Alaska
Alaska 1A state basketball: Kake boys earn redemption in finals rematch; Shishmaref girls and boys advance
The Kake high school boys basketball team was disappointed to learn that despite being undefeated heading into the Alaska 1A State Basketball Tournament for the third year in row, it wasn’t first or even second seed in the bracket.
However, that momentary letdown quickly turned to joy when they found out their first opponent on the opening day of this year’s tournament was reigning state champion King Cove, which prevented Kake from pulling off a successful title defense in last year’s state finals.
“It was a redemption game for us,” Kake head coach Anthony Ross said.
Not only did the Thunderbirds avenge their gut-wrenching defeat with a resounding 61-41 win Wednesday afternoon at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage, but in doing so, they extinguished any hopes the T-Jacks had of spoiling Kake’s tournament again.
“It was a long year to get back here, and to get back here and to be able to kind of redeem ourselves and play King Cove, it felt good,” Ross said.
Last year, their offseason started as soon as they returned to their small community in Southeast Alaska.
“These boys were hungry,” Ross said. “I’ve got six seniors on the team, so as soon as we got home, we hit the gym and got in a lot of shots (and) a lot of studying. (King Cove) came out again with their 1-3-1 (zone) that kind of destroyed us last year, so we were ready for it this year and kind of made them shift out of it a little bit.”
Even though his team defeated King Cove, the Thunderbirds weren’t satisfied with how they played overall.
“We were a little sloppy to be honest,” Ross said. “A lot of turnovers. We ended the game with 19 turnovers, which is way too many for us. We have to tighten that up, but to still have a 20-point win after 19 turnovers is a testament to our defense. Guys playing with hands high, a lot of communication and sliding our feet. Our defense got the job done, but we’ve got to clean it up on offense.”
Leading the charge for the team on both ends of the court was senior Keontay Jackson, who earned Player of the Game honors after recording a double-double in which he scored a game-high 22 points and snagged a game-high 11 rebounds.
“He’s our all-around go-to,” Ross said. “I got him as a sophomore and he came off the bench the first time we won (state), and he’s earned that starting role and earned that captain role. He leads us on both ends of the floor.”
Shishmaref sweats out thrilling win over Buckland
The team Kake will face Thursday night is coming off a hard-fought opening-round battle as the Northern Lights of Shishmaref narrowly edged out the Buckland Sissauni 57-55 in the most competitive game of the first session of action.
“It was a battle,” head coach Tyler Ivanoff said. “These first-round games are pretty difficult to win and Buckland has got a lot of experience at the state tournament, coming almost every year.”
Trailing by a point after the first quarter, his team used an explosive second quarter in which they outscored their foes 20-8 to take an 11-point lead at halftime. Coming out of the break, Buckland’s defensive pressure paved the way for a comeback as they outscored Shishmaref 30-19 in the third quarter.
“They kind of caught up to us but we just had to settle down because I think we were just working the ball a little too much trying to rush things,” Ivanoff said. “Once we settled down, we were able to execute some of our plays.”
The Northern Lights were propelled to victory by a big game from sophomore guard Ivan Davis-Nayokpuk, who recorded a game-high 28 points and justly received Player of the Game honors.
“Ivan is a really unselfish player and he’s really patient,” Ivanoff said. “It really allows him to get the opportunities to attack the basket and find players.”
Buckland was able to momentarily regain the lead in the final minutes but couldn’t hold on to it. With 22 seconds left on the clock, Shishmaref got a clutch go-ahead bucket from junior Colten Hadley who got an open look because of the gravitational pull from the defense Davis-Nayokpuk was commanding.
“I was trying to draw up a play for Ivan there to kind of give him some spacing but they wanted to work the ball a little bit and we got to our spots and Fred (Olanna) found Colton (Hadley) in that wing on the baseline and he hit a big shot,” Ivanoff said. “Colton is pretty ice cold when he’s open on that baseline.”
