Episodes

Cross Country Running Regionals:  (Coach Mel Koontz)

9/22/18  Region VI Championships

Saturday was filled with exciting races at Birch Hill Recreational Area in Fairbanks.  The rain from the last few days gifted the runners with giant puddles and muddy bogs to cross.  After jogging the course, the runners’ hopes of getting personals bests was quickly squashed.

Going into the races, Junior Kalin Woods was favored to make it to state for the Buccaneers.  He came prepared with spikes and determination. Junior Rafael Alfaro has made great progress this year and could also finish in the top 15 to qualify for State.  The muddy hills were frustrating during practice, so Senior Dustin Woods graciously offered his spikes so Alfaro would have a fighting chance to qualify.

Freshman William Benes and Sophmore Wyatt Mehlberg started the day’s events running in Junior Varsity for the Buccaneers.  Benes was disappointed that he didn’t get a personal best, but he has improved immensely this season and is already looking forward to the next year.  Benes finished 9th in Division II with a time of 26:05.9. Mehlberg remained steady during his run and finished the difficult course in 33:37.9. He plugged along through the mud, attacking every puddle and bog that he faced.

Next up was the Varsity Boys.  Kalen Woods started fast and immediately took the lead for the first 800 meters.  Alfaro wasn’t far behind him and Dustin Woods came sauntering by towards the back of the pack.  After completing the first lap, K. Woods was in 12th place overall and Alfaro was in the top 20.  D. Woods was fighting the slippery hills and remained towards the back of the middle pack. K. Woods held his position and with hardly anything left to give, finished in 18:41.9, 13th place overall and in 3rd place for Division II.  K. Woods worked hard all season and dreamed of State, now his dream has come true. Alfaro was just shy of two minutes behind K. Woods. He turned it up for a sprint across the finish line at 20:25.8, giving him 9th place in Division II and a qualifying place for State.  Just under 5 minutes later, D. Woods picks up the pace to finish in 25:10.8 for 27th place.

Lastly, Katelyn Wadsworth represented the Buccaneers in the Varsity Girls race.  Wadsworth planned to take advantage of any grassy areas to avoid slipping on the mud.  We saw several varsity boys play slip n’ slide down the big hill heading into the stadium.  At the start, Wadsworth veered way to the left, away from the pack, to run on the grass. This strategy put her right in the middle of the pack, a position she was able to hold onto.  After a frustrating season of persistent shin splints, Wadsworth gave it her all and pushed through the pain for her last race. Little did she know that she qualified, just under the wire, in 14th place with a time of 26:36.3.  Wadsworth was stunned when the boys shared the news. She will spend the week recuperating for State next Saturday.

This was a whirlwind of a season.  The team grinned and bared weekend after weekend of travel.  They gave 100% at every practice and everyone showed enormous improvement from the first day of the practice.  A coach couldn’t have asked for a more dedicated and determined group of athletes. I am so proud of how far they have come from where they started and that they now see where they can go.

Kalin Woods, Rafael Alfaro, Katie Wadsworth

Swimming:  (Coach Carl Young)

Buccaneer Swimming – North Pole Invite, North Pole, September 21st

The Valdez Buccaneer Swim Team had a rough week & was not able to have our full roster attend this meet. However, we had swimmers swim Personal Best Times or PBT; and  Numerous swimmers placed in the top 6 in their races scoring the Buccaneers enough points for the swim team to place 5th overall beating Monroe & Eielson High Schools.

Swimmers who swam PBT are Abigail Sims in her 200 Freestyle with a time of 2:46.71 & 100 Freestyle with a time of 1:14.46, Marshal Lewis in his 100 Freestyle with a time of 1:16.33, Victoria Korenev in her 100 Butterfly with a time of 1:22.49, and Isaac Clubb in his 100 Freestyle with a time of 1:03.42.

Swimmers who placed in the Top 6 & scored points for VHS include:

• Victoria Korenev, 200 Indiviual Medley, 6th Place
• Grace Keller, 100 Backstroke, 6th Place
• Isaac Clubb, 200 Individual Medley, 6th Place
• Isaiah Silveira, 100 Freestyle, 5th Place
• Chase Randall, 100 Butterfly & 100 Breaststroke, 5th Place
• Calvin Gondek, 500 Freestyle, 6th place
• Jeffrey Prevost, 100 Backstroke, 1st Place

Both the Boys & Girls 200 Medley Relays placed 4th overall. The Girls 200 Freestyle Relay placed 5th overall, and the Boys 400 Freestyle Relay placed 4th overall.

