Episodes – Page 218 – KVAK is your hometown radio station for Valdez, Alaska.

VHS Weekend Wrap-Up – March 11, 2019

March 11, 2019 8:32 pm|

CLICK HERE for Photos and Story

Girls Varsity Basketball (Coach Joe Robison):

Conference Championship Weekend

Thursday, March 7

The Valdez girls entered the Aurora Conference Tournament as the 2nd seed. The Lady Bucs squared off against the Monroe Rams, who defeated 6th seeded Eielson, on Thursday in a semifinal game, The game was close throughout, with the Lady Bucs holding a 16-14 lead. A strong 3rd quarter saw the Bucs pull ahead by 11, which ultimately resulted in a 36 – 27 win. The win would propel the Lady Bucs into the Championship game on Friday.

Valdez held Monroe to 26% shooting from the floor. The Lady Bucs also collected 21 offensive rebounds, en route to out-rebounding Monroe 45 – 19. The Bucs were led in scoring by Reese King with 12 pts. and Ally Seiber with 10 pts. Seiber also added 15 rebounds and 4 blocks. Jillian Fleming had a solid defensive game, totaling 5 steals.

Friday, March 8

On Friday, the Lady Bucs met the Hutchison Hawks for the Aurora Conference Championship. The game was a defensive struggle throughout, with the Lady Bucs playing their best defensive game of the season. Valdez held a 13 — 8 halftime lead, en route to a 33-23 win over the Hawks.

The Bucs held the Hawks to 18% from the field, while shooting 41% themselves. The biggest stat of the game was in the rebounding category, where the Lady Bucs out-rebounded the much larger Hawks 30 – 16.

The Lady Bucs were led in scoring by Ally Seiber and Ashley Ramoth, who had 8 pts. apiece. Jillian Fleming added 7 points. Fleming also had 15 rebounds and 3 steals, and was crucial on the defensive end. The win gave the Lady Bucs the 2019 Aurora Conference Championship, and a berth in the state tournament.

Sportsmanship Award: Jillian Fleming

All Conference Award: Ally Seiber and Reese King

Jade Watts and Ashley Ramoth also won the team “Around the World” Shooting Competition.

Coach’s Comments

“I am extremely proud of this group of young ladies. They have accomplished what no one, besides those in our locker room, thought they could. They are coachable, work extremely hard, and have earned everything they have gotten.

I know there are always individual awards given out, and that is the nature of tournaments and conferences. However, as the year has progressed, this group has really bought into our team concept. Everything we do is centered around who we are as a group, and that “team mentality” is what has made everything they have accomplished possible. It is an honor to make it to the state tournament, and I could not be prouder of these young ladies.”

Boys Varsity Basketball (Coach Bart Hinkle):

Thursday, March 7th: Valdez 60, Delta Junction 46

The Valdez Buccaneers entered the weekend boasting a 19-5 record, earning them the Aurora Conference regular-season title and number one seed entering the Aurora Conference Tournament. As the top seed, they received a first-round bye and awaited the winner of the Delta Junction-Hutchison Hawks matchup.

For the third consecutive Thursday, the Bucs took on the Delta Junction Huskies. This time the Buccaneers wasted little time in establishing their dominance, leading 19-11 after the first quarter and 37-8 after halftime. The lead extended to 56-22 after the third quarter and eventually resulted in a 60-46 victory.

Bennett Hinkle led all scorers with 22 points. Jalen Freeman and Kyler LaBonte each chipped in 12. Defensively, the Bucs forced Delta into 19 turnovers and successfully drew 5 offensive fouls [Kyler LaBonte, Rafael Alfaro, Bennett Hinkle, Logan Heckathorn, and Ike Watson each drew one].

The victory placed the Buccaneers in Friday evenings championship game, with the winner of that contest automatically qualifying for the State Tournament.