Girls
Shishmaref 43, Tri-Valley 39
In the first game of the day, the Northern Lights of Shishmaref found themselves up by three points over the Tri-Valley Warriors at halftime, and instead of heading to the locker room, they decided to stay on the court and get up some more shots. It paid immediate dividends as they opened the third quarter with an 11-0 run, which proved to be pivotal in the end as Tri-Valley tried to mounted a late comeback and got within two points with less than 30 seconds left to play. But Shishmaref’s cushion was just big enough to get keep the comeback from being completed.
The Warriors had a pair of players reach double figures in scoring, led by Iris Wappel with a game-high 23 points. Shishmaref had one player reach double digits, with Loretta Sinnok leading the team with 11 points.
Hoonah 25, Scammon Bay 20
In the lowest-scoring game of the first session, the only player to reach double figures in scoring was Hoonah sophomore Jora Savland. Savland nearly had a triple by leading the winning team with 10 points, eight rebounds and seven steals.
Fort Yukon 55, Cook Inlet Academy 20
The reigning state champions began their title defense with a bang as they cruised to an opening-round victory over the Eagles. Fort Yukon dominated on both ends of the court, forcing 42 turnovers to 19 for Cook Inlet and having a pair of players reach double figures in scoring. Leading the charge for Fort Yukon both in scoring and on the boards was junior Kylee Carroll, who recorded a game-high 18 points and 13 rebounds.
Akiuk (Kasigluk) 33, Klawock 16
After being held to just three points in the first quarter, the Akiuk Grizzlies outscored the Klawock Chieftains 30-7 in the remaining three, including a fourth-quarter 8-0 shutout. While Natalia Slim was the only player on either team to reach double figures in scoring with 10 points, her Akiuk teammate, Chloe Wassillie, came up one point shy of a double-double with nine points and game-high 18 rebounds.
Bristol Bay 51, Davis Ramoth (Selawik) 38
The Bristol Bay Angels went from trailing five points after the first quarter to being up by 10 points at halftime following a 19-4 run in the second. Even though they could only muster nine points in the third quarter, they held the Davis Ramoth Wolves to just four points for the second straight period, which made them getting outscored 15-13 in the fourth not impact the final outcome. Bristol Bay’s Olivia Harvilla nearly notched a double-double by leading all players with a game-high 21 points and finished second on the team with eight rebounds.
Napaaqtugmiut (Noatak) 66, Nunamiut 16
Napaaqtugmiut School, from the Northwest community of Noatak, dominated from start to finish. Napaaqtugmiut’s Brooke Schaeffer was the only player in double figures with 19.
Shaktoolik 58, Emmonak 30
Annette Paniptchuk led nine Shaktoolik players to score with 14 points in an easy 58-30 win. Emmonak’s Khia Teganlakla led all scorers with 19.
Newhalen 72, Aniak 28
Newhalen scored at least 22 points in each of the first three quarters in an easy opening-round win. Newhalen’s Dannika Wassillie scored 20 points to lead all scorers while Sierra Lang’s 13 was high scorer for Aniak.
Boys
Cook Inlet Academy 63, Scammon Bay 39
The first boys game of the day pitted Eagles against Eagles and saw the flock from Soldotna soar past the one from Southwest Alaska. Leading the charge for Cook Inlet Academy was junior Alek McGarry, who accounted for nearly half of the team’s total points with a game-high 30, which included going 3-of-4 from behind the arc. He also recorded five rebounds, four steals and a pair of assists.
Tri-Valley 57, Chief Paul Memorial (Kipnuk) 41
The Tri-Valley Warriors used a dominant opening quarter — in which they outscored the Falcons 15-2 — to propel themselves to a dominant victory as they outpaced their foes the rest of the way. Tri-Valley had three players record double figures, led by senior Michael Renshaw with 18 points, and got a double-double from sophomore Isaiah Mayo, who finished with 11 points and led with a game-high 10 rebounds.