The Buccaneer Swimmer of this Week goes to Abigail Sims who had an excellent meet and dropped the most time out of everyone on the team!

The Valdez Buccaneer Swim Team will be swimming at home this week! Friday’s swimming begins at 4:00 pm & Saturday’s swimming begins at 10:30 am, so come out and support your Buccaneer Swimmers!

Rifle:  (Coach Jim Larcom)

Valdez High School had their First Ever Rifle Meet on Friday, September 21st  against Lathrop High School!

The Team scores in Standing 60 Air:   Lathrop – 2233 and Valdez – 2171

The Team scores in 3×20 Small Bore:   Lathrop – 1989 and Valdez – 2055

Totals:  Lathrop – 4222 and Valdez – 4226

It was a great start for the High School Rifle Team.  Hard to believe it was so close considering how many points were scored.  The Lathrop Team and Coach were very appreciative of the warm reception them received in Valdez.

2018 – 2019 Rifle Team Members are:

Senior:  Seinna Schaeffer

Juniors:  Sara Bauman, Tiffany Larcom, Ashlee Schaeffer, Colin Bourg

Sophomore:  Sydney McKay

Freshmen:   Jared Humphrey

Coaches:  Victoria Hedman & Jim Larcom

Senior – Seinna  Schaeffer

Varsity Volleyball:  (Coach Adam Sharrai)

The Lady Bucs traveled north to Delta last weekend for their first Conference games of the Season.  Just half way through the season, the Bucs took Delta Friday night, in 3 straight games 25-10, 25-17, and 25-13. They played well and looking comfortable with their teamwork.  Serving was on with Jade Watts, Carlee Fleming, Sydney Johnson, and Kendal Wesenberg all between 70% and 91%.  Carlee  Fleming served up 12 for 11 points with two Aces, while Sydney Johnson also had 2 Aces.  Sydney Johnson lead the Bucs kill ratio at 81 % for the set, flooring 13 out of 16 attempts.  Kassi Howard and Ally Sieber 9 for 7 at 78 %, while Jade Watts was 5 for 2, Carlee Fleming 1 for 1, and Maison Anderson was 2 for 2.

The Lady Bucs began Saturday a little sluggishly dropping Game One 22-25. Then they collecting themselves, finishing the next three games 25-18, 25-17, and 25-22 to finish the set with Delta.  The Lady Bucs struggled to find their rhythm and court communication, but managed to get the job done.   They are looking forward to improving their communication and court skills this week in preparation for next weekends Home matches with Hutchison.

Nice job sticking by each other when things were running a little rough and keep up your efforts—work hard Lady Bucs!  Go Bucs!

JV Volleyball:  (Coach Katie Burns)

This weekend the Valdez Buccaneer Volleyball Team traveled to Delta to compete against the Delta Huskies.  The Junior Varsity team was able to split into two teams of six athletes to play against the Huskies B and C Junior Varsity squads.

One obstacle the Lady Buccaneers faced was having different teammates playing positions that they were not as accustomed to.  Our C squad was missing both regular setters from their lineup this weekend and with only six players for the bench, this meant that every player played front and back row.  After a rocky beginning in the first set where the Bucs lost 22 to 25, this team came back in the next two sets to win the match in three sets (25-20 and 15-10).  Bekah Ambacher’s consistent serving (12 serves) changed the momentum of the game and helped this team solidify the victory for Friday night.

Their Saturday performance was even stronger.  Ambacher continued to lead the team in serves and was joined by Anna Agcaoili, each making 14 successful serves.   Marianne Prax contributed 7 serves and 4 attacks on the net that were kills.  This team swept their competition in two sets to win the match (25-19 and 25-14).

Our B squad struggled on Friday.  Our main obstacles were returning the serve, moving our feet, and making our serves playable.  Bekah Ambacher (who played with both C and B teams on Friday night) helped the team make a valiant effort at a comeback by knocking out 10 points with her consistent serves, unfortunately the team lost the match in two sets, 15-25 and 28-30.

