Mar. 16—Welcome back to The Rewind, a weekly digest that puts a spotlight on the biggest stories and best performances from Alaska's world of sports.
Last week featured several notable individual and team performances across the Alaska sports landscape at the high school and professional levels, as well as new developments on the college front. The high school basketball postseason for the 1A and 2A levels wrapped up. On the college scene, the University of Alaska Anchorage and Fairbanks ski teams shined at nationals. Outside the state, several Alaskans had impressive performances and career achievements worth recognizing and celebrating in their respective arenas.
Headlines and highlights
Some skiers have to wait an entire year to claim back-to-back national titles, but UAF's Rosie Fordham was able to pull off the feat in a matter of days at the 2026 NCAA national ski championships. The Australian skier — fresh off a historic showing for her home country at the Winter Olympics — capped off her collegiate career by claiming the women's 20K freestyle title, winning by nearly half a minute Saturday. Two days earlier, she won the 7.5K classic race by more than a minute.
"It's a huge result for us, with our third individual national champion in four years," interim head coach Ben Buck said in a statement after Thursday's classic win. "She skied with poise and confidence and a determination that no other skier could match today. She said last spring that she wanted to win this race, and we've been working on her classic technique all year, so it's very gratifying to see all her hard work pay off."
While the UAA ski team didn't have any national champions crowned, there were still several strong performers. Senior Alpine skier Ella Bromee got it started on Wednesday by finishing seventh overall in the giant slalom with a mark of 2:06.43. She concluded her collegiate career with her fifth All American honor by coming in sixth place in the slalom Saturday.
"Another big day for Ella," UAA head coach Sparky Anderson said in a statement. "Starting 15th, she did enough to keep herself in the mix for a shot at the podium second run. Conditions first run were OK, but the warm air and sun softened the race surface ... Running late in the flip, Ella put down a very solid run in super tough conditions to move from eighth to sixth. Another All-American result and just a fantastic way to finish off a brilliant NCAA ski racing career. So happy for her."
On the Nordic side, junior Corbin Carpenter and sophomore Erling Bjornstad each earned All-American honors to lead UAA to an eighth-place finish on Saturday, the final day of competition. Carpenter came in sixth in the 20K freestyle with a time of 46:22.7, and Bjornstad was 10th with a mark of 46:43.7.
"So exciting to watch our Nordic group today," Anderson said. "They absolutely crushed it. Tremendous job by everyone this week. All seven of our national championship qualifiers skied their hearts out to contribute points and combined for seven All-American finishes. We really showed our strength even with a smaller group. Proud to be in the Elite Eight nationally and the top Division II team in the country. It's an honor to work with these athletes and coaches."
While the ski team was hitting the slopes and trails, the UAA track and field team traveled to Virginia Beach, Virginia, to take part in the indoor national championships. Chugiak's Anders Larsen earned All-American honors with a 14th-place finish in the heptathlon, compiling a final score of 4,982 points. The junior ran 8.54 in the 60 hurdles (851 points), cleared 3.75/12-3.5 in the pole vault and finished with a personal-best time of 2:57.37 in the 1,000 (690 points).
"Really proud of the effort and toughness Liv (Heite) and Anders showed over these two days of competition," UAA head coach Ryan McWilliams said in a statement. "Things didn't really go the way we wanted, and we know both these athletes have more, but getting here proves that even more. We are excited to chase a great outdoor season and outdoor nationals."
The UAA gymnastics team last week took part in their regular-season finale against William & Mary University in Williamsburg, Virginia. While they didn't secure team victories in their two dual meets against the Tribe, the Seawolves did post new season highs in team scoring with a mark of 192.275 on Thursday, followed by a score of 192.675 on Saturday. Junior Claudia Lessig won the beam event in both meets while freshman Tessa Richardson won the vault with a season-best score of 9.8.
"It's great to see the consistent improvements from practice translating to the competition floor," UAA head coach Marie-Sophie Boggasch said in a statement. "It was another day full of season- and career-highs, boosted by two stuck vaults for the first time this season."