Minto 63, Nunamiut 51
The Minto Lakers built up a sizeable lead in the first half, scoring 20 points in each of the first two quarter. That served them well: Even though the Nunamiut Amaguq outscored them 33-23 after halftime, Minto was still able to come out on top in the end. Leading all players in scoring was Minto’s Jonathon David Jr. with 24 points, and he came up one rebound shy of a double-double with nine boards.
Shaktoolik 78, Akiachak 53
Shaktoolik jumped out to a 23-7 lead after the first quarter and never looked back in cruising to the win. Seth Paniptchuk led Shaktoolik with a game-high 34 points.
Davis Ramoth 78, Skagway 71 (OT)
Davis Ramoth, from the Northwest Alaska village of Selawik, went to overtime to top Skagway 78-71. Gavin Hanshaw (28 points) and Brennen Stalker (26) had big games for Davis Ramoth while Skagway’s Royce Borst led all scorers with 30 points.
Manokotak 80, Emmonak 64
Jethron Nanalook scored 40 points to lead Manokotak to a runaway win over Emmonak. His teammate Nevaeh Gloko added 24 while Emmonak’s leading scorer was Connor Hootch with 35.
ASAA 1A State Championship Tournament
At Alaska Airlines Center
Girls
Wednesday’s results
Shishmaref 43, Tri-Valley 39
Hoonah 25, Scammon Bay 20
Fort Yukon 55, Cook Inlet Academy 20
Akiuk (Kasigluk) 33, Klawock 16
Bristol Bay 51, Davis Ramoth 38
Napaaqtugmiut (Noatak) 66, Nunamiut 16
Shaktoolik 58, Emmonak 30
Newhalen 72, Aniak 28
Thursday’s quarterfinals
Fort Yukon v. Bristol Bay at 8 a.m.
Akiuk v. Napaaqtugmiut (Noatak) at 9:30 a.m.
Hoonah v. Shaktoolik at 3:15 p.m.
Shishmaref v. Newhalen at 4:45 p.m.
Boys
Wednesday’s results
Cook Inlet Academy 63, Scammon Bay 39
Shishmaref 57, Buckland 55
Tri-Valley 57, Chief Paul Memorial (Kipnuk) 41
Kake 61, King Cove 41
Minto 63, Nunamiut 51
Shaktoolik 78, Akiachak 53
Davis Ramoth 78, Skagway 71 (OT)
Manokotak 80, Emmonak 64
Thursday’s quarterfinals
Shaktoolik vs. Minto, 11 a.m.
Manokotak vs. Tri-Valley, 12:30 p.m.
Kake vs. Shishmaref, 6:15 p.m.
Davis Ramoth vs. Cook Inlet Academy, 7:45 p.m.
Division 2A boys basketball tournament
At Alaska Airlines Center
First round
Thursday’s games
No. 2 Metlakatla vs. No. 7 Chevak, 8 a.m.
No. 4 Seward vs. No. 5 Wrangell, 9:30 a.m.
No. 3 Cordova vs. No. 6 Su Valley, 3:15 p.m.
No. 1 Unalakleet vs. No. 8 Effie Kokrine, 4:45 p.m.
Division 2A girls basketball tournament
At Alaska Airlines Center
First round
Thursday’s games
No. 1 Metlakatla vs. No. 8 Chevak, 11 a.m.
No. 3 Seward vs. No. 6 Cordova, 12:30 p.m.
No. 2 Unalakleet vs. No. 7 Su Valley, 6:15 p.m.
No. 4 Glennallen vs. No. 5 Haines, 7:45 p.m.
This is the beginning of the Iditarod spring, signaled by the burst of sun and what used to be the long wait for dog teams to pass under the arch in Nome, the finish line a thousand miles away from Anchorage. For old-timers, it’s the story of the way Alaska used to be. What once was a 30-day wait has become about 10 days for winners to celebrate and the rest of us to shout, “Well done.”