On Saturday our team stepped onto the court with an entirely different attitude.  Passing, serving, setting up attacks, covering each other were all skills exhibited on Saturday that were missing on Friday.  The effort made a drastic difference.  The Buccaneer B Team won the first two sets 25-10 and 25-13.  Savannah Cockerham scored 9 serves with 4 kills on the net. Bim Palomar scored 9 serves with 3 kills on the net. Aly Metzger scored 6 serves with 4 kills on the net.

As this team’s coach I was proud of their determination to improve.  The team was not satisfied with their performance on Friday.  They channeled their frustration into an opportunity to get better individually and as a team.  Well done.

Football:  (Coach Lee Chadwick)

Football Weekend Recap

The football team visited the Eielson Ravens this weekend for a conference matchup. The Ravens are undefeated on the year and favored to win the State Championship.  It was their homecoming game where they honored 9 senior players. With depth and experience, we knew that Eielson would be a tough game for us from the start.

Eielson was able to quickly score points while simultaneously controlling our offensive effort. Despite a stiff defense, we scored on a counter play ran by Hayden Howard before the end of the first half. The score at the end of the first half was 52-6.

In the second half, Eielson replaced several of their starting players against which we competed more favorably.  They had difficulty moving the ball on our defense.  We also scored twice this half, one on a long run from Owen Chadwick, and another on a 1 yard run by Howard set up by a long run from Luke Baczuk. The final score of the game was 59-20.

This week we travel to Barrow for our final game of the season. The Whalers are large and fast, but have lost 3 games this year to Houston, Eielson, and Ketchikan.  We intend to compete well with them this year.

This Week in Sports:

Valdez Invitational Swim Meet:  Teams coming to Valdez are from Bethel, Cordova, Galena, Hutchison, Lathrop, Soldotna, West Valley, North Pole, Eielson, and Nome. Swimming starts at 4:00 pm on Friday, September 28th and 10:30 am on Saturday, September 29th.

Volleyball:  Home Meet vs Hutchison (Varsity only)

    Friday – 6:00 pm & Saturday – 11:00 am

Cross Country Running:  ASAA State Cross Country Meet on Saturday, September 29 at Bartlett Trails

Football:  At Barrow High School (Final Game of the Season)

Wrestling:  Parent Meeting on Tuesday, September 25th at 7:00 pm in High School Library / Practice Begins on Wednesday, September 26th at 3:30 pm

Cargo Ranking: Up one spot to #5 in the world, remains #2 in the US

(ANCHORAGE, AK) — Airport Council International (ACI) released its Annual World Airport Traffic Report yesterday with 2017 numbers. Last year, more than 2.7 million tonnes of cargo transited through the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport.

Airport Manager, Jim Szczesniak said, “The airport remains a substantial part of the world air cargo system, that’s good for Anchorage and good for the State. We continue to promote our strategic location, and the synergies that Anchorage can provide in air cargo transfer, e-commerce distribution centers, major and minor aircraft maintenance and repair, and aircraft parts warehousing. This all translates to good paying jobs for Alaskans.”

Anchorage Airport is located on transpolar flight routes between Asia, North America and Latin America.

Total cargo volumes handled by airports experienced a record increase of 7.7 percent from the previous year.

Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport is less than 9.5 hours from 90 percent of the industrialized world and serves more than 5 million passengers annually. The airport accounts for 1 in 10 jobs in Anchorage, accounting for more than 15,000 jobs in Anchorage and a $1 billion in earnings.

The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities oversees 239 airports, 10 ferries serving 35 communities, more than 5,600 miles of highway and 731 public facilities throughout the state of Alaska. The mission of the department is to “Keep Alaska Moving through service and infrastructure.”

Denlyn Hall and Cassy Walsh welcomed Riley Dakota Hall to the world on September 19th, 2018 at 8:23pm.

He weighed 8 lbs 10.5 ounces and was 20” long.

Congratulations!

