Sports

The Thunder Mountain High School volleyball team, seen here in the official program for the 2023 Alaska School Activities Association’s 4A Volleyball Championship, lost their opening game of the double-elimination tournament to South Anchorage High School on Thursday. (Photo courtesy of ASAA)

TMHS loses opening game at state finals, plays elimination game Friday morning

Eighth-ranked Falcons will face either top-ranked Wasilla or second-ranked Dimond.

The Thunder Mountain High School volleyball team, seen here in the official program for the 2023 Alaska School Activities Association’s 4A Volleyball Championship, lost their opening game of the double-elimination tournament to South Anchorage High School on Thursday. (Photo courtesy of ASAA)
A red fox carries a muskrat to a birthing den in Interior Alaska. (Photo by Ned Rozell)

Alaska Science Forum: Secret lives playing out all around us

While we were sleeping, they were out there. Two red foxes, a male and female, pawing into spring snow on a hillside. The foxes had… Continue reading

A red fox carries a muskrat to a birthing den in Interior Alaska. (Photo by Ned Rozell)
High tides make getting the skiff loaded a little tricky. The author’s wife avoids low branches on her way to the skiff after a successful hunt. (Photo by Jeff Lund)

I Went to the Woods: Tasty memories

The buck raked a small cedar tree glazed in frost, swollen neck twisting the antlers around the brutalized trunk. I reached behind me to get… Continue reading

High tides make getting the skiff loaded a little tricky. The author’s wife avoids low branches on her way to the skiff after a successful hunt. (Photo by Jeff Lund)
Thunder Mountain High School players celebrate after scoring a point during their 3-1 victory over Ketchikan High School to win the Region V Volleyball Tournament in Ketchikan on Saturday. (Christopher Mullen / Ketchikan Daily News)

TMHS completes threepeat as regional volleyball champs

Falcons begin quest for state title Thursday; JDHS plays Ketchikan tough in elimination game.

Thunder Mountain High School players celebrate after scoring a point during their 3-1 victory over Ketchikan High School to win the Region V Volleyball Tournament in Ketchikan on Saturday. (Christopher Mullen / Ketchikan Daily News)
The Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé Crimson Bears girls swim team pose on Saturday with their first-place team trophy after the ASAA State Swim & Dive Championships at the Dimond Park Aquatic Center. (Klas Stolpe / For the Juneau Empire)

TMHS’ Foy, JDHS’ Fellman top state swimmers

Crimson Bears girls win title, Falcons girls place second at ASAA Swim & Dive State Championships.

The Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé Crimson Bears girls swim team pose on Saturday with their first-place team trophy after the ASAA State Swim & Dive Championships at the Dimond Park Aquatic Center. (Klas Stolpe / For the Juneau Empire)
Thunder Mountain High School senior Olivia Mills prepares to start the 50 free at last weekend’s Region V Championships in Sitka. (James Poulson/Daily Sitka Sentinel)

Foy, Schwarting, Peimann top local title hopes as state championships come to Juneau

Two-day ASAA Swim Dive State Championships start Friday at Dimond Park Aquatic Center.

Thunder Mountain High School senior Olivia Mills prepares to start the 50 free at last weekend’s Region V Championships in Sitka. (James Poulson/Daily Sitka Sentinel)
Scientist/explorer Ernest Leffingwell spent nine winters on Flaxman Island off Alaska’s northern coast. (Photo from the book “Conquering the Arctic ice,” by Ejnar Mikkelsen)

Alaska Science Forum: Ernest Leffingwell, fan of the far north

One hundred years ago, a group of men sailed to the northern coast of Alaska to find a land mass rumored to protrude from the… Continue reading

Scientist/explorer Ernest Leffingwell spent nine winters on Flaxman Island off Alaska’s northern coast. (Photo from the book “Conquering the Arctic ice,” by Ejnar Mikkelsen)
Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé senior Lamar Blatnick signed a letter of intent Wednesday in the JDHS gymnasium to play baseball for Dallas Christian College. From left are father and assistant coach Larry Blatnick, assistant coach Erik McCormick, Lamar Blatnick and JDHS head coach Chad Bentz. (Klas Stolpe for the Juneau Empire)

JDHS’ Blatnick signs for college ball

Catcher will exchange Alaska plate duties for Dallas heat

Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé senior Lamar Blatnick signed a letter of intent Wednesday in the JDHS gymnasium to play baseball for Dallas Christian College. From left are father and assistant coach Larry Blatnick, assistant coach Erik McCormick, Lamar Blatnick and JDHS head coach Chad Bentz. (Klas Stolpe for the Juneau Empire)
The Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé varsity volleyball team celebrates a comeback five-set win against Ketchikan High School on Saturday night at JDHS. Ketchikan won the first two sets before JDHS won the next three, all by close back-and-forth scores until the fifth set which the Crimson Bears won decisively. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

JDHS, TMHS volleyball teams celebrate Senior Nights with wins over Ketchikan

Crimson Bears win five-set comeback thriller; Falcons continue strong season with straight-sets win.

The Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé varsity volleyball team celebrates a comeback five-set win against Ketchikan High School on Saturday night at JDHS. Ketchikan won the first two sets before JDHS won the next three, all by close back-and-forth scores until the fifth set which the Crimson Bears won decisively. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé junior Alexander Smith battles for a puck in front of the Eagle River goal during Saturday’s 6-1 Crimson Bears win over the Wolves at Treadwell Arena. (Klas Stolpe for the Juneau Empire)

JDHS opens season by icing Eagle River

Crimson Bears hockey puts football-size scores on visiting Wolves

Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé junior Alexander Smith battles for a puck in front of the Eagle River goal during Saturday’s 6-1 Crimson Bears win over the Wolves at Treadwell Arena. (Klas Stolpe for the Juneau Empire)
Suzanne Morris, left, and Melissa Anderson finish the Halloween Half Marathon on Saturday. (Klas Stolpe for the Juneau Empire)

Miller, Kruger win scary Halloween Half

Gentemann, Tracy top costumes; Janes 5K winner

Suzanne Morris, left, and Melissa Anderson finish the Halloween Half Marathon on Saturday. (Klas Stolpe for the Juneau Empire)
Emily Wright, an assistant attorney for the City and Borough of Juneau, explains legal ramifications of the state’s new ban on transgender girls participating in girls high school sports to the Juneau Board of Education on Tuesday night at Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Legal, moral concerns raised by local school and city officials about state’s transgender sports ban

School board seeks more input after hearing ban violates city bylaws and maybe state’s Constitution.

Emily Wright, an assistant attorney for the City and Borough of Juneau, explains legal ramifications of the state’s new ban on transgender girls participating in girls high school sports to the Juneau Board of Education on Tuesday night at Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
A lone berry hangs from a bush on the edge of a muskeg in which the author and his wife sought a buck, but found a doe. (Photo by Jeff Lund)

I Went to the Woods: Muskeg mornings

Twenty minutes after the first call and maybe two after the last sip of coffee, a gray body walked casually behind a smattering of brush… Continue reading

A lone berry hangs from a bush on the edge of a muskeg in which the author and his wife sought a buck, but found a doe. (Photo by Jeff Lund)
Jed Davis of Thunder Mountain High School, right, and Evan Andrew of Mt. Edgecumbe High School face off in the 125-pound division during the Southeast Showdown at TMHS on Saturday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

TMHS finishes top among boys on home mats in Southeast Showdown wrestling tournament

Ketchikan takes overall title, Falcons second in two-day, co-ed competition among eight schools.

Jed Davis of Thunder Mountain High School, right, and Evan Andrew of Mt. Edgecumbe High School face off in the 125-pound division during the Southeast Showdown at TMHS on Saturday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Amanda Savikko bowls a frame during the Juneau Special Olympics local games Sunday at Pinz bowling ally, where teams and participants were selected for the upcoming state games in Eagle River. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Local Special Olympics participants get into a free-for-ball knockdown

Three four-member bowling teams in weekend tournament advance to statewide event next month.

Amanda Savikko bowls a frame during the Juneau Special Olympics local games Sunday at Pinz bowling ally, where teams and participants were selected for the upcoming state games in Eagle River. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
NBA basketball legend Carlos Boozer looks to move the ball in the second half of an NBA All-Star Celebrity Game, Friday, Feb. 17, 2023, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rob Gray)

Carlos Boozer opens up about lessons learned and dreams come true

QA covers his book, lifelong friends in Juneau, faith and Kobe Bryant.

NBA basketball legend Carlos Boozer looks to move the ball in the second half of an NBA All-Star Celebrity Game, Friday, Feb. 17, 2023, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rob Gray)
Fisheries biologist Randy Brown of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Fairbanks handles a net used for dolly varden trout in northern Alaska. (Photo by Katrina Liebich)

Alaska Science Forum: Finned adventurers nosing into the Arctic

A few years ago, Randy Brown wondered if he might lose $50,000 he had just won as part of the Rachel Carson Award for Exemplary… Continue reading

  • Oct 20, 2023
  • By Ned Rozell
Fisheries biologist Randy Brown of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Fairbanks handles a net used for dolly varden trout in northern Alaska. (Photo by Katrina Liebich)
Thunder Mountain High School’s Kara Strong (16) knocks the ball past Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé’s Evelyn Richards (12) and Remi Starks (2) during the two local teams’ play-in game to reach the championship of the Juneau Invitational Volleyball Extravaganza at JDHS on Saturday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

TMHS finishes second, JDHS third as Chugiak repeats as champs at JIVE tournament

Crimson Bears overcome season-long struggles to make semifinal against high-flying Falcons.

Thunder Mountain High School’s Kara Strong (16) knocks the ball past Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé’s Evelyn Richards (12) and Remi Starks (2) during the two local teams’ play-in game to reach the championship of the Juneau Invitational Volleyball Extravaganza at JDHS on Saturday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
AI will attempt to replicate the feeling of a crisp morning in a snowy drainage, but it will never be the same…right? (Photo by Jeff Lund)

I Went to the Woods: A new era

I asked the artist if he had Instagram. “No, I’m from the Facebook era.” We both laughed. He looked it, but you can never tell.… Continue reading

AI will attempt to replicate the feeling of a crisp morning in a snowy drainage, but it will never be the same…right? (Photo by Jeff Lund)
A sign opposing the participation of transgender girls in girls sports is propped against a fire hydrant outside of the George A. Navarre Admin Building on Thursday, June 8, 2023, in Soldotna. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Ban on transgender girls from girls’ sports teams approved 5-3 by state school sports association

Juneau officials say enforcement specifics — and if they affect any local athletes — to be determined.

A sign opposing the participation of transgender girls in girls sports is propped against a fire hydrant outside of the George A. Navarre Admin Building on Thursday, June 8, 2023, in Soldotna. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)