Sports Briefs – May 8
The Kachemak Swim Club boys’ team collected 222 points to take the top spot at the Kenai Sprint Championships on Saturday.
In their last meet before summer, swimmers Clayton Arndt and James Nagle both took first place in individual points in their age divisions. Arndt amassed an impressive six first-place finishes in the 11-12-year-old category to earn 28 points and secure his win. Nagle grabbed 20 points.
Griffin Downey was second in his 11-12-year-old division with 19 points.
Tracksters get the best of Mother Nature’s Arctic insolence
A rather sad and pathetic snowman welcomed track and field athletes to Homer High School over the weekend to compete in the 2013 Kenai Peninsula Borough Track Meet. He was, perhaps, a not-so-friendly reminder that winter had still failed to loosen its grip on a much-anticipated Homer spring.
His appearance, however, as well as a few lingering patches of snow, did little to slow down competitors in the precursor to this weekend’s Region III meet in Nikiski. And Homer’s brand-spankin’ new track held up to it’s first real test of heavy duty competition.
Homer Divas go undefeated to take state hockey title
When it comes to Homer women’s hockey, apparently the seventh time is the charm.
Homer’s Divas took first place in the novice division of the USA Hockey Alaska State Tournament in Anchorage over the weekend. And, while this was their seventh year to compete in the tournament, it was their first year to come home with the championship banner.
Six teams from around the state competed in the novice division, and Homer faced a tough schedule against teams they had never played before.
The Divas kicked off tournament play Friday night against Nome, and had a strong game, despite missing two players to illness.
Emily Hutchison started the scoring for the Divas, finding the back of the net on a coast-to-coast breakaway. Chuck Flyum followed with a backdoor goal in the second period, and Karyn Noyes sealed Nome’s fate with the final goal of the game. Noyes also hammered the puck in with another straight shot from the backdoor.
Soccer teams try first grass of season against Houston, Wasilla
Mariner soccer teams finally got the chance to try out their first grass of the season this weekend as they traveled north to face the Wasilla Warriors and Houston Hawks in Northern Lights Conference action.
And, while the grass was a welcome addition to their game, the brutal wind was not.
Both Homer boys and girls teams dominated against Houston on Friday. The boys picked up an 11-0 shutout, while the girls blanked the Lady Hawks 8-0.
Things would not be quite so easy against the Warriors, as the Mariner boys fell 0-4, and the Lady M’s played Wasilla to a 2-2 tie.
“Houston’s game was a demonstration for us,” said Homer goaltender Grant Arseneau. “It was our first time playing on grass this year and it allowed us to get familiar with how our team mechanics work.
Mariners host Skyview Invite on new track
After years of cancellations, postponements and general track-related frustrations, it was finally Homer’s turn to step up and guest-host a track invitational for somebody else.
With much of Skyview’s track still underwater following a late and persistently unpredictable break-up, the Homer track program was happy to welcome some 10 teams from around Southcentral Alaska for the “Mariner version” of the Skyview Invitational on Saturday.
Sunny skies and a steady, brisk wind kept many athletes huddled together for warmth throughout the day. Most would remain in warm-ups and sweats until just moments before their events.
Grace Christian dominated the women’s events, outscoring their next closest finisher by 37 points. Homer girls took fifth, thanks in part to strong finishes by Tayla Cabana, Aurora Waclawski and three formidable relay teams.
KSC’s Clayton Arndt swims away with 7 top-3 finishes
Homer’s Clayton Arndt, 12, swam seven incredible races to lead Kachemak Swim Club in the 2013 Alaska Junior Olympic Championships in Anchorage over the weekend. Arndt picked up three first-place finishes, three second-place finishes and one third-place finish on his way toward dominating the Boys 11-12-year-old Junior Division.
KSC took 10 swimmers to compete in the JO Championships; a four-day meet that hosts nearly 200 events and several hundred swimmers.
Arndt placed first in the 100, 200 and 400 individual medley races. His second-place finishes came in the 50 and 100 freestyle and the 50 butterfly. He took third in the 100 butterfly, and finished third in the individual rankings with 127 points.
Mariner baseball boys look to ‘crank it up’ this season
While just about anyone can appreciate the stunning vistas surrounding Mariner baseball practice on the Homer Spit, any player — or coach — on the team will tell you they would much rather be practicing on real dirt and real grass, regardless of the view.
Having no snow on the field would also be a boon.
The Homer team was scheduled to kick off their 2013 season on the road against Kenai on Thursday, but the game was cancelled and re-scheduled for May 8. That means the M’s will open their season at home on May 3 against Kodiak.
Homer High School Athletic Director Pam Newton said she hopes the Homer field will be in playable condition by then. As of last week, it was still covered with snow.
Sports Briefs – April 24
Run with the torch This year, the Special Olympics Torch Run will be held on May 18 at 10 a.m. Sponsored by the Homer Police Department, the torch run acts as a fundraiser for Special Olympics athletes who participate in games around the state every year. Registration for the run will open at 9:30 a.m. [...]
Homer tracksters run away with Snowball Scramble
If the Mariner track team’s performance at Saturday’s Snowball Scramble was any indication of how effectively they’ve been practicing – in the school’s hallways, in the parking lot, along Pioneer Avenue – perhaps they should forgo their brand new million-dollar track, and just stick with a more old-school, street-smart regimen. (Picture Rocky Balboa pummeling a side of beef.)
It appears to be working.
Homer track and fielders scrambled to 11 first-place finishes in the Seward meet. They competed against the Seahawks, as well as the Colony Knights, and showed their versatility in both running and field events.
Skeeters shoot for big wins at Wasilla Trap Invitational
Seven members of the Kachemak Skeeters Youth Sport-Shooting Club traveled to compete in the Trap Invitational Shoot at Grassridge Shooting range in Wasilla on March 30. The team, ranging in age from eighth to tenth grade, competed against five other teams from Anchorage and the Valley.
“There were 12 medals on the table before the competition, and our kids brought home five of them,” said Skeeters spokesperson Amy Fetterhoff. “We’ve just got some really good shooters on our team.”