The Anchorage Wolverines continued to roll over the weekend with a three-game series sweep over the visiting Janesville Jets, improving their win streak to four. They never trailed in any of the games and were able to build multi-goal leads in each before the Jets were able to get on the board. Between the three bouts, Anchorage outscored Janesville 13-3 and had four skaters record multiple goals, including brothers Luc and Rylan Bydal.
"It was a huge weekend for us sweeping the three-game series against a very good Janesville team that was right behind us in the league standings," Wolverines head coach Mike Aikens said. "Sunday's win eliminated Janesville's chance at making the playoffs and moved us into a tie for third place in division, only three points behind second place Fairbanks."
Alaska stars shining Outside
Anchorage's Brandon Pili will be staying in the Pacific Northwest for another season after the Seattle Seahawks re-signed him to a one-year deal worth $2 million. The former Dimond star carved out a role for himself in the defensive line rotation for the Super Bowl champions in what was also his most productive season to date. Pili set career highs across the board by appearing in 13 regular-season games and recording 12 total tackles, making his first career start and his first career forced fumble. The third-year pro appeared in two of the team's playoff games and recorded a pair of solo tackles and one assisted.
Anchorage's Jeremy Swayman picked up his 25th and 26th wins as the starting goaltender for the Boston Bruins last week. He made 15 saves in a 2-1 overtime win over the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday and followed it up with 26 saves in a 3-2 shootout win over the Washington Capitals on Saturday.
Anchorage's Daishen Nix furnished another double-double for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in the NBA G-League on Saturday. In a 123-121 win over the Salt Lake City Stars, he tied for the team lead in scoring with 22 points and led the team with 10 assists and three steals.
Soldotna's Jacob Strausbaugh capped off his sensational freshman season at the University of Mary by becoming just the second ever NCAA Division II national champion in program history. The three-time ASAA state champion and four-time state finalist bested Landers' James Joplin 5-3 to claim the title at the 133-pound weight class. After trailing 3-1 entering the final period, he got within one point with an early escape and took the lead with a takedown in the final 33 seconds of the match, and rode the rest of the time off the clock.
"It feels amazing, I feel so blessed," Strausbaugh said via UMary Sports. "It was just another match but it was a really fun match ... I saw that he was really tired and I felt that and tried to open him up and he wanted to dive at my ankles. That's where I'm good at so I just took advantage of that."
The 49th state was well represented last week at the U.S. Junior National cross-country ski championships as Team Alaska won two of the three relay races in Cable, Wisconsin, on Saturday. As a result, Team Alaska clinched the Alaska Cup, an honor awarded to the highest-scoring team in the four-race series.
The medalists included Finn Dudley, who became a four-time honoree, while Jack Leveque, Chase Laker and Ethan Elliott became three-time honorees and Solvej Lunoe, Mia Stiassny and Miya Kam-Magruder became two-time honorees.
Anchorage biathlete Maxime Germain helped the U.S. mixed relay team make history Sunday with a bronze-medal-winning performance at the IBU World Cup Biathlon competition in Otepaa, Estonia. He skied the opening leg and the team finished in a time of 1:17:06.6, earning the first mixed-relay medal in U.S. Biathlon history and one of only two relay medals in program history.
Anchorage's Isaiah Moses posted a pair of double-digit scoring performances for the Eastern Washington University men's basketball team in the Big Sky Conference tournament last week. In an 84-79 win over Weber State on Monday, the former Dimond star and Gatorade Player of the Year finished second on the team with 22 points and nearly had a double-double with a team-leading eight assists. In an 81-68 loss to Idaho in the semifinal round, he tied for the third-most points on the team with 10 and led the Eagles with six rebounds.
Anchorage's Coen Niclai recorded another season-high for the Arizona State University baseball team on Friday in a 5-4 loss to TCU. While the former Service star and two-time Gatorade Player of the Year didn't register a hit on his two at-bats, he posted a season-high 15 putouts behind the plate as a catcher.
(If you know of an Alaska athlete who has achieved a standout performance or reached a noteworthy milestone Outside, email sports@adn.com or jreed@adn.com with the details.)
Fast Forward
Prep
Basketball
ASAA 3A/4A State Championship Tournament at Alaska Airlines Center, Wednesday-Saturday
The top teams from across the state at the 3A and 4A levels will descend on Anchorage to wrap up the playoffs for the 2025-26 season. The state title games will take place Saturday at 1:30 and 3 p.m. for 3A, and 6 and 7:30 p.m. for 4A.
