Valley schools awarded 3 ASAA state tournaments

WASILLA — The Mat-Su Valley will be home to a trio of high school state tournaments during the next school year. One will make its Valley debut, another is returning to the area for the first time in about 15 years and a third is going nowhere after a long stay in the Valley.

The ASAA Board of Directors awarded Palmer High School with the Alaska Schools Activities Association medium-schools football state tournament, and large- and small-schools state track and field meet. The board also approved Wasilla High School’s bid to continue to host the state hockey tournament was approved for another three years.

“It’s pretty exciting. I’m definitely happy to get one, let alone two,” Palmer High activities director Dale Ewart said Wednesday afternoon.

Palmer will become the first school outside the Anchorage School District to host a state football tournament when the medium-schools championships hit Machetanz Field in 2016. The bid includes a pair of semifinal games and the medium-schools championship.

“As all these facilities (outside of Anchorage) start to catch up, ASAA started to realize there are a lot of great facilities in the state,” Ewart said. “It’s cool to have an opportunity.”

The large-schools quarterfinals are hosted by the higher seed in the first-round games, but the semifinal and championship games for both the medium- and large-schools have always been hosted at Anchorage-area facilities. Anchorage Football Stadium was a longtime home to the championships. In recent years, the events have branched out to Chugiak and Dimond. West Anchorage High School hosted the large-schools championship for the first time in 2015.

West High will continue to host the large-schools championships through at least the 2017 season. Palmer’s bid to host the medium-schools championships spans three years, 2016-2018.

Dimond High, which had hosted the medium-schools football championships for the last three years, also put in a bid. Kenai Central and Soldotna high schools bid to co-host the medium-schools championships.

“I think it’s huge,” Ewart said of the opportunity to host state football and track and field. “It speaks a lot about our facility, our facility we were able to build with all of the donations, all of the bond money.”

Palmer High School’s athletic facilities and Machetanz Field have undergone tremendous upgrades during the last four years. Contractors broke ground during the spring of 2012 and the school’s athletic turf field was installed prior to the 2012 prep football season. The synthetic track was added a year later. Upgrades also included a vast increase in visitor seating, handicap accessible seating and paved walkways throughout the facilities.

The bulk of the funding for the Palmer High School facility upgrades came through state appropriations.

Ewart said Palmer High School officials have long aimed to improve the athletic facilities with the idea of bidding for Alaska state championships.

The upgrades also included improvements specifically for track and field. The list includes new jumping pits, and new pads and rinks for the discus and shot put events.

Ewart said the facility upgrades combined with the school’s central location making Palmer High School a prime spot to host state events. The atmosphere, with the backdrop of Pioneer Peak in one direction and Matanuska Peak in another, is also a draw.

“(People from) just about every team in the state have told us it’s the best stadium in the state,” Ewart said.

The state track and field championships returns to Palmer in the spring of 2017. Palmer High hosted the meet during the late 1990s and into the early 2000s. The last state track meet at Palmer High was in 2003. Since, the championship was hosted by Bartlett for three years and Lathrop for six years. Dimond caps its three-year bid in 2016.

Palmer was approved to host state track from 2017-2019.

Wasilla High School will continue its run with the state hockey tournament. WHS will host the 3A and 4A state tournaments at the Menard Sports Complex in Wasilla for the 10th straight year in February, and the new bid allows WHS to continue to host the event through at least 2019.

“I’m excited because I love it. Part of the reason why I love it, it’s the right thing to do for the student-athletes in this sport. Really, that’s what it’s all about,” said Paul Cossette, who has served as tournament director since Wasilla High first hosted the tournament in 2007. “It’s such a fun weekend.”

Like Ewart at Palmer High, Cossette said the Valley’s central location in Alaska makes the Palmer-Wasilla area an attractive spot to host state tournaments. Cossette also said the Menard Sports Complex, which features a rink, the Curtis C. Menard II Memorial Ice Arena that can house more than 2,000 fans, is the ideal spot to host Alaska’s hockey championships.

“Really, it’s the best venue in the state for this particular sport and event. It’s the right size, centrally located,” Cossette said. “Not taking anything away from the (Carlson Center or Big Dipper Ice Arena in Fairbanks) or the Soldotna Sports Center. It’s our location, and it’s the right-sized building. We’re very fortunate and blessed to have that facility in the Valley. Why not make it the best event we can for young people.”

Cossette said tournament officials have consistently received positive comments from fans throughout the state. He said there’s also been great support from Anchorage-area fans who have packed the house to watch an all-Anchorage 4A state championship final in seven of the tournament’s nine years in Wasilla.

“We’re happy to provide the best venue in the best location we can for the high school hockey players in the state,” Cossette said.

In other state tournament news, Eagle River won a three-year bid to continue to host the state soccer championships. Dimond will continue to host the 2A and Mixed 6 state volleyball tournaments.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.