High School Sports

Karlberg family chases Simmers family — and they're all chasing Hebert-Truax

Tobin Karlberg's Player of the Year award gives the Karlberg family of Anchorage two of Alaska basketball's top honors. His brother Leif was the Class 3A Player of the Year in 2009.

Bring in the extended family and the count rises to three. Colton Lauwers, a cousin to Tobin and Leif, was Class 4A's Player of the Year for Dimond in 2009.

Even so, the family still trails the Simmers family of Anchorage Christian. It boasts five POY awards — two for Anna (2008 and 2009), two for Gus (2012 and 2013) and one for Debbiey (2010).

Impressive stuff, but neither family can top the record of Wasilla Warriors coach Jeannie Hebert-Truax.

She's one of five Alaskans to win the POY award three times, a list that also includes Mario Chalmbers of Bartlett (2003-05), Trajan Langdon of East (1992-94), Talisa Rhea of Juneau (2005-07) and Whitney Leman of Ninilchik (2001-03).

[Karlberg keeps up family tradition for Grace Christian basketball team]

And she's the only person to garner both Player of the Year honors and Coach of the Year honors. She owns three of each — she was the Player of the Year at North Pole in 1986 and Monroe Catholic in 1987-88, and she's a three-time Coach of the Year at Wasilla (2015, 2007, 2001).

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Hebert-Truax had a wildly successful Division I college career at the University of Miami. She played there from 1988 to 1992, and going into this season she still held the school record for most assists in a single season (221 as a senior). She ranks second on the career-assists list with 694, sixth in scoring with 1,766 points and ninth in steals with 237.

At Wasilla, Hebert-Truax has assembled a staff that includes another Player of the Year — Stacia Rustad, 1992's Class 4A POY at Kenai Central.

Rustad is Wasilla's athletic director, a position she accepted last year after years in the same role at Kenai and one that makes her one of Hebert-Truax's bosses. At the same time, she became a member of the girls basketball coaching staff, where Hebert-Truax is the boss.

So when exactly is Rustad the boss of Hebert-Truax?

"All the time," Rustad said.

Even on the bench?

"Noooo," she said after a momentary pause. "Not on the bench. So for a handful of hours during the school year, she's my boss."

An early version of this story misidentified Whitney Leman's high school.

Beth Bragg

Beth Bragg wrote about sports and other topics for the ADN for more than 35 years, much of it as sports editor. She retired in October 2021. She's contributing coverage of Alaskans involved in the 2022 Winter Olympics.

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