Valley athletes earn medals at 2008 Arctic Winter Games

YELLOWKNIFE, NWT —Nearly two dozen Mat-Su Valley athletes are currently participating in the 2008 Arctic Winter Games in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada.

The following are among the highlights from the 2008 event.

Arctic sports

David Thomas, of Palmer, won a pair of silver medals. On Tuesday, Thomas finished second in the 2-foot high kick.

On Wednesday, he placed second in the Alaskan high kick.

Chris Warrior, of Wasilla, won a gold in the kneel jump.

Cross country skiing

Schyler Knopp, a 13-year-old from Wasilla , finished second in the midget male 2.5-kilometer freestyle on Monday and earned a silver medal. Knopp also won a silver in the 500-meter on Tuesday.

Knopp was fifth in the 2.5-K classic on Monday.

Dog mushing

Jonathan Biggerstaff, a 12-year-old from Talkeetna, finished seventh in the 7.5-kilometer juvenile coed race.

Ice hockey

The Team Alaska junior female squad finished round-robin play 4-0-0. Three players from the Valley — Rosy Fujimoto, Kyla Gauthier and Brandy Stevenson — skate on the squad.

Fujimoto, who skated for the Colony Knights during the prep season, is second in scoring in the tournament, as of Thursday, with two goals and six assists. Fujimoto had five points (2-3-5) in a 10-0 win over Yukon.

Gauthier, of Wasilla, and Stevenson, of Sutton, each have one assist.

Palmer High junior Zack Richards helped lead the Team Alaska midget team to a 10-4 win over Nunavut in the first round of the playoffs. Richards had two assists in the win.

Also on Richards’ squad are Wasilla High juniors Dylan Troisi and Travis Koso. Troisi grabbed an assist in a 6-1 loss to Yukon during round-robin play.

A pair of Wasilla-area players, Chancie Hanson and Steven Lewis, skate for the Team Alaska bantam team. Lewis recorded one goal and three assists in four round-robin games, while Hanson had a goal and an assist during a 17-0 win over Nunavut.

Snowshoeing

Colony High School sophomore Heidi Doner won a pair of bronze medals in the category. On Wednesday, Doner finished third in the combined snowshoeing, which brings into consideration results in the 100-, 400- and 1,500-meter sprints. Doner finished third in both the 100 and 400, and second in the 1,500.

Doner also scored a bronze in the 5-kilometer on Tuesday.

The 7.5-K is scheduled for today.

Volleyball

Led by a pair of Valley standouts, Colony High School senior Hannah Curtis and Palmer High School senior Sarah Svedin, Team Alaska finished a perfect 10-0 in round robin play in the junior division. Team Alaska also failed to lose a game during 10 matches of play.

On Thursday, Team Alaska scored a 3-0 win over Greenland in the first round of the playoffs.

Wrestling

Houston High School junior Justin Crowley was one of four Valley grapplers to win a gold medal. Crowley won the gold in the 90-kilogram category.

Josh West, who helped lead the Colony Knights to a 4A state wrestling title, won a gold in the 62-kilogram weight class.

Jenae Shannon, a 14-year-old from Houston Middle School, won a pair of medals — a gold and a silver — in the 62-kilogram class.

Rachael Shannon, a Houston High wrestler, won a pair of gold medals in the 60-kilogram class. Jenna Malone, of Wasilla, won a bronze in the 65-kilogram class.

— Jeremiah Bartz

2008 Arctic Winter Games

Yellowknife, Northwest Territories

Mat-Su Valley participants:

Wasilla — Justin Crowley, junior wrestling; Hannah Curtis, junior volleyball; Rosy Fujimoto, junior ice hockey; Kyla Gauthier, junior ice hockey; Chancie Hanson, bantam ice hockey; Schyler Knopp, midget cross country skiing; Travis Koso, midget ice hockey; Steven Lewis, bantam ice hockey; Jennifer Malone, junior wrestling; Dylan Troisi, midget ice hockey; Chris Warrior, Inuit games.

Palmer — Heidi Doner, junior snowshoeing; Zack Richards, midget ice hockey; Sarah Svedin, junior volleyball; David Thomas, Inuit games; Josh West, junior wrestling.

Big Lake — Jenae Shannon, junior wrestling; Rachael Shannon, junior wrestling.

Sutton — Brandy Stevenson, junior ice hockey.

Talkeetna — Donal Biggerstaff, juvenile dog mushing; Larisa Myers-McCoin, juvenile dog mushing.

**Medal standing: (Gold-Silver-Bronze-Total)

Alaska 50-37-52-139; Northwest Territories 24-27-22-73; Yamal-Nenets 34-27-22-72; Yukon 18-12-21-51; Alberta North 11-22-14-51; Nunavut 10-18-15-43; Sami 5-4-6-15; Nunavik Quebec 5-4-5-14; Greenland 3-7-4-14.

**Gold medals:

Chris Warrior (Wasilla), kneel jump; Jenae Shannon (Big Lake), wrestling; Rachael Shannon (Big Lake), wrestling; Josh West (Palmer), wrestling; Justin Crowley (Wasilla), wrestling.

**Silver medals:

David Thomas (Palmer), Alaskan high kick; Schyler Knopp (Wasilla), cross country skiing; Schyler Knopp (Wasilla), cross country skiing; Jenae Shannon (Big Lake), wrestling.

**Bronze medals:

Heidi Doner (Palmer), snowshoeing, Jenna Malone (Wasilla), wrestling; Heidi Doner (Palmer), snowshoeing.

** As of Thursday evening.