Friday, March 8th: Valdez 59, Eielson 44

Thursday night’s other semifinal contest saw the Eielson Ravens defeat the Monroe Rams, setting up a championship game of Valdez v. Eielson.

The Buccaneers again started off well, jumping out to an 18-11 first quarter lead, followed by a 33-22 halftime advantage. The Bucs won the third stanza as well, and took a 50-35 lead into the fourth quarter en route to a 59-44 victory and Aurora Conference Championship.

Bennett Hinkle led all scorers with 21 points and 7 rebounds. Logan Heckathorn netted 13 and also garnered 7 rebounds, while Kyler LaBonte chipped in 11 points. Bennett Hinkle and Logan Heckathorn each successfully drew an offensive foul.

Saturday, March 9th:

Having secured the Aurora Conference Championship the night before, the Bucs did not have to play on Saturday. Instead it was a day in which they could relax, watch basketball, participate in shooting contests, and – ultimately- reap the rewards of a season of hard work (see Awards).

Awards:

At the awards ceremony on Saturday, the following awards were bestowed upon the Bucs:

They were crowned the 2019 Aurora Conference Champions.

Logan Heckathorn and Jalen Freeman were recognized as the “Around the World” champions in a partner shooting contest that too place during a break in the action on Saturday afternoon.

Kyler LaBonte was voted onto the “All-Sport” team.

Logan Heckathorn, Ike Watson, and Jalen Freeman were named to the Aurora Conference All-Conference Team.

Bennett Hinkle was named the Aurora Conference MVP.

Coach Todd Wegner was recognized as the Aurora Conference Coach of the Year.

Notes:

The Buccaneers next take their 21-5 record, and #2 overall seed, to the State Tournament. On Thursday, March 21st -at 3:30- the Bucs will face a familiar foe in the #7 seed (and at-large recipient) Monroe Catholic Rams.

reese-king-cutting-down-the-net-photo-credit-to-joe-prax-2

Clean sweep for VHS at Aurora Conference Regional Basketball Tournament

March 11, 2019 7:41 pm|

Reese King cutting down the net, photo courtesy of Joe Prax

Valdez High School hosted the Aurora Conference Basketball tournament last weekend and both VHS basketball teams and the Buccaneer Cheerleading Team took 1st place. All three teams will be heading to the State Tournament in Anchorage March 21st, 22nd and 23rd.

Read Coach Wrap-Ups HERE

CLICK HERE for BOYS 3A STATE TOURNAMENT BRACKET

Valdez Buccaneer boys will face Monroe Catholic at 3:30pm Thursday.

CLICK HERE for GIRLS 3A STATE TOURNAMENT BRACKET

The Valdez girls will take on Nikiski at 8pm Thursday night

All Conference – Boys Most Valuable Player

#24 Bennett Hinkle

All Conference – Boys Basketball

#35 Logan Heckathorn

#25 Jalen Freeman

#33 Ike Watson

All Sport – Boys Basketball

Kyler Labonte

All-Conference Girls Basketball

#15 – Ally Seiber

#3 Reese King

All Sport – Girls Basketball

Jillian Fleming

All Conference Cheer

Alexis Stanford

All Sport Cheer

Katarina Taylor

Aurora Conference Championship Coaches of the Year

Girls – Joe Robison

Boys – Todd Wegner

‘Round the World Shooting Contest

Girls Winners – Jade Watts and Ashley Ramoth

Boys Winners – Jalen Freeman and Logan Heckathorn

CLICK HERE for video courtesy of Alaska 907

Valdez City Schools announces new principals for 2019-2020

March 8, 2019 11:44 pm|

Valdez City Schools announced their selection of Mr. Jon Berkeley as Valdez High School Principal and Mr. Jason Weber as Hermon Hutchens Elementary School Principal for the 2019-2020 school year.

Mr. Berkeley will be joining the District from Nome Public Schools with two decades of experience in the field of Education. Mr.