CLICK HERE for Registration Form

Tuesday, October 2nd, 7pm

Valdez Civic Center

Take a Listen – Click Here to Hear the Sweet Remains

One of the hottest bands on Spotify is coming to Valdez. Celebrating 10 years and over 30 MILLION Spotify plays in 2018, THE SWEET REMAINS is the unusual band on today’s music scene headed by 3 gifted singer-songwriters, each of whom contribute to the writing and 3-part harmonies that define the band’s sound. If you take a listen to the Sweet Remains – you’re coming to the show …they’re that good!

Get your ticket for the concert for just $20. Students, Seniors and Military Just $10.00. Tickets available at A Rogue’s Garden or the Civic Center the night of the show. Arts Council Box Office accepts credit cards at the Box Office. This is a show appropriate for all ages.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 2018 HOMECOMING COURT

Freshmen:  Lily Alfaro and Josh Baczuk

Sophomores: Rylie King and Clay Woodgate

Juniors: Macy Hansen and Gage Critchlow

Seniors: Destiny Gray and Raymond Martel

Gage Critchlow and Macy Hansen – Homecoming Court at Football Game

Volleyball (Coach Adam Sharrai):

VHS Volleyball Player Sydney Johnson

The Lady Bucs hosted the Valdez Invitational Volleyball Tournament  this past weekend. Nine teams traveling to Valdez for the tournament:  ACS, GALENA, DELTA, SEWARD, BARROW, BETHEL, REDINGTON , EIELSON, and NORTH POLE!  After both late and early arrivals and some needed sleep, pool play began Friday at noon with every team playing each other in one rally score game to 25.  Valdez Lady Bucs posted wins for nine games:  Valdez  25 – ACS 17, Valdez 25 – Galena 13, Valdez 25 – Delta 15, Valdez 25 – Seward 10, Valdez 25 – Barrow 14, Valdez 25 – Bethel 12, Valdez 25 – Eielson 16 , but dropped one game to North Pole 17 – 25.  This set up the division for the Gold Bracket play where the Lady Bucs answered with straight wins over ACS, Barrow, Seward, and North Pole to seal their spot in the championship match.

North Pole and Seward rallied it out with ACS and Barrow for the other championship spot. Both teams had losses to Valdez and had to let a points differential decide who earned another shot at the Lady Bucs.  North Pole prevailed and the re-match was set.

Valdez Lady Bucs played very well in Game One, pushing their play hard and taking North Pole 25-13.  Knowing North Pole as a fighting team, the Lady Bucs came into Game Two determined to push even harder, communicate clearer, and cover each other’s back closer!  Push they did, and with the crowd behind them, they made it happen.  Great serving, controlled passing, soft setting, wicked hitting, and heads-up placement, the Lady Bucs teamwork held off North Pole to take them in the second game, Valdez  25 – North Pole 18.

Kassi Howard served, passed, and hit her way onto the All-Tournament Team selected by the opposing team coaches.  Setting honors of the Tournament went to Carlee Fleming, as her well placed sets found many teammates throughout the games. Sydney Johnson showed how her power hits the floor, was also chosen to receive hitting honors for the Tournament.  Kendal Wesenberg was everywhere in the backcourt, as libero, picking up hits, keeping play alive, and serving very effectively along with Jillian Fleming passing and serving very well also.  Jade Watts continued serving up nothing but trouble, hitting her left powerfully in the front row, digging it out in the backcourt, and lending her soft help sets when needed.  Ally Sieber returned after resting her back last week and got right back into it with hitting, blocking, and tipping. Maison Anderson showed her awareness of the court with some blocks, well placed tips, and corner placements.  Kira Friend dug it out and passed well in the back row.  Jackie Stewart added to her front row experience along with Jade Holmes, looking very comfortable relieving Carlee Fleming for some setting time with some well placed sets.

The Lady Bucs played very well this weekend and I know they are looking forward to adding to their abilities, both individually and as a team. They  continue to push their competitiveness and level of play.   Great Job Lady Bucs—keep pushing your limits and enjoying your season!

Carlie Fleming, Jade Watts, Kassie Howard & Sydney Johnson Lining Up for a Game

JV Volleyball (Coach Katie Burns):

The 2018 Valdez Volleyball Invitational was a huge success.  The Lady Bucs JV team was able to split into two squads to compete for this weekend in a pool of ten total teams from around the State.  This opportunity gave our athletes more competitive playing time to strengthen their skills.

