner West Valley/Lathrop vs. Loser South/Dimond, 7 p.m. at Service

Saturday

4th/6th place, 1:15 p.m. at South

3rd/5th place, 1:15 p.m. at Service

Championship, 6:30 p.m. at West

Division II girls soccer state tournament

First round

Thursday

No. 3 North Pole vs. No. 6 Grace Christian, 9 a.m. at Service

No. 1 Kenai Central vs. No. 8 Nikiski, 11 a.m. at West

No. 2 Soldotna vs. No. 7 Houston, 1 p.m. at Service

No. 4 Juneau-Douglas vs. No. 5 Homer, 4 p.m. at West

Friday

Consolation

Loser Kenai Central/Nikiski vs. Loser Juneau-Douglas/Homer, 9 a.m. at South

Loser North Pole/Grace Christian vs. Loser Soldotna/Houston, 1 p.m. at South

Semifinals

Winner Kenai Central/Nikiski vs. Winner Juneau-Douglas/Homer, 1 p.m. at West

Winner North Pole/Grace Christian vs. Winner Soldotna/Houston, 1 p.m. at Service

Saturday

4th/6th place, 8 a.m. at Service

3rd/5th place, 9 a.m. at West

Championship, 11:30 a.m. at West

Division II boys soccer state tournament

First round

Thursday

No. 4 Ketchikan vs. No. 5 Kenai Central, 9 a.m. at West

No. 3 Soldotna vs No. 6 Grace Christian, 11 a.m. at Service

No. 1 Juneau-Douglas vs. No. 8 Homer, 5 p.m. at West

No. 2 Palmer vs. No. 7 North Pole, 7 p.m. at West

Friday

Consolation

Loser Juneau-Douglas/Homer vs. Loser Ketchikan/Kenai Central, 11 a.m. at South

Loser Soldotna/Grace Christian vs. Loser Palmer/North Pole, 3 p.m. at South

Semifinals

Winner Juneau-Douglas/Homer vs. Winner Ketchikan/Kenai Central, 3 p.m. at West

Winner Soldotna/Grace Christian vs. Winner Palmer/North Pole, 3 p.m. at Service

Saturday

4th/6th, 9:45 a.m. at South

3rd/5th, 9:45 a.m. at Service

Championship, 1:30 p.m. at West