The Rewind: UAA sprinter Joshua Caleb makes history; Wolverines pull off sweep in homecoming weekend

Welcome to The Rewind, a weekly digest that puts a spotlight on the biggest stories and best performances from Alaska’s world of sports.

This past week featured several notable individual and team performances across the Alaska sports landscape at the high school, collegiate and professional levels. In the first full week of the new year, the 2024 high school basketball season for both boys and girls raged on with one of its biggest tournaments and boys prep hockey saw a pair of siblings shine bright. On the college scene, the University of Alaska Anchorage indoor track and field season got underway with a historically dominant performance from an underclassman sprinter while the basketball programs had winning streaks snapped and extended. Outside and inside the state, several Alaskans had impressive performances and career achievements worth recognizing and celebrating.

Headlines and highlights

The past week in the high school hockey season saw a rare feat by a pair of brothers as both Joey and Paul Dittrich recorded hat tricks with a trio of goals in the same game. Reigning Division I state champion West squared off with Dimond on Thursday with the Eagles winning 10-2. The game saw Joey record a goal in each period while Paul scored once in the first period and added a pair in the second.

In prep basketball action, the 2025 Alaska Prep Shootout took place at Dimond and saw 3A powerhouse Grace Christian take down defending tournament champion West Valley in the title bout 61-54. The Grizzlies were led to victory by junior power forward Bristol Tobin, who earned tournament MVP honors after dropping 19 points in the championship game to increase his team’s winning streak to six in a row and improve their overall record to 9-1.

The fourth and final day of the 2025 U.S. Cross Country Ski Championships saw a pair of skiers with Alaska connections reach the top of the podium in their respective divisions for the SuperTour sprint races. Alaska Pacific University elite team member Michael Earnhart recorded the fastest time for the men’s race by covering the 1.4-K course in a time of 2 minutes, 51.9 seconds. Former University of Alaska Fairbanks skier Mariel Merlii Pulles recorded the top time for the women’s race with a mark of 3:11.63.

“I was hoping the race was going to be canceled,” Earnhart said. “I was feeling a little checked out yesterday. I think it showed today in the qualifier, I wasn’t quite in it yet. I kind of had to work into the day. But once we got into the heats, skiing next to people, then the competitive(ness) kind of came out again. All right, I’m racing.”

[Brushing off the rainy-day blues, APU’s Michael Earnhart wins SuperTour sprint]

On the college scene, UAA sprinting sensation, sophomore Joshua Caleb, was named United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Men’s DII Athlete of the Week after a historic showing at the Silver & Blue Invitational in Reno, Nevada, over the weekend. The native of Okrika, Nigeria, broke a 30-year-old African U20 record in the 60 meters by clocking both a world and collegiate-leading mark of 6.57 on Friday. Caleb then followed that up the next day by recording the fastest time in the world this year in the 200 with a mark of 20.86, which was second on the Nigerian U20 all-time list behind a 28-year-old record best of 20.57 set by Francisco Obikwelu in 1996.

“Josh had a great first year for us, but he wasn’t satisfied with how either national meet went,” UAA associate head coach Ray Shadowens said in a statement. “Since then he has been working his tail off to improve in any way he can, be it strength, fitness, or his technique. I think it’s safe to say it’s paying off.”

[UAA’s Joshua Caleb runs record-setting sprint in Nevada invitational]

The UAA men’s basketball team came up short in its first two home games of the new year in back-to-back losses, including one sparked by a big game from local product Sullivan Menard playing for Northwest Nazarene.

[Wasilla’s Sullivan Menard helps Northwest Nazarene snap UAA men’s basketball win streak]

The women’s program fared much better on the road with a dominant 72-36 victory over instate rival UAF on Saturday. The Seawolves were led in scoring by senior guard Emilia Long who had a great all-around game with 19 points, seven rebounds, four assists and five steals.

“Our offensive execution was not what we strive for, but our effort was solid on both ends of the court,” UAA head coach Ryan McCarthy said in a statement. “Even though it wasn’t pretty today, there were positive contributions from everyone, and we will continue to grow from our mistakes.”

After falling to Central Washington on Thursday, the UAF men’s basketball team was led to a 71-62 bounce-back win over Northwest Nazarene on Saturday by junior guard Chris Lee of Ketchikan. The former Southeast Alaska standout tied junior forward Elyon Zevenbergen for the team lead in points with 20 that included going 4-of-9 shooting from behind the arc in addition to recording three assists, two rebounds and a steal.

Out on the ice rink, the UAA hockey team snapped a six-game losing skid by notching its first victory of the new year in the second leg of a two-game road series against Niagara University on Saturday. Freshman goaltender Tyler Krivtsov recorded his first collegiate win in front of the net after making 33 saves for the Seawolves in a 3-1 triumph over the Purple Eagles. Upperclassmen forwards Matt Johnson and Maximilion Helgeson of Anchorage each scored a pair of goals over the weekend, one in each game to tie for the team lead.