My story is about family that welcomed immigrants from all over the world to be among the last groups of Indigenous people in the country, a life of taking good care of dog teams, and of parents who taught their children how to live in a wild, rugged frontier.
I came to be in a different age, a time of dog teams that ruled the trails to mining camps and where the salmon ran strongest — before the introduction of the snowmachine that revolutionized rural and Native Alaska.
For the Blatchford family, it is a recognition that some things will always stay the same and everything else changes. All four of my grandparents were noncitizens. My mother Lena’s parents of Elim were Alaska Natives, as was my dad Ernie’s mother, Mae, of Shishmaref. The name Blatchford comes from his father, the Englishman who was born in Cornwall and arrived in Nome during the gold rush. His brother, William, was one of the early immigrants, and by 1899 there was a creek just outside Nome named after him. He discovered gold. My grandfather, Percy, found gold, too, but it was a different kind of wealth, a finding that he had found home and never left.
I was born in Nome, delivered by an Iñupiaq Eskimo midwife in a one-room cabin where the frozen Bering Sea met the treeless tundra’s permafrost. Dad had a dog team. I like to think that the dogs were anxious for me to be born because it was hunting time for Dad to hitch them up and mush out to where the sea mammals, snowshoe hares, ptarmigan and other game thrived in the winter. My earliest memories are of dogs; all of them working as a team to bring home the game so we could have a fine meal cooked by Lena. In the Arctic, dogs were essential for family survival. If you didn’t hunt, you didn’t eat.
There are several memories that remain strong. I suppose I can call them lessons of the Arctic.
The first is to take care of the dogs and treat them well. Dog lovers all over the world know very well that a dog, whatever the breed, is loyal and will die to protect the one who feeds and pets it. If you don’t feed a husky, it won’t pull, and it could mean a long time before the family eats. When a dog team is hungry, it will race back home to be fed a healthy meal. Mother Lena must have been a great cook because Dad said the dog team always raced back to the edge of Nome, where Lena was waiting beside the propane stove. For Mike, Tom and me, our job was to take the rifle, shotgun and .22 into the cabin to be cleaned and oiled. Once that was quickly done, we unhitched the dogs and then fed the team.
All three of us boys had special responsibilities to Tim, Buttons and Girlie. Tim, the lead dog, was brother Mike’s pet; Tom had Buttons, and I had Girlie. We made sure they were healthy and well cared for. Dad would often comment that “Papa,” our grandfather Percy, the Englishman, took good care of his dog teams, being kind to the dogs and feeding them. Dad was the oldest of a large family that lived in Teller and later Nome.
“Papa” Percy was a prospector, fox farmer and a contestant in the All-Alaska Sweepstakes, the dog team race from Nome to the mining camp of Candle, a 400-mile race. He didn’t win, but he finished well, very well. The stories of the Sweepstakes have remained with the family for over a century. At a memorial service in Palmer for “Doc” Blatchford, Aunt Marge, without a question or a prompt, said that Papa took good care of his dogs.
Percy Blatchford was a legend in the Alaska Territory. As a teacher of Alaska newspapers, I would find headlines similar to one in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner that blazed on the front page: “Blatchford Wins Solomon Derby.” There was even a story in The New York Times.
There’s probably no other sport in Alaska that brought Alaskans together like dog mushing. When old-timers would visit over strong coffee, dogs and dog team racing would come up. In the territory, there were few high schools and fewer gymnasiums, so the only team sport was dog mushing. It was something to talk about that was unique to Alaskans.
I used to travel in rural Alaska quite a bit. In the smaller communities, I would see the teams and would wonder how long they would power the engines that brought the mail and the foodstuffs down and up the trails. When I think of dog teaming, I think of the Iditarod and wonder, and then come to know, what the strength of the story would mean for bringing generations together from Papa Blatchford to his eldest son Ernie and to the fourth generation of Blatchfords in Alaska.
