Valley sports briefs

Frontiersman staff

Wasilla man state champ

A local man won the state singles horseshoe championship held in Eagle River last week. Larry Hettrick of Wasilla beat Lane Campbell of Anchorage in the playoff game to take the title. In the A and B classes Lonnie Finfrock and Dackie Sanchez went undefeated.

Results

Men's championship class — 1) Larry Hettrick, Wasilla; 2) Lane Campbell, Anchorage; 3) Norm Rousey, Palmer. Women's championship class — 1) Suzy Siebert, Anchorage; 2) Cathy Adams, Wasilla; 3) Ursula Lucas, Anchorage. A class — 1) Lonnie Finfrock, Palmer; 2) Monte Gallacher, Anchorage; 3) Cliff Morrison, Anchorage. B class — 1) Dackie Sanchez, Anchorage; 2) Carrie Morris, Anchorage; 3) Gary Peterson, Anchorage.

Miners hold promo send off

The Mat-Su Miners will be holding a promotional game against the Anchorage All Stars on July 28 at 6 p.m. It will be the last game of the regular season. To send the team off in style, the Miners organization has arranged a picture and autograph session prior to game time. From 4:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. the Miners will be on the field to autograph balls, hats, gloves, children or anything else fans want to bring and have signed.

Fans can also have pictures taken with their favorite Miners. The promo will end another season at Hermon Brothers Field.

Hand car races in Palmer

Kiwanis International, an organization dedicated to promoting family values and fellowship, will host its 2001 hand car races in Palmer on Friday. The event will take place in downtown Palmer, north of the city train depot, from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. The entry fee is $60, either as a team donation or team sponsorship. The money goes to the Palmer Kiwanis Club. Each five-member team will consist of one push starter and four pumpers. Competitors must be 18 years or older, or have a parent's release signature. A racer may be on more than one team.

There will be four divisions; all men, all women, coed (consisting of two men and two women) and general (any combination that doesn't fit into the other three divisions). A safety orientation and one safety run is required, as are non-skid shoes and bike helmets. If participants don't have a helmet one will be provided at the start of the race. Race distance is 750 feet. Scoring will be calculated by time to the nearest hundredth of a second. Cash and trophies will be awarded to the top three finishers in each division.

Football fund raiser

The Wasilla Warrior Football Booster Club will be holding its biggest fund raiser of the year on Aug. 3, at the Wasilla Veterans of Foriegn Wars hall. The event is a combination spaghetti feed, dance, auction and flag football game. The money raised will be used for travel expenses and officials fees as well as for equipment and uniforms.

The event starts at 6 p.m. The cost is $10 for adults, and $5 for seniors and children ages 7-eleven. Children six and under are free. Disc jockeys from FOX radio station will be on hand to entertain.

The boosters already have a few items to be auctioned, including a metal detector donated by Alaska Mining and Diving, artwork, fishing trips, sports items, dinner and lodging, baseball caps, oil changes and some Wasilla football players themselves (for work). The organization is still in need of donations, however. Donations will be accepted at the time of the auction. For more information call Vicki Clark at 357-6460 or Diane Ericksen at 373-3805.

Plenty of tickets left for

NHL exhibition game

According to Tickets.com, a national ticketing agency, there are still plenty of seats left for both the Sept. 15 and 16 NHL exhibition games at the Sullivan Arena. Two top NHL teams, the St. Louis Blues and the San Jose Sharks, are coming to Alaska to battle it out. Both games are at 6 p.m.

Tickets are on sale at both CARRS TIX and the Sullivan box office. Reserved seats range in price from $60 to $75. General admission seats go for $45.

Both teams are expected to bring their full rosters. Fans will have an opportunity to see some of the NHL's biggest stars, such as Keith Tkachuk, Chris Pronger and Al MacInnis from the Blues, and Teemu Selanne, Owen Nolan, Evgeni Nabokov, Mike Ricci and Vincent Damphousse from the Sharks.

Both teams have met in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the past two seasons. Last season, the Sharks pulled a dramatic, seven-game upset of the President's Trophy-winning (NHL's best team) Blues. This April, the Blues exacted revenge by ousting the Sharks in six games en route to their first West Conference Finals appearance since 1986.

A portion of the proceeds will go to benefit the Children's Miracle Network of Alaska.

Palmer woman grabbing rebounds at World games

Jessica Moore of Palmer has been one of Team USA's top rebounders as the Women's Junior World 2001 basketball team tries to defend its title in Brno, Czech Republic. Moore, playing a total of 91 minutes in five games, had 28 rebounds. She also scored a total of 13 points. Team USA goes into the semifinals undefeated, beating Lithuania, China, Brazil, the Czech Republic and Russia.

Wasilla High School in need of coach

Last year's Wasilla High swim coach was expected to return this year, but just days ago he had a change of plans, and the school has found itself in desperate need of a new coach. Wasilla's activities director, Doug Bean, said they do have a diving coach, for members of the approximately 30-student team. The fall season starts Aug. 13.

For more information contact Bean at 745-2326 before July 30 and 376-5403 from July 30 on.