The playing field

While much of the focus during the 2003-04 school year was the future of athletics and extracurricular activities in the Mat-Su Borough, local prep athletes were able to look beyond a possibly dismal sports future and take advantage of the present.

During the school year the future of prep athletics was in question. Cuts were proposed and funding for activities was in danger of disappearing. Recently the district received funding, not necessarily a sum to fill all needs, but an amount to save most current activities. Some believe the success of local athletes played a role in the call for funding, while others believe athletics will always coincide with education.

"For a while there was a big panic, but it faded out," Wasilla High School assistant principal Dan Michael said. "There is a belief that we will always have activities no matter what. You will always find a way of making it work."

If Valley athletes awakened a sleeping beast and helped drive legislators into reality, in terms of the need for funding athletics and activities, they did so in stellar fashion. Annually, the five major high schools in the Mat-Su Borough -- Colony, Houston, Palmer, Susitna Valley and Wasilla -- figure prominently in the region and state tournaments.

"Anytime a Valley athlete is a state champ it is a big deal," Wasilla activities director Doug Bean said. "Whether it is wrestling or a spelling bee."

The schools with larger populations normally have the advantage when fielding teams for statewide competition. Though this area contains smaller communities, the local programs leave their mark at the state level on a regular basis. This year, four of the five schools boasted state championships and all five won region championships.

Tough smaller than Anchorage and Fairbanks school districts, Mat-Su continues to churn out championship-caliber athletes and championship teams. Officials from local high schools say the stability of the local programs lead to success and participation, and coaching creates stability.

Participation

Though the local programs take on squads from schools with nearly twice the student body, Valley squads remain competitive.

"Considering Wasilla is the biggest school in the Valley, how well we do is quite remarkable," Michael said.

Wasilla has the largest student body among the Valley schools, with approximately 1,100 students. Colony and Palmer high schools flirt with the 1,000-student mark, while Susitna Valley and Houston have a few hundred each. Michael said the student participation in activities locally should be weighed as a victory. Despite numbers drastically lower than schools in the Anchorage area, the local squads continue to field sizable teams. Michael said although the 2004 Warrior football team struggled in terms of wins and losses, more than 100 students -- about 10 percent of the student body at WHS -- were part of the team. The local programs not only boast rosters that are comparable in size to those of the Anchorage and Fairbanks area schools, but local schools also have much higher participation rates than their larger foes.

"The participation rate is huge," Houston activities director Jamie Smith said. "It's over 80 percent. That has to be as much as anyone."

Michael said another key is the number of sports an athlete participates in.

"You look at the Valley, many are in two [sports], some are in three," Michael said.

It is far from uncommon for an athlete to bounce from one season to the next, competing in various sports throughout the year. Local coaches believe with a smaller student body, students are able to participate in multiple sports easier than students who attend a school with a student body that breaks the 2,000-mark.

"That's the advantage of being at a smaller school," Smith said. "It's an ideal situation, kids can do anything."

Smith said at schools such as Houston, student-athletes not only have the opportunity to participate in multiple sports, but they have the chance to see varsity playing time early in their career. He said the opportunity to play, to participate in multiple activities and to play early and often allows the students to become more well-rounded individuals -- a primary goal of the high school experience.

Many student-athletes, such as Colony High School's Justin Schwartzbauer, will start in a fall sport, such as football, participate in a winter sport like basketball, then compete in a spring sport such as track and field. Each school has its own two and three-sport stars. Palmer senior Junior Aumavae participated in football, basketball and track and field. Wasilla senior Jed Wade competed in football, wrestling and soccer. It is also not uncommon for student-athletes to compete in sports with overlapping seasons. Houston senior Roy Stull was not only a standout on the Hawk hockey squad, but a member of the Houston basketball team. Palmer junior Jaxon Logan wrestled and played hockey.

Coaching

Stability leads to success and coaching is a big part of stability. Smith said the consistency of a coaching staff is a big factor in building a competitive program. Mat-Su schools have earned a reputation for having competitive programs led by coaches with lengthy tenures.

"There has not been a lot of turnover," Smith said.

Each of the five local high schools have coaches who have led programs for nearly a decade, and in some cases more than a decade. These programs each have had a high rate of success during that span. Jane and Larry Buskirk have led the Susitna Valley girls' cross-country running team to 11 consecutive Region II titles. The couple has mentored Talkeetna-area prep runners for well over 10 years. Don Witzel, Jeannie Hebert-Truax, Lyle Busbey and Brandon Blake have all coached local basketball teams for about a decade.