On the JV-B squad, Aly Metzger did an exceptional job at passing to the target and providing an opportunity for her team to execute an attack.  Her bullet serves were also a factor in gaining momentum within our sets.  Paris Pennington made some critical blocks at the net, and Marianne Prax snagged some amazing saves for her team to keep the ball in play.

For the JV-A team, Anna Agcaoili did an incredible job as Libero. A visiting referee noted her as having the best read on the ball and ability to receive difficult serves and attacks.   Savannah Cockerham led the team with attacks on the net that led to kills.  This team finished 23-25 against North Pole, 26-28 against Delta, and 21-25 against Seward — the top three competitors in the tournament.

Aly Metzger and Ambrosia Woodgate were awarded places on the All-Tournament team for the Silver Bracket and Reese King made the All-Tournament team for the Gold Bracket.

The team as a whole did an excellent job working together, covering at the net, and setting up attacks.  Great work, Lady Bucs!

Valdez Invitational Volleyball Tournament Results:

J.V.  Silver Division All-Tournament Team

1. Valdez—Aly Metzger
2. Valdez—Ambrosia Woodgate
3. Eielson—Gracie Thompson
4. Barrow—Maaku Sue’su’e
5. Barrow—Brooke Singson
6. ACS—Ayrieanne Terell
7. Redington—Lexi Gawley-Seymore
8. Redington—Delaney Reavis

J.V.  Silver Division 1st Place:  Redington Huskies

J.V. Gold Division All-Tournament Team

1. Valdez—Reese King
2. Bethel—Angeline Alexie
3. North Pole—Jocelyn Harer
4. North Pole—Olivia Ode
5. North Pole—Alivia Himebauch
6. Seward—Kyrsten Johnson-Gray
7. Seward—Angel Purigay
8. Seward—Selma Casgranda

J.V. Gold 1st Place:  Seward Seahawks

Varsity Silver Division All-Tournament Team

1. Delta—Keeley Harris
2. Delta—Anita Kravets
3. Eielson—Shannon Holan
4. Eielson—Karla Villanueva
5. Bethel—Deja Jackson
6. Bethel—Brianna Evan
7. Redington—Varvaara Kuzmin
8. Redington—Brooke Harmon

Varsity Silver Division 1st Place:  Bethel Warriors

Varsity Gold Division All-Tournament Team

1. Valdez. —Kassi Howard
2. Seward—-Allie Tolog
3. Seward—-Coral Petrosius
4. Seward—-Ashley Jackson
5. Barrow—Sarah Mila
6. North Pole—Sydney Teel
7. North Pole—Kylie Erickson
8. North Pole—Ainsley Smith

Best Setter—-Valdez—Carlee Fleming

Best Defense—ACS—Mary Kate Parks

Best Hitter—Valdez—Sydney Johnson

1^st Place Varsity Gold:  Valdez Buccaneers

Cross Country Running (Coach Mel Koontz):

9/14/18 – Delta Invite

Fall is in full swing up country.  We couldn’t have asked for better weather for driving or running in Delta.  The Buccaneer’s Cross-Country team head to Delta on Friday morning for a race that same afternoon.  The team consensus is that driving and running on the same day is tough mentally and physically.

The race coordinator and new to Delta, Tom Graves, changed the location of the course.  He stated that the runners must have a lot of grit if they are accustomed to running the previous course, which included a monstrous hill.  The runners had prepared for the big hill and were slightly disappointed that the course had changed to loops in the trees near the school.  The course consisted of gentle rolling hills, which made for a fast race.