The UAF hockey team swept Simon Fraser University in a two-game exhibition series over the weekend, winning the first 2-1 in an overtime thriller on Friday and the second 6-3 the following day. Junior forward Luke Johnson recorded a pair to lead the Nanooks.

The Anchorage Wolverines ended their extended road stint this past weekend by pulling off an impressive sweep in a three-game series against the Janesville Jets. In their 2025 home-opener Friday, they came out on top 4-3 in an overtime thriller courtesy of defenseman Brock Devlin just before his line shift ended. Saturday’s game wasn’t nearly as dramatic as the Wolverines cruised to a 9-1 victory, thanks in large part to an explosive first period in which they scored five goals. The third and final game on Sunday went into overtime and came down to a shootout in which forward Daniel Bagnole came up clutch with the third successful shot on goal to secure a 2-1 victory and series sweep.

“The crowds are always awesome,” head coach Nick Walters said Friday. “From our viewpoint when we’re looking out, we see seats filled, so that’s always fun for us. And then you get a couple goals, the crowd gets into it and it just makes it that much better of an environment.”

[Back at Sullivan for first time in weeks, Wolverines treat Anchorage crowd to thrilling overtime win]

Alaska stars shining Outside

Anchorage’s Mikayla Johnson not only recorded a new career high in points for the University of Pittsburgh women’s basketball team in a 72-59 victory over Southern Methodist University on Sunday but helped the Panthers make history in the process. After her team trailed by 32 points at halftime, the former Bartlett standout led the team in scoring with a career-high 22 points as they tied for the largest comeback in the history of NCAA women’s basketball. Johnson went 7-of-15 shooting from the field and that included draining a trio of 3-pointers and she also recorded six rebounds and a steal.

Anchorage’s Jeremy Swayman helped the Boston Bruins snap a six-game losing skid this past Saturday as the starting goaltender. The former South standout stopped 40-of-43 shots in a 4-3 overtime win over the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers on the road.

Anchorage’s Edefuan Ulofoshio was active for the fourth straight game and fifth time this season and made his NFL playoff debut Sunday in the Buffalo Bills’ 31-7 win over the Denver Broncos in the wild-card round. Despite the lopsided score, his only snaps came on special teams, where he played 13, the second-fewest of his rookie campaign since he played eight in his regular-season debut in Week 9.

Fairbanks’ Daishen Nix was part of a three-team trade that landed him back with the NBA G-League affiliate of the Houston Rockets. He was traded to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers from the Iowa Wolves, the Minnesota Timberwolves affiliate he spent the last year and a half with. The former undrafted free agent was part of the Vipers 2021-22 championship team as a two-way and assignment player and has his two-way contract converted into a standard NBA contract and went on to play in 57 games for the Rockets during the 2022-23 season in which he averaged 4.0 points, 1.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists.

Palmer’s Meika Lee finished second in the all-around with a total of 38.400 to reach the podium in her first collegiate meet for the University of Pittsburgh women’s gymnastics team in this past Saturday’s season-opener. The Mat-Su Career & Technical graduate posted a 9.750 on the balance beam for her top scoring event of the night.

Palmer’s Patrick McMahon came close to tying his scoring career-high but recorded double digits in points for the seventh time this season for the Montana State University men’s basketball team. He finished third on the Bobcats in scoring with 13 points in an 83-82 loss to the University of Northern Colorado on Thursday. The former Colony High star and Alaska Gatorade Player of the Year went 5-of-10 from the field including knocking down a pair of 3-pointers and recorded three rebounds and an assist as well.

Anchorage’s Isaiah Moses tried his best to propel the University of California-Riverside men’s basketball team to victory in an 83-76 loss to University of Hawaii last Thursday by dropping a game- and season-high in points for the second week in a row with 26 to lead all players. It marked the 11th double-digit scoring game of the season for the former Dimond standout and Gatorade Player of the Year and his second game of 20-plus points of the season.

Anchorage’s Angelline Nageak extended her streak of consecutive games reaching double figures in scoring for the Adams State University women’s basketball team to four in a row this past week in a pair of losses. Against Westminster University last Thursday, the former Dimond standout led the team with 18 points and two days later she finished third with 10 points against Colorado Mesa University on Saturday, marking her sixth and seventh times scoring in double digits this season.

Anchorage’s Sayvia Sellers continued to stay hot since the start of the new year with her third straight game of recording double-digit points for the University of Washington women’s basketball team in an 80-68 loss to Michigan State University on Sunday. The former Anchorage Christian School star and two-time Gatorade Player of the Year led the Huskies with a game-high 21 points that included going a perfect 5-of-5 from the free throw line and she also logged three steals, two assists, a block and a rebound before fouling out.

(If you know of an Alaska athlete who has achieved a standout performance or reached a noteworthy milestone on the Outside, email sports@adn.com or jreed@adn.com with the details.)

