Jeff Helminiak

Photo provided by Karlee McQuillen Soldotna High School graduate Paige Blackburn practices the discus in Florida recently.

2008 SoHi graduate Blackburn tries to make Olympics in discus

Steve Lemke, the associate head coach and throws coach at the University of Florida, has coached eight Olympians in a career spanning nearly 30 years.Lemke… Continue reading

Photo provided by Karlee McQuillen Soldotna High School graduate Paige Blackburn practices the discus in Florida recently.

Kenai’s Yamada commits to bowl for