2019 in Valley prep sports: The year of the state championship

As I started to comb through the Frontiersman sports archives for the last 12 months, I started to notice a trend. Typically, I put together a top 10 list to run with our year in review coverage and recap the best Valley sports storylines from the year. But this year I’m calling an audible because there is one storyline that dominated 2019.

The state championship

Five Valley programs won a state title in 2019. That’s pretty impressive for an area with only five ASAA sanctioned schools. So, I am going to take the time to talk titles. I’ll have some bonus info as well, a few additional storylines from the world of Mat-Su Valley sports.

Wasilla baseball

I’m starting with Wasilla baseball, because the success continued throughout the prep and American Legion season on that side of the Valley. In early June, Wasilla made history on multiple levels. With an 8-6 win over Ketchikan in the ASAA state baseball title game, the Warriors earned their first state crown in school history. It also marked the first time that a Valley team earned a state championship in baseball.

The game’s final out could go down as one of the most memorable moments in Valley sports in quite some time. Wasilla first baseman Clancey O’Donnell chased down a foul ball at the fence on the right side of Mulchahy Stadium to cement the win for the Warriors, and set the stage for an epic dog pile in the Mulchahy infield.

The majority of that team continued to play for the Wasilla Road Warriors American Legion team during the summer. The Road Warriors advanced to the state final and finished second, falling just short to Juneau in an extra-innings heartbreaker. But by advancing to the state title game, the Road Warriors earned a shot to compete in a regional event in Wyoming. Wasilla took advantage of the opportunity and played in another title game. Even though Wasilla finished as the runner-up, the Road Warriors became the first team from Alaska to compete in a regional final.

Wasilla is the first Valley school to raise a state baseball banner, but the achievement also represents in the overall growth and improvement of Valley prep baseball. Palmer won a region title in 2018. Colony advanced to the region title game in back-to-back years. Participation numbers are improving, and there is talent throughout the Valley.

Houston football

The Houston Hawks also made school history, winning a state football title for the first time. Houston stormed past Barrow 41-8 in October to capture the ASAA Division III First National Bowl. It was an exclamation point on a historic season for the Hawks. Houston finished undefeated for the first time, posting a 10-0 mark en route to earning the right to hoist the trophy.

Since making the move to the DIII level, the Hawks have established themselves as a team to beat.

Head coach Glenn Nelson and his staff built a program that simply cannot be overlooked. The Hawks have now played in two state title games during a four-year span, and are now a focal point in Alaska’s Division III conversation.

Houston also dominated the all-conference and all-state teams, with several players earning impressive honors.

The Hawks will graduate key seniors, but the cupboard is far from empty.

Houston also became only the second Valley school to win a state football title, joining the 1995 Palmer Moose.

Palmer hockey

The Palmer Moose were skating in new territory during the 2018-19 season, as part of Alaska’s new Division II class. In February, the Moose skated across the Menard Arena ice celebrating the state’s first DII state title.

Palmer’s Owen Hayes scored with 4:44 left in the extra period to lead the Moose to a 6-5 overtime win over Homer in the ASAA Division II First National Cup. It was Palmer’s second straight overtime win for the Moose. Palmer needed extra time to beat Soldotna in the semifinals the day before.

It was all part of a remarkable run for Palmer, which needed an at-large bid to get into the tournament. The win also came on the 30th anniversary of the Valley’s only other hockey state championship. Palmer edged rival Wasilla 4-3 in overtime in the 1989 state final,.

Colony wrestling

Colony enjoyed a big weekend in December and captured the school’s seventh state wrestling title.

The Knights amassed 333 points, more than 50 better than South Anchorage, which entered the tourney as the defending state champ. The Knights led the field with 24 wrestlers in the tournament, and 17 of those placed in the top 6 of their weight class.

Colony had four in state finals, and Jared Hopkins (135 pounds) and Vincent Cramer (152) each won a state title.

Expect Colony to be gunning for another state title in 2020. Of the 17 who placed in the top 6, only two are seniors.

Colony boys soccer

The 2019 Division I state soccer tournament was all about redemption for the Colony Knights.

In 2018, Colony suffered the ultimate soccer heartbreak, falling to Dimond 1-0 in a shootout. But a year later, the Knights got another crack at it, and Colony took advantage of the chance. The Knights blanked West Anchorage 2-0 in the final.

The championship marked Colony’s third since 2000.

Warriors sweep state dive

It’s not a team title on the official results sheet, but call it a title for the Wasilla divers.

Carrie Mayer scored the girls diving championship and Andrew Layman won it all for the boys during the state meet at Bartlett High School. Valley divers have enjoyed tremendous success in recent memory. The 2019 state meet marked the seventh straight year that a Valley athlete earned a state diving title. The list of past winners includes Wasilla’s Jayde Chan (2018), Palmer’s Chloe Hartman (2017), and Wasilla’s Brayden Schachle (2014-2016).

Region track sweep

Wasilla’s Olivia Davies enjoyed a rare feat during the Region III Track and Field Championships in May. Davies won all four of her events. Davies finished first in the 100 meters, 200, long jump and triple jump.

The 2019 Mat-Su Career and Technical High School graduate was not able to compete in the state tourney, but earned a shelf full of medals during her two-year track career. As a junior, Davies earned three region and two state titles.

Division I bound

Speaking of Davies, Wasilla’s standout guard was one of three Valley basketball players who committed to Division I programs as a senior.

Three from the Valley in just basketball? That’s huge. Davies committed to the University of Hawaii.

Fellow Warrior Daniel Headdings is now at New Mexico. Colony graduate Sullivan Menard is at DePaul.

It’s not often that we are going to see three of our athletes from a single sport commit to a DI program in the same year.

And speaking of Layman, diving is not his only sport. It’s actually a secondary sport. Layman is part of Denali Gymnastics elite program, and officially signed his National Letter of Intent to compete in gymnastics for the University of Washington.

Layman is just the second Denali athlete to land on a DI roster.

A pair of former Wasilla hockey standouts are also headed to the DI level. Porter Schachle, who is currently skating for the NAHL’s Kenai River Brown Bears, verbally committed to UAA, where is older brother Tanner is playing. Dylan Abbott, a Fairbanks Ice Dogs defenseman will play at Minnesota State.

Contact Frontiersman managing editor Jeremiah Bartz at editor@frontiersman.com.