2017: The agony and ecstasy of Alaska sports

When you tally the wins and losses of the year in Alaska sports, the biggest loser of 2017 is readily apparent:

Alaska sports.

The Alaska Aces? Gone.

The Great Alaska Shootout? Gone.

The Iditarod? Still here, but wounded by a dogs-on-dope scandal involving a four-time champion, the deaths of four dogs during the 2017 race and the loss of a major sponsor.

The Dome? Missing in action for nearly the entire year after it collapsed last January under heavy snow, leaving thousands of people — college athletes, high school and recreational teams, lap-runners and others — without an indoor playground.

Not depressed enough yet?

Then let's remember the disappointing end to an otherwise brilliant season for the UAA women's basketball team. The Seawolves finished the season with a 30-2 record after getting bounced — on their homecourt — in the second round of the NCAA Division II tournament by Simon Fraser, 80-70.

Don't forget the UAA hockey team's continuing malaise. The Seawolves are 1-13-4 and rank last in Division I hockey in goals (31) and winning percentage (.167).

In the Iron Dog, the victory was snatched from Tyler Akelstad and Tyson Johnson on the final day of the 2,000-mile snowmachine race. The defending champs were poised to repeat when they were disqualified for receiving outside assistance — during a fuel stop between Ruby and Tanana, two bystanders pushed down on the backs of their sleds. Meanwhile, organizers last week announced the end of the race's ceremonial start in Anchorage.

And while the Wasilla Warriors enjoyed basketball greatness — the girls won their second straight Class 4A state championship and the boys placed second — the saddest sideline moment of the year came at the end of the boys title game.

Dimond prevailed 50-46 in a game decided by a huge mistake by the Warriors in the final seconds. The score was tied 46-46 after Wasilla's Aeron Milliron made a free throw with less than 10 seconds left, but he missed his second shot. Dimond's Anthony Parker grabbed the rebound and Milliron intentionally fouled him to send Parker to the opposite foul line, where he sank the go-ahead free throws. By the time the Lynx hit two more free throws a couple of seconds later, the Warriors were crying rivers of tears that flowed all the way through the awards ceremony.

But 2017 wasn't all heartache.

Alaska runners weren't just on their mark, they made their mark.

Soldotna's Allie Ostrander, a reliable source of excellence, won the steeplechase for Boise State at the Division I track and field championships and 90 minutes later claimed fourth place in the 5,000 meters. A couple of months later, she won Mount Marathon with the second-fastest women's time in history.

UAA's Caroline Kurgat won the Division II cross-country championship to cap an undefeated season, and South High graduate Aaron Fletcher ran the second-fastest marathon by an Alaskan, winning Utah's St. George Marathon in 2:14:45.

Track purists rejoiced when Kodiak's Trevor Dunbar, the only Alaskan to break the four-minute mark in the mile, lured several of his world-class friends to Alaska for the Great Alaska Miles Series. In front of a roaring crowd of 1,000 on a chilly, windy night at West High, two runners clocked sub-4:00 times — Kyle Merber (3:59.36) and Ben Blankenship (3:59.67). Three days later in Kodiak, Blankenship ran 3:57.85, the fastest mile ever recorded in Alaska.

The year's other shining moments came from athletes who compete on snow and from a football team that doesn't know anything but winning.

The Soldotna Stars proved as unstoppable as ever, winning their sixth straight Division II state football championship and running their winning streak to 59, the second-longest streak in the nation.

The Stars were the stars of a football season that produced two epic Division I semifinal games. Bartlett outlasted Chugiak in a 75-62 scorefest and West edged West 21-18 in a game decided by Jared Harjehausen's circus catch in the end zone with two minutes to go.

Sled dog racing became the domain of the AARP-eligible crowd thanks to Roxy Wright of Fairbanks and Mitch Seavey of Sterling.

At age 66, Wright returned to the sled runners to race for the first time in more than 20 years. She captured victories in sprint mushing's most prestigious races, the Fur Rendezvous Open World Championship and the North American Open.

At age 57, Seavey won the Iditarod in record time, lopping more than seven hours off the previous record in the 1,000-mile race to Nome by finishing in 8 days, 3 hours, 40 minutes, 13 seconds.

And as usual, skiers made Alaska proud.

Andrew Kurka of Palmer won gold, silver and bronze at the Para Alpine World Championships, and Anchorage's Kikkan Randall and Sadie Bjornsen made headlines in cross country.

Having a baby didn't slow down Randall, a four-time Olympian. She took a year off to start a family with husband Jeff Ellis, and in her comeback season she captured a bronze medal at February's world nordic championships.

Bjornsen is having the best year of her career — she ranks seventh in the world and owns four podium finishes halfway through the season.

And in a year when economic hardships forced the demise of the Aces hockey team and the 40-year-old Great Alaska Shootout basketball tournament, one great Alaska tradition returned.

The Tour of Anchorage ski race returned to its full glory after three snow-starved years. Poor trail conditions doomed the 50-kilometer crosstown race for three straight years but the marathon returned in 2017.

As the new year begins, Alaskans will take aim at national titles and the Olympics at this week's U.S. Cross Country Championships at Kincaid Park. And later in January, The Dome is scheduled to reopen.

After a sports year that evoked nearly as much agony as it did ecstasy, that's a promising start to 2018.

This column is the opinion of Anchorage Daily News sports editor Beth Bragg. Reach her at bbragg@adn.com.