There are times when I think that old-time Alaska is gone. But then my faith and confidence in the old-time spirit are ignited when I see what others in the Lower 48 see. When I was walking in downtown Philadelphia, I looked up and saw on an ancient federal building a stamped concrete sculpture of a dog musher leaning into a blizzard. Such is the way I think of the Iditarod and the lessons I learned growing up with the dog team, preserved in my memories.
Edgar Blatchford is former mayor of Seward, Mile 0 of the Iditarod Trail.
• • •
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New Alaska voyages debut in 2026 as lines like MSC Cruises and Virgin Voyages expand into the booming market.
How to find the best price, perks when booking a cruise
Find the cruise that works for your budget with these tips.
Problem Solved
Travelers will have new ways to see Alaska this year.
A number of cruise lines are launching sailings to the Last Frontier in 2026, from luxury to large family-friendly and adults-only ships. About 65% of people visiting the state during the summer do so by cruise ship, according to Cruise Lines International Association Alaska, and demand is high.
“I think Alaska is always very popular, but we’re seeing that ships are selling out way quicker than they used to,” Joanna Kuther, a travel agent and owner of Port Side Travel Consultants, told USA TODAY.
With new inventory opening up this season, here’s what travelers should know about Alaska cruises.
Which cruise lines are adding Alaska sailings?
- MSC Cruises will launch its first-ever Alaska sailings aboard MSC Poesia on May 11. The ship will be fresh from dry dock to add enhancements, including the line’s luxe ship-within-a-ship concept, the MSC Yacht Club.
- Virgin Voyages’ newest ship, Brilliant Lady, will operate the company’s inaugural Alaska cruises. The adults-only cruise line will set sail there starting on May 21.
- The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection will debut its first Alaska cruises this year on its Luminara vessel. The first of those sailings will depart on May 28.
Those join other operators like Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, American Cruise Lines, Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean International, Disney Cruise Line, Celebrity Cruises and more.
What are the draws of Alaska cruises?
Glaciers are a major attraction for visitors. “One of the major (draws) is Glacier Bay,” said Kuther. “…And then the other one is definitely the wildlife.”
That includes bears, whales, moose and salmon. In addition to its many natural wonders, the state is also a cultural destination where visitors can learn about its Native peoples.
When is the best time to take an Alaska cruise?
That depends what you’re looking for. The Alaska cruise season generally runs from April through October, and Kuther said visitors will tend to see more wildlife between the end of June through August.
“That’s super peak season,” she said. “That’s also where you’re going to have more families, more crowds.” Some locals have also said those crowds are putting a strain on the very environment tourists are there to see.
Travelers may find less packed ships and ports by visiting earlier or later in the season – and there are other perks. If passengers go in May “it’s still a little bit snowy, so your scenery is going to be really cool,” Kuther said. Travelers visiting in September or October, meanwhile, could have a better shot at seeing the northern lights.
Where do ships usually sail?
The most popular itinerary is the Inside Passage, according to Kuther. That often sails round-trip from Seattle or Vancouver with stops such as Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan. “People will go back to Alaska and do different routes,” she said. “This is a very good way to start.”
Other options include one-way cruises between Vancouver or Seattle and Anchorage. Travelers can also take cruisetours that combine sailings with land-based exploration, including train rides and tours of Denali National Park and Preserve.
Tips for Alaska cruises
- Book early: Alaska itineraries sell out quickly, and so do shore excursions. Unique offerings like helicopter tours and dog sledding are popular, and there are only so many spots.
- Consider a balcony cabin: This is “almost a must” in Kuther’s opinion. Crew members may make announcements about whales or other sightings near the ship, and guests with their own private viewing spot won’t have to race out on deck.
- Pack carefully: “Packing is an art when it comes to Alaska,” Kuther said. “It really is, because you need so many things.” Her top three picks are bug spray, layers of clothing for the fluctuating temperatures and a waterproof jacket in case of rain.
Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@usatoday.com.
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