We were disappointed to learn that the race would have unofficial results with records being kept by coaches only.  All teams were verified with other coaches at the finish line.  On the upside, all runners had their fastest times of the season and we finally had the whole team together.  For the girls, Junior Katelyn Wadsworth overcame reoccurring shin and calf injuries to complete the 5km course in 24:35, a season best.  Keeping his eyes on state, Junior Kalin Woods finished in the top 10 with a personal best of 17:49.  K. Woods started off fast, quickly moving up to 3^rd place.  He lost a little speed on his first lap through the trees, but picked it back up for the second lap and sprinted through the finish line, barely passing a West Valley runner.  Junior Rafael Alfaro was exactly a minute behind him with a personal best of 18:49.  Alfaro started the race at a comfortable pace and slowly began to pick up the pace.  Alfaro came out of nowhere, sprinting to the finish line at full speed.  Senior Dustin Woods picked up his pace with a strong finish of 22:02, a new personal best.  Freshman William Benes keeps quickening his pace and finished strong with 24:17.  Sophomore Wyatt Mehlberg competed in his first high school cross-country race and finished with the support of his team in 28:07.  Runners were excited with their times.  They have learned how to push their limits and are reaping the rewards.  Wadsworth was ecstatic to run without pain during or after the race.

Our last race is Regionals, coming up this Saturday In Fairbanks.  Each runner has gotten progressively faster throughout the season.  Wish them luck on their final race when you see them around town.

Football (Coach Lee Chadwick):

Owen Chadwick Runs the Ball Against Redington Saturday

The football team enjoyed playing its third and final home game of the season in the sunshine again on Saturday. Before the game, Luke Baczuk and Lexi Stanford (manager) were recognized as seniors participating in the final home game of their careers.

Hayden Howard With the Ball

Playing Redington in our homecoming game, we gave a good effort but finally ended up losing the contest 21-20.  Early in the game, Owen Chadwick squirted through a big hole created by Moe Morgan, James Letendre, and Logan Anderson before outrunning the defense to the end zone. A failed PAT, however, proved to be one of several missed opportunities to come out on top in the end.  Later in the first half, a scoring run by Hayden Howard through several would-be tacklers put Valdez up by 12 points. Another failed PAT left the score at 12-0. Redington answered with a long kick return. Several plays later, they scored on a passing attempt and made their PAT kick to leave a halftime score of 12-7.

In the second half, a long drive was capped off by a Hayden Howard run behind a great block by Hunter Francis. A PAT pass from Luke Baczuk to Howard put Valdez to 20 points. Redington responded by scoring once more and making their PAT to put the score at 20-14.  A series of unfortunate events then began to unwind. A great defensive effort by Valdez stopped the Redington offense inside the 10. A couple of miscued plays led to a 3^rdand very long situation. On third down, a great run was stopped 3 yards short of a first down. On 4^thdown and 3 to go on our own 15 yard line, we attempted to punt. A snap over the punter’s head, however, led to a scramble that resulted in him being tackled on our one yard line. This lead to an easy 6 points for Redington to tie the game, and their PAT kick was successful giving them a 1 point lead. With about 3 minutes left in the game, we put together one more drive that brought us into striking distance at about Redington’s 17 yard line. With less than a minute on the clock, we failed to connect on a couple of passing plays to take advantage of Redington’s defensive miscues, and ultimately came up short.

The starting defensive line of Dennis Mott, Logan Anderson, Gaspar DeLeon, and Evan Clark had a terrific game, shutting down much of Redington’s inside running game.  Additional pressure on the quarterback by Moe Morgan was instrumental in two interceptions by Luke Baczuk and Owen Chadwick.

With two games remaining in the season, we head to Eielson on Friday. Eielson has had a stellar season losing only to West Valley so far, and will be a tough opponent this coming Saturday.  We look forward to continuing to improve our defensive game in the upcoming contest.

This Week in Sports:

Rifle Match vs Lathrop at Home – Friday, September 21 @ 6:30 pm (VHS Rifle Range)

Cross Country Running @ Fairbanks for Regionals at Birch Hill – Saturday; September 22

Volleyball @ Delta for “C”, JV, and Varsity Games – Friday, September 21 & Saturday, September 22

Swimming @ North Pole (Westcott Pool) – Friday, September 21

Football @ Eielson

Keenan Jenkins and Carly Newman welcomed Nova Sky Jenkins to the world on September 15th, 2018 at 5:36am.

She weighed 7 lbs 13.6 ounces and was 20” long.

Congratulations!

 Alexander & Lindsay Reed welcomed Oakley David to the world on September 11th, 2018 at 3:30pm.

He weighed 7 lbs 3.7 ounces and was 20 ¼” long.

Congratulations!