NAHL
Anchorage Wolverines vs. Kenai River Brown Bears at Sullivan Arena, Friday and Saturday
The Wolverines will continue their three-week homestand for the remainder of the month against Kenai River as they continue their push to secure a playoff spot.
"Our focus now is preparing for a greatly improved Kenai series next weekend at Sullivan Arena," Aikens said. "Kenai plays extremely hard and has beaten all of the top teams in our division as of late, so our preparation will have to be excellent."
Last week's results
High School
Basketball
Girls
Wednesday
Tri-Valley 70, Kake 16
Shaktoolik 64, Akiak 14
Shishmaref 62, Hoonah 37
Sand Point 60, Napaaqtugmiut 30
Newhalen 50, Akiuk Memorial 46
Davis-Romoth 54, Cook Inlet Academy 32
Scammon Bay 54, Nunamiut 38
Fort Yukon 63, St. Mary's 22
Thursday
Seward 64, Chevak 11
Metlakatla 34, Cordova 22
Shishmaref 56, Davis-Romoth 52
Hoonah 38, Cook Inlet Academy 30
Akiuk Memorial 52, Nunamiut 39
Newhalen 67, Scammon Bay 37
Craig 50, Susitna Valley 46
Glennallen 33, Unalakleet 25
Fort Yukon 48, Sand Point 29
Napaaqtugmiut 60, St. Mary's 39
Kake 38, Akiak 25
Tri-Valley 56, Shaktoolik 46
Friday
Susitna Valley 45, Unalakleet 32
Cordova 62, Chevak 33
Napaaqtugmiut 42, Kake 27
Shaktoolik 60, Sand Point 47
Akiuk Memorial 51, Hoonah 41
Scammon Bay 59, Davis-Romoth 40
Glennallen 48, Craig 37
Seward 53, Metlakatla 23
Newhalen 50, Shishmaref 43
Fort Yukon 52, Tri-Valley 26
Saturday
Akiuk Memorial 66, Napaaqtugmiut 35
Cordova 32, Susitna Valley 27
Shaktoolik 46, Scammon Bay 27
Craig 52, Metlakatla 36
Tri-Valley 48, Shishmaref 42
Fort Yukon 52, Newhalen 49
Seward 42, Glennallen 26
Boys
Wednesday
King Cove 88, Aniak 49
Shishmaref 67, Skagway 50
Shaktoolik 98, Chief Ivan Blunka 62
Minto 76, Emmonak 40
Napaaqtugmiut 60, Scammon Bay 54
Walter Northway 64, Klawock 60
Cook Inlet Academy 64, Eek 15
Davis-Romoth 69, Nunamiut 60
Thursday
Klawock 67, Eek 42
Walter Northway 81, Cook Inlet Academy 71
Chief Ivan Blunka 68, Scammon Bay 52
Shaktoolik 73, Napaaqtugmiut 23
Ninilchik 52, Cordova 25
Metlakatla 50, Susitna Valley 39
Skagway 99, Nunamiut 41
Shishmaref 47, Davis-Romoth 44
Minto 52, King Cove 45
Aniak 66, Emmonak 58
Haines 68, Tikigaq 34
Unalakleet 78, Tok 42
Friday
Skagway 83, Aniak 48
King Cove 70, Davis-Romoth 64
Cook Inlet Academy 66, Napaaqtugmiut 20
Klawock 66, Chief Ivan Blunka 36
Susitna Valley 53, Cordova 31
Tikigaq 62, Tok 42
Shaktoolik 93, Walter Northway 72
Minto 59, Shishmaref 54
Ninilchik 49, Metlakatla 32
Haines 42, Unalakleet 41
Saturday
Susitna Valley 63, Tikigaq 45
Shishmaref 71, Walter Northway 62
Cook Inlet Academy 63, King Cove 43
Klawock 62, Skagway 47
Unalakleet 46, Metlakatla 44
Shaktoolik 60, Minto 46
Ninilchik 53, Haines 38
College
Gymnastics
