Some of Alaska's biggest sports stars to gather for Hall of Fame anniversary

A galaxy of Alaska sports stars – from Olympic gold medalists to Denali pioneers to Super Bowl and Stanley Cup winners – will be on hand Thursday night when the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame celebrates its 10th anniversary.

The public is invited to the free event, which runs from 6-9 p.m. at the Alaska Airlines Center. The first 200 arrivals will receive a commemorative poster.

Seventeen of the 32 athletes who have been elected to the Hall of Fame in the "individual" category are scheduled to appear — including 2012 Olympic bronze medalist Janay DeLoach, the long jumper who will head to the Summer Olympics after she leaves Alaska .

"I was impressed to hear how many are coming back," said Hall of Fame member Kikkan Randall, a four-time Olympic skier. "So many of those inductees were my heroes growing up."

Among those expected to appear:

— Olympic medalists Tommy Moe (gold and silver in alpine skiing, 1994), Hilary Lindh (silver in alpine skiing, 1992) and Kris Thorsness (gold in rowing, 1984).

— Three-time Super Bowl champion Mark Schlereth.

— Two-time Stanley Cup winner Scott Gomez.

— Four-time Iditarod and four-time Yukon Quest champion Lance Mackey.

— Olympic cross-country skiers Randall and Nina Kemppel.

— Mountain runners Bill Spencer and Nancy Pease.

— Mountaineering great Vern Tejas, the first person to make a successful solo summit of Denali in the winter.

— Blanket toss champion and Native sports icon Reggie Joule.

— Basketball standouts Jeannie Hebert-Truax and Herb Didrickson.

— Nordic trail-making pioneer, Olympic biathlete and world masters ski champion Dick Mize.

— Track stars Don Clary and DeLoach, who on Friday will become the newest inductees in the Hall of Fame. Clary made it to the 5,000-meter semifinals at the 1984 Summer Olympics and DeLoach is the reigning bronze medalist in women's long jump who is headed to Rio de Janiero for her second Olympics.

Also expected at the event are five people who have gained entry into the Hall of Fame in the "moments" category:

— Dave Johnston and Art Davidson, two of the three men in the summit team of the first winter ascent of Denali in 1967.

— Chris Clark, America's representative in the women's marathon at the 2000 Summer Olympics.

— Michaela Hutchison, who in 2006 became the first girl in the country to win a high school state wrestling championship while competing against boys.

— Dick Mackey, who won the 1978 Iditarod by outsprinting Rick Swenson in the closest thing to a photo finish the 1,000-mile race has ever seen.

"I'm really excited about the 10-year event," Hall of Fame executive director Harlow Robinson said in an email. "It is going to be a once-in-a-lifetime thing for Alaskans of all ages – a tremendous opportunity to meet and learn about many of the greats in our state's sports heritage."

Also on the guest list are mushing stars Dallas Seavey and Brent Sass, running phenom Allie Ostrander, American Ninja Warrior athlete Nick Hanson and seven-time Iron Dog champion Scott Davis, among others.

The evening will begin with a parade of athletes. After that, athletes will be available for photos and autographs.