2003: A year of local sports, in review

Another year has passed so now it is time to reflect on the events of 2003. Like everyone else, we at the Frontiersman are a bit nostalgic. While we ponder the highlights from the world of local sports in the Mat-Su Valley, we want our readers to also.

The following are some of the highlights that appeared in the pages of the Frontiersman sports section.

Sweet victories

In February Wasilla's Jed Wade won his third straight state wrestling title. Later in the year, Wade would capture the state record for wins in a career and win his weight class at the Reno Tournament of Champions, one of the top prep wrestling tournaments in the nation.

In March the Wasilla Warriors swept the region basketball tournament. The Warrior boys topped Colony and the girls defeated Soldotna in the Region III finals.

Also in March, Robert Sorlie became the first musher residing off of United States soil to win the Iditarod. The Norwegian made it to Nome in just more than nine days.

Colony swept the Region III soccer tournament in May. The boys defeated Wasilla and the girls topped Colony in the championship round.

Later in May Palmer's Aaron Dickson was named the MVP of the state track meet after winning titles in both the 800- and1600- meter runs.

In September the Palmer football squad came from behind to defeat North Pole to clinch its first Northern Railbelt Conference titles.

Upsets

Along with the victories, the year had its share of upsets.

In February the Houston Hawks were almost guaranteed to win the 3A state hockey tournament. The two-time champs were stunned by Monroe Catholic, however.

In March the 4A state basketball finals was not kind to the Warriors as both the boys' and girls' teams were victims of the upset. The top-ranked girls fell to Chugiak and the top-ranked boys were downed by Bartlett.

In October, the Colony football squad defeated the Palmer Moose 13-7 at Machetanz Field. The win allowed the Knights, the fourth-ranked team in the Northern Railbelt, to move on to the semifinals, while ending the season of the Railbelt champion Moose.

In early December the Wasilla hockey squad earned its first victory over the crosstown rival Colony Knights in six seasons.

Coming and going

In addition to the athletes who have graduated and moved on, a few of the beloved high school coaches from the Valley have also moved on.

During the summer Phil Engebretsen decided to leave his teaching position at Colony High School and his post as head coach of the Knight boys' basketball team in favor of a coaching job at Emunclaw High School in northern Washington. Engebretsen decided to move his family closer to relatives and his job was an upgrade on the coaching ladder.

In August, Norm Rousey decided not to return to his position as the head coach of the Palmer High School cross country running and boys' track teams. Rousey moved to California to pursue an athletic consulting business.

Although he didn't move out of state, Nathan Ford decided to hang up the whistle. The longtime head coach of the Wasilla Warrior football squad resigned from his post in November.

Moving into Engebretsen's position was longtime assistant coach Jeff Bowker. Palmer Spanish teacher Zack Brown was Rousey's replacement as the Moose cross -country coach.

Ford's successor is expected to be named soon into the new year.

That wacky weather

The strange weather South- central Alaska endured threw the seasons of at least two local sports into a flux. The lack of snow forced the prep cross-country skiing teams out of town. Local programs could not hold practice anywhere south of Hatcher Pass and had to travel for every meet.

The weather also forced the Iditarod restart out of Wasilla. In March mushers departed from Fairbanks and took a more northern route to Nome.

National exposure

The little town of Palmer, Alaska is becoming known on a national level thanks to members of the local athletic community.

During the summer HBO filmed footage of a Mat-Su Miners game at Hermon Brothers Field for an episode of Real Sports with Bob Costas. The segment that aired to a national audience on the cable program was formatted as a love letter to baseball, with mass footage of Palmer, Hermon Brothers and the Miners. The segment was narrated by Costas.

Thanks to Cole Magner, everyone watching the Motor City Bowl knows exactly where Palmer is. Magner, a wide receiver for the Division I Bowling Green State Falcons, caught 12 passes for 97 yards and two touchdowns against Northwestern. Each time the 2001 Colony graduate made a play, ESPN flashed a map of the United States, highlighting the distance between Palmer and Bowling Green.

Another Colony grad and Palmer native, Jessica Moore has also received tremendous air time on national cable stations such as ESPN. Moore is a starter for the two-time defending national champion Connecticut women's basketball team.

National success

Moore and Magner are not the only Valley athletes who succeeded on the national level. The duo are among a large group of locals at the Division I level.

The group includes Colony graduate Ryan Quinn, who was an All-American in nordic skiing at the University of Utah; Palmer graduate Kerry Weiland, who finished an All-American career with the Wisconsin women's ice hockey team; and Wasilla graduate Jesse Brock, winner of the 133-pound class in the Pac 10 wrestling championships.

Wasilla's Ray Schafer (Oregon) and Palmer's C.J. Hooker (North Carolina) are also members of Division I men's basketball squads.

Weiland also helped lead Team USA to a gold in the Four Nations women's hockey tournament in November.

Houston graduates Jake Williams and Jamie Bennett each were added to the Dubuque Thunderbirds roster, arguably the top team in the nation in Junior B hockey.

Numerous Valley athletes played on either NCAA or NAIA squads this year.

2004

After a tremendous year in 2003 for sports in the Mat-Su Valley as well as local athletes, the same can be expected for

2004.

What will top the headlines in 2004?

Read the Frontiersman and find out.