Thursday
William & Mary 193.875, UAA 192.275
Saturday
William & Mary 194.650, UAA 192.675
Men's basketball
Friday
Cal State Dominguez Hills 69, UAA 58
NAHL
Friday
Anchorage Wolverines 3, Janesville Jets 1
Saturday
Anchorage Wolverines 5, Janesville Jets 1
Sunday
Anchorage Wolverines 5, Janesville Jets 1
2026 Shamrock Shuffle
Female Overall
1: Harley Taylor, Eagle River, AK 20:58; 2: Sofija Spaic, Palmer, AK 21:55; 3: Alisa Vereshchagin, Anchorage, AK 22:16; 4: Hallidie Phillips, Anchorage, AK 23:15; 5: Michelle Isaev, Anchorage, AK 23:20; 6: Regina Fiacco, Anchorage, AK 23:29; 7: Jane Johnson, Anchorage, AK 24:26; 8: Becky Gallegos, Anchorage, AK 24:28; 9: Danielle Blair, Anchorage, AK 24:29; 10: Jennifer Page, Anchorage, AK 25:27; 11: Suzanne Ward, Anchorage, AK 25:52; 12: Isabel Evans, anchorage, AK 25:55; 13: Valerie De Wandel, Anchorage, AK 25:57; 14: Terina Noteboom, Anchorage, AK 25:59; 15: Lyubov Dovba, Wasilla, AK 26:13; 16: Emily Smith, Victor, NY 26:14; 17: Jennifer McGrath, Anchorage, AK 26:18; 18: KayLynn Chrisman, Sutherlin, OR 26:21; 19: Ashley Shaw, Eagle River, AK 26:30; 20: Hailee Rahm, Palmer, AK 27:06; 21: Staci Gulsvig, Anchorage, AK 27:20; 22: Brittany Allen, Wasilla, AK 27:28; 23: Janae Klimczak, Anchorage, AK 27:29; 24: Marta Burke, Anchorage, AK 27:31; 25: Chloe Bee, Anchorage, AK 27:35; 26: Kelsea Johnson, Anchorage, AK 27:45; 27: Brittany Barclay, Anchorage, AK 27:45; 28: Krystal Einowski, Sterling, AK 27:51; 29: Rita McKenzie, Anchorage, AK 28:24; 30: Taylor Howe, Eagle River, AK 28:29
Male Overall
1: Jeff Lazar, Anchorage, AK 18:14; 2: Atlas Payne, Eagle River, AK 20:04; 3: Brett Evans, Anchorage, AK 20:09; 4: Sigurd Roenning, Anchorage, AK 20:16; 5: Nick Schollmeier, Dillingham, AK 20:33; 6: Jose Molina, Anchorage, AK 20:50; 7: Robert Venable, Wasilla, AK 20:54; 8: Ryan Murdock, Anchorage, AK 21:02; 9: Anders Higgs, Anchorage, AK 21:24; 10: Lavar Marshall, Palmer, AK 21:25; 11: Joshua Varland, Palmer, AK 22:09; 12: Grant Ellingson, Anchorage, AK 22:19; 13: Brenden Stokes, JBER, AK 22:19; 14: Scott Clemetson, Anchorage, AK 22:25; 15: Nolan Doloughan, Anchorage, AK 22:30; 16: David Shaw, Eagle River, AK 22:34; 17: Seth Severa, Anchorage, AK 22:39; 18: Francisco Leon, Anchorage, AK 22:54; 19: Bret Connor, Anchorage, AK 23:06; 20: Gus Fonkert, Dillingham, AK 23:06; 21: Connor Blair, Palmer, AK 23:20; 22: Jorge Portell-Guzman, Anchorage, AK 23:22; 23: Randall Erickson, Anchorage, AK 23:26; 24: Greg Gedemer, Wasilla, AK 23:36; 25: Dan Burke, Anchorage, AK 23:44; 26: Axel Udall, Eagle River, AK 23:45; 27: Benny Figgs, Anchorage, AK 23:48; 28: Nathan Musgrave, Anchorage, AK 23:48; 29: Jonathon Einowski, Sterling, AK 23:55; 30: William Spencer, West Monroe, LA 24:09