Witzel has led the Colony girls to multiple Region III titles and six trips to the 4A state championship game within a seven-year span during his time on the Knight bench. Witzel led the Knights to a trio of state titles.

Hebert-Truax led the Wasilla girls' team to their third straight Region III crown in March and has had two trips to the state title game in her nine-year run as the Warriors head coach.

Busbey has led the Palmer girls to a state title during his 10-year career and Blake won his second Region III title in nine years as the Palmer boys head coach. Smith has led the Houston hockey squad to virtual dominance in the Greatland Hockey Conference, with yet another 3A state title, earned in February.

"I can't speak for everyone, but as far as [our program goes] it's consistency," Smith said. "The kids and the parents buy into the program."

Smith's Houston hockey squad is a prime example of how the program is aided by the success of the youth and feeder programs. Most of the student-athletes who don the Hawk jersey at the high school level have already skated together, for years in many cases. Organizations such as the Big Lake and Mat-Su hockey associations consistently feed talent to the high school programs. The Valley also has strong football, basketball, wrestling, baseball and volleyball youth organizations.

"It goes back to all the youth groups and the parents," Bean said. "You build from the ground up, not the top down."

The success of the student-athletes at the local level have led to opportunities at the next level. Numerous seniors signed National Letters of Intent this year to participate in athletics on the collegiate level.

"The coaches in the district do a good job of preparing kids to play at the next level," Smith said.

The list of seniors who will continue in athletics include a variety of sports and several different levels. Several Valley athletes will compete on the Division I level, such as Wade (Columbia wrestling), Wasilla's Chandice Cronk (Santa Clara basketball), Colony's Sarah Brettrager (Oakland swimming) and Stevie McDowell (Montana State track). The list also includes numerous seniors moving to the Division II, Division III, NAIA and junior college levels in sports ranging from football to soccer.

Team success

With the stability created by the coaching and high participation rates, Mat-Su was able to celebrate the success of high school athletic programs on a regular basis this school year. Possibly more so than any community of similar size in the state. Palmer High School boasted region titles in football, volleyball, boys' basketball and track and field. Wasilla won the 4A wrestling state championship and region titles in wrestling and girls' basketball. Houston won region and state hockey crowns. Susitna Valley hoisted region cross country running and track, and cross-country state championship trophies. Colony took home the region skiing crown. Each school also placed teams into the state tournaments.

Individual achievements

Success of teams spurs success of the individual athletes. In some cases, the achievements of local athletes were not only notable, but historic. Wade became only the third student-athlete in the state's history to win four state wrestling titles in a prep career. The Wasilla senior capped off an undefeated season with a victory in the championship match of the 189-pound bracket at the state tournament. Wade also won his weight class at the Reno Tournament of Champions, one of the top prep wrestling events in the country.

"I can't think of anything really better than that," Michael said of Wade's achievements. "Especially when you talk about going on the national stage."

Michael said as far as local elite athletes in recent memory, the closest may be Cronk. The senior sharpshooter shot over 50 percent from behind the arc during the season. Cronk's jersey was recently retired by Wasilla High School and is now displayed at the Women's National Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Tenn.

Wade and Cronk are just a pair of local athletes who appeared in the spotlight during the school year. The season also featured historic games, such as Wade Williams' seven-goal performance to lead Houston to the state hockey title, to memorable moments such as Mike Weber's go-ahead touchdown with 54 seconds remaining, to give the Palmer football squad a win over North Pole and the Northern Railbelt title outright.

The future

The numerous local athletes who have signed National Letters of Intent this year or are currently competing in collegiate athletics have utilized their experiences in local athletics to drive them to the next level. These student-athletes used the experiences as a tool to build themselves a future. During the school year, the future of local prep athletics seemed in question at the least. While a temporary solution has been found, there is debate over whether this will be an ongoing problem, or if school activities will be safe.

"There is a belief that we will always have activities," Michael said. "No matter what. They always find a way of making it work."

But as debate continues, proponents of youth athletics will continue to seek adequate funding.

"Obviously, academics are important, but we need to spend more than $1.1 million on activities," Smith said. "It's weighed incorrectly."

Earlier this year, local schools were in danger of losing a large chunk of the funding allotted for activities. Cuts would have prompted the loss of the school activities directors, elimination of funds for transportation and the loss of stipends for the freshman team coaches. Though state and borough funding increases have been approved for the near future, some people in the athletics programs wonder if there remains a lingering question concerning priorities and commitment.

"We need to quit voting in the legislators who keep making false promises," Bean said. "They are not helping out the future for kids. That's all I care about."