Weber will be joining us from Metlakatla, AK (Annette Island School District) with seventeen years of combined classroom and administrative experience.

Both candidates participated in initial interviews before visiting Valdez on March 6th and engaging with staff, students, and community members before sitting through a final interview.

VCS is excited to welcome Mr. Berkeley, Mr. Weber, and their families to the community and the District!

Welcome Baby Aria

March 8, 2019 11:18 pm|

Daniel and Pamela Cook welcomed Aria Marie Cook to the world on March 2^nd, 2019 at 11:48pm.

She weighed 9 lbs. 7.5 oz and was 21 inches long.

Congratulations!

Vegas in Valdez 2019

March 8, 2019 9:59 pm|

Snow Town Ice Classic

March 8, 2019 9:16 pm|

Valdez Mayors Cup

March 8, 2019 8:57 pm|

CLICK HERE for route map

Forest Reimann is the winner of the Frosty Fever $1,000 cash prize from KVAK

March 4, 2019 8:30 pm|

We’ve given out tons of prizes this year during Frosty Fever!

ON-AIR WINNERS

Brandy Smelcer – Dimond Center Hotel Stay

Lily Belnap – $100 at Fat Mermaid

Ahmed Ackhatib – $100 at The Prospector

Scott McCumby – Subway Office Party

Jason Ravary – Smart Phone from Copper Valley Telecom

Grant Osburn – $100 car wash card from Capt’n Joe’s

Forest Reimann – $1000 Cash from KVAK

John Fannin – ATV Bag ($300) from South Central Hardware

Congratulations to all!

Thanks for listening!

FROSTY FEVER BY THE NUMBERS

KVAK has a small staff who works really hard to put everything together to make KVAK’s Frosty Fever a reality. Planning, coordinating events, researching and ordering prizes and working with local businesses begins months in advance. It’s exciting to see how so many people can be pulled together by local radio! (and a good thing to keep in mind when you’re in need of advertising). Here’s a sneak peak behind the scenes!

Check out some of this year’s numbers:

· 10 Days of community fun!

· $2,000 – Value of On-Air Prizes

· $1,000+ in spotted prizes

· 1,250 buttons = $685

· 17 businesses offering discounts and specials

· 30 community events

· 24 Festival sponsors

· 30 KVAK hats and t-shirts given away

· More than 300 Kids Prizes Purchased

· 100+ Kids Prize Packets handed out

· 500 Frosty Fever cups purchased

· 1,000 Frosty Fever decals purchased and given away

· More than 1,200 copies of Discounts/Specials & Festival Schedule printed

(We used to print a lot more but people are downloading from website

· KVAK makes it all happen with only 4 KVAK employees plus temporary help and volunteers

Thanks to our major title sponsors!

VHS Weekend Wrap-Up – March 4, 2019

March 4, 2019 6:10 pm|

JV Boys Basketball (Coach Lee Chadwick):

On Thursday the boys JV basketball team played Delta in Delta Junction. We led at the half by 4 points. The 3rd quarter was a high scoring quarter by both teams, with the teams tied going in to the 4th. Ultimately, we allowed Delta too many second chance baskets, and ended up losing the game by a score of 45-50. It was a hard fought, exciting game to watch. Aiden McAtee led the Bucs with 17 points, and Dennis Mott had 7 rebounds.

On Friday, we had an informal scrimmage session with Monroe Catholic. We competed well, and only lost 1 of the several “quarters” we played them.

Saturday was the JV’s final game against the West Valley Wolfpack. Having split two games with them previously this year, the game promised to be a good one. Our team expanded by 5 players from the varsity team that were unable to travel, and they played the bulk of the minutes. An early lead by the Bucs melted away at the end of the half, West Valley led for most of the 2nd half, with the Bucs narrowing it to a 1 point lead in the 4th quarter. Ultimately, turnovers and shot selections in the final few minutes hampered our effort at a comeback, and we ended up losing by 4 points. Stats were unavailable for this game as the statisticians were video-streaming the game for people back home. Despite the loss, it was great opportunity for the younger varsity players to get some valuable game time prior to them heading in to the upcoming region and state tournaments.

