Susitna Valley, Colony seniors named Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman/Mat-Su Sea Hawkers Student-Athletes of the Year

Susitna Valley senior Lily Esmailka and Colony senior Gabe Black were named the 2025-2026 Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman/Mat-Su Sea Hawkers Student-Athletes of the Year during the Frontiersman's annual student-athlete awards banquet Sunday at Evangelo’s in Wasilla.

With the honor, each received a $1,000 scholarship courtesy of the Sea Hawkers.

Jeannie-Hebert-Truax, who recently retired after more than 30 years as the Wasilla girls basketball head coach, was named the Frontiersman/Sea Hawkers Girls Coach of the Year. Wasilla hockey head coach Jake Dargis was named the Frontiersman/Sea Hawkers Boys Coach of the Year.

Mat-Su Career and Technical senior Ki Schachle and Susitna Valley senior Earl Davidson earned the MatSu Sports Awards, an honor sponsored and presented by Bruce Eggleston of matsusports.net.

Mike Devine of Mike Devine State Farm earned the Frontiersman Assist Award, for the longtime commitment to local high school athletics.

The finalists for the 2026 Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman/Mat-Su Sea Hawkers Student-Athlete of the Year Award were: Colony seniors Addison Stewart and Gabe Black, Houston seniors Madelyn Seime and Elias Johnson, Mat-Su Career Tech seniors Lilly Diltz and Chase Ringler, Mat-Su Central senior Lizzie McQuillin, Palmer seniors Alder Deal and Nolan Garner, Redington seniors Sonia Gericke and Jake Murdock, Susitna Valley seniors Lily Esmailka and Austin Barnard, and Wasilla seniors Claire Bredberg and Zorn Allen.

All were recognized during the event, and all will be featured in a special publication that will be included in the May 15 edition of the Frontiersman.

Esmailka competed in volleyball, basketball and track and field. She was the conference player of the year in volleyball and first-team all-state in basketball. Esmailka has a 4.048 grade point average.

Black competed in cross-country running, cross-country skiing and track and field with the Knights. He was fourth overall in the state ski meet and 10th in state cross-country running. Black has a 4.125 grade point average.

Local medal-winning Paralympian Andrew Kurka was the guest speaker during the event. Earlier this year, Kurka — a longtime international standout in mono-skiing — capped his illustrious career with a bronze medal at the 2026 Paralympic Games in Milan, Italy

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