Fast Forward

Prep

Hockey

Chugiak v. West at MAC, Thursday at 7:30

The top two teams in the Cook Inlet Conference square off for the third time this season in a unique event for a good cause. Players on both teams will be dawning more than just their respective schools mascots on their jerseys because it is Superhero night. Before the game, students from the Life Skills Special Education programs will sign the blank name plates on the back of each jersey. Every player will wear the jersey of their Life Skills partner during the game as well as the emblem of a comic book superhero. During the game, a silent auction will be held where the custom superhero jerseys worn by the athletes will be available for bidding with all proceeds benefiting the Life Skills Special Education programs at the two participating schools.

College

Men’s basketball

UAA v. UAF at Alaska Airlines Center, Saturday at 3 p.m.

The Seawolves will be playing on their home court for the second week in a row and will be aiming to bounce back with a standalone game against their instate rival Nanooks this weekend. This will be the first of two matchups between the two GNAC rivals of the season after splitting last year’s series.

Hockey

UAA v. UAF at Avis Sports Complex, Saturday at 7:07 p.m.

The Seawolves will be back on their home ice for the first time in 2025 and in over a month this weekend as they will also host their rival Nanooks in the third installment of the annual Governor’s Cup series. UAA hosted UAF for a two-game series back in November and split, dropping the first and winning the second.

Last week’s results

High School

Basketball

Girls

Wednesday

Newhalen 71, Birchwood Christian 18

Wasilla 73, East 19

Thursday

Cook Inlet Academy 37, Birchwood Christian 32

Service 73, Palmer 46

Newhalen 89, Cook Inlet Academy 35

Kenai Central 52, Nikiski 40

Soldotna 32, Ketchikan 30

Friday

Tanalian 46, Birchwood Christian 25

Service 68, West Valley 23

Unalakleet 52, Lumen Christi 30

Susitna Valley 30, Dillingham 29

Seward 56, Seward 29

Chugiak 56, East 24

Mountain City Christian 63, Kodiak 12

Juneau-Douglas 65, Soldotna 38

Saturday

Mountain City Christian 73, Kodiak 8

Service 76, Homer 21

Susitna Valley 37, Bristol Bay 30

Dimond 72, East 16

Wasilla 55, Colony 41

Boys

Tuesday

Cook Inlet Academy 76, Ninilchik 66

Wednesday

Newhalen 43, Birchwood Christian 39

Grace Christian 77, Barrow 39

East 72, Wasilla 48

Thursday

Cook Inlet Academy 90, Birchwood Christian 68

Dimond 61, Ninilchik 48

Juneau-Douglas 64, Soldotna 49

Cook Inlet Academy 71, Tanalian 25

Grace Christian 57, Ketchikan 48

Service 71, Barrow 48

Kenai Central 72, Nikiski 52

Palmer 78, Homer 60

Friday

Birchwood Christian 63, Holy Rosary Academy 27

Unalakleet 73, Susitna Valley 56

Ketchikan 41, Ninilchik 33

Cook Inlet Academy 73, Tri-Valley 53

Juneau-Douglas 71, Homer 46

West Valley 65, Service 53

Birchwood Christian 50, Newhalen 38

Mountain City Christian 69, Kodiak 51

Seward 90, Nikiski 60

Palmer 75, Solodotna 41

East 71, Chugiak 30

Grace Christian 62, Dimond 54

Saturday

Ketchikan 58, Bartlett 45

Birchwood Christian 64, Tri-Valley 46

Barrow 74, Ninilchik 59

Kodiak 54, Mountain City Christian 42

Homer 55, Soldotna 54

Service 54, Dimond 48

Cook Inlet Academy 77, Birchwood Christian 46

Wasilla 63, Colony 56

Grace Christian 61, West Valley 54

Palmer 66, Juneau-Douglas 64

Nome-Beltz 67, Susitna Valley 65

• • •

Hockey

Wednesday

Eagle River 5, South 4 (OT)

Thursday

South 7, Kenai Central 4

West 10, Dimond 2

Friday

Bartlett 5, Service 4

Saturday

South 8, Kenai Central 6

Chugiak 9, Service 1

Wasilla 7, Bartlett 1

• • •

College

Women’s basketball

Saturday

UAA 72, UAF 36

• • •

Men’s basketball

Thursday

Northwest Nazarene 71, UAA 63

Central Washington 93, UAF 74

Saturday

UAF 71, Northwest Nazarene 62

Central Washington 64, UAA 52

• • •

Hockey

Friday

Niagara 6, UAA 2

UAF 2, Simon Fraser 1 (OT)

Saturday

UAA 3, Niagara 1

UAF 6, Simon Fraser 3

• • •

NAHL

Friday

Anchorage Wolverines 4, Janesville Jets 3 (OT)

Saturday

Anchorage Wolverines 9, Janesville Jets 1

Sunday

Anchorage Wolverines 2, Janesville Jets 1