Varsity Girls Basketball (Coach Joe Robison):

Thursday, March 28 @ Delta

The Lady Bucs played at Delta on Thursday night, and despite a long bus ride, were able to come away with a 41–23 win. The Bucs relied heavily on their defense, as they struggled shooting from the floor. The Lady Bucs forced 30 turnovers, and held Delta to 20% from the field. Valdez was led by Ally Sieber with 12 points and Jade Watts with 9 points. Reese King also had 9 steals.

Friday, March 1 @ Galena

The Lady Bucs lost 37-53 to a really good, and hot shooting Galena team on Friday night. The Lady Hawks made 6 three–pointers in the first quarter, en route to 12 for the game. The Lady Bucs fought hard, but were not able to overcome the hot shooting of the Lady Hawks. Galena ended the game going 12 for 21 from the 3 point line.

Saturday, March 2 @ Galena

Despite their best defensive performance of the year, the Lady Bucs fell to Galena 28-30 on Saturday. The Lady Bucs held a very good offensive team to 22% from the field while forcing 25 turnovers. Reese King and Jade Watts had excellent defensive games, with King totaling 8 steals. The Bucs had the lead late in the 4th quarter, before a late Galena score.

Coach’s Comments

“I was really proud of how the girls responded on Saturday night. Galena is an excellent basketball team that can really score. We didn’t have an answer for their hot shooting on Friday, but were able to get back to our defensive identity on Saturday. We really pride ourselves in being relentless on the defensive end, and I thought we di that. We just didn’t play well enough offensively. The regional tournament should be a lot of fun.”

Varsity Boys Basketball (Coach Bart Hinkle):

Thursday, February 28th: Valdez 65, Delta Junction 43

For the second consecutive week, the Bucs traveled north for a 3-day Aurora Conference stint – with the Thursday game against the Delta Junction Huskies.

Unlike the week prior, the Buccaneers took the court with desire and an intensity that not only matched, but exceeded, that of the hometown Huskies. The first quarter saw the Huskies sink 3 three-pointers en route to a tally of 16, but the Bucs answered with 18 points of their own to take a 2-point lead into the 2nd quarter. It was a lead they would not relinquish the rest of the night, as they outscored Delta 17-8 in the second quarter to enter intermission up 35-24.

The spirited effort and quality play continued in the 3rd quarter, with the Bucs netting 16 and the Huskies 14. In the fourth quarter Delta only managed 5 points while the Bucs scored 14 to cement a 65-43 victory. The win represented not only an Aurora Conference road win, but also one of the more complete victories the Bucs registered this season, and a 33-point swing from the previous contest versus Delta.

The Bucs outrebounded the Huskies 29-21 and forced them into 17 turnovers, while only committing 8 of their own. All 12 rostered Buccaneers registered playing time, with three players scoring in double figures: Bennett Hinkle (21 points, 5 assists), Jalen Freeman (15 points, 5 rebounds), and Logan Heckathorn (14 points). Ike Watson grabbed 8 rebounds and successfully drew an offensive foul.

Friday, March 1st: Valdez 51, Galena 18

On Friday, 7 of the 12 Varsity Buccaneers traveled to Galena to face the Hawks in the last two regular season games of the season. The Buccaneers entered the weekend as the #1 seed in the upcoming Regional Tournament, but needed 2 road wins to solidify the seeding.

The Bucs ensured their seeding was not in jeopardy on Friday, as they thoroughly outmatched the Hawks – holding the home team to single digit scoring in each of the four quarters, en route to a dominant 51-18 win. The Bucs used early pressure to establish a 14-2 first quarter lead, followed by a 30-11 halftime advantage. In the third quarter the Hawks were blanked, but for a lone free throw – resulting in a 41-12 Buccaneer lead entering the fourth quarter.

Valdez held Galena to 8-for-37 shooting from the floor and forced them into 18 turnovers. The Buccaneers featured a balanced offensive attack, with Kyler LaBonte leading (12 points), followed by Bennett Hinkle and Ike Watson (10 points apiece). Ike Watson also snatched 13 rebounds and successfully drew an offensive foul.

Saturday, March 2nd: Valdez 64, Galena 33

Saturday night was Senior Night for the Galena Hawks, who were kind enough to recognize the Valdez Seniors as well prior to tip-off of the boys game. The Galena gym was standing-room only and pulsing with atmosphere after witnessing a thrilling finish to a hotly contested girls contest. The Galena boys fed off the emotion to begin the game, jumping out to an early lead and scoring 8 first quarter points. The Bucs responded mid-quarter and were able to establish a 15-8 lead entering the 2nd quarter. Each team matched their first quarter offensive output in the second quarter – resulting in a 30-16 Buccaneer lead at halftime. The Bucs took control of the game in the third, outscoring Galena 21-5, and cruised to a 64-33 victory.

All 8 rostered Buccaneers saw sizable game action, as Justin Prax traded in the brown oxford dress shoes for some ivory-white Adidas when he was called into action during the second half. Prax was a clear crowd favorite throughout the fourth quarter, but the frenzy-inducing moment for the crowd came when Douglas Cummins received the ball on the right wing, stepped back, and drained a 3-pointer.

Cummins wasn’t the only hot Buccaneer for the night, as Logan Heckathorn shot a scintillating 10-of-12 from the floor, including 5-of-6 from behind the arc, on his way to scoring 27 points. Heckathorn also successfully drew an offensive foul. Bennett Hinkle chipped in 10 points while dishing out 8 assists and notching 6 steals. Jalen Freeman netted 9 in less than one half of play.

Notes:

The Buccaneers finished the 2018-2019 regular season with an 8-2 record in the Aurora Conference, tied with Monroe Catholic and good enough (via tiebreaker) for the #1 seed in the upcoming Aurora Conference Regional Tournament. On Thursday evening (March 7th), the Bucs will take on the winner of the #4/#5 game featuring the Hutchison Hawks and Delta Huskies.

This Week in Sports:

Valdez will be hosting the 2019 Aurora Conference Basketball Tournament on March 7 – 9. This is a double elimination tournament with 6 boys teams and 6 girls teams. Visiting teams are: Delta, Eielson, Hutchison, Monroe, and Galena. Games start at 9am on Thursday, March 7th, in the High School Gym.

CLICK HERE for Girls Bracket and HERE for Boys Bracket

valdez-spring-fling-volleyball-tournament-gms-2019-2-2

GMS Valdez Spring Fling volleyball tournament results

March 4, 2019 5:41 pm|

CLICK HERE for Complete Results

CLICK HERE for A Division bracket and HERE for B Division

20 teams with 160 players from around Alaska competed in the Valdez Spring Fling volleyball tournament this past weekend, hosted by Gilson Middle School Huskies. Round robin play took place on Friday, and the GMS Lady Huskies A1 Team seeded 1st, A2 seeded 8th, B1 Team seeded 7th and B2 seeded 3rd. Saturday’s games were exciting and two of our teams landed in the championship games. End results were Valdez JV taking home the 2nd place trophy, falling to Redington in 3 sets. Valdez Varsity won the championship game against Tok in 2 sets.

All Tourney medals for the JV division went to Alina Kockentiet, Kelsey Prax, and HaileyAnne Depoppe-Lent. For the Varsity division, All Tourney went to Sophia Hodgkins, Lily Brown, Peyton Wade, Ariel Voth, and Carsyn Hinkle.

Sportsmanship awards went to Violet Sweat, Anika Palomar, Rylee Christensen, and Ginger Keller.

Nice job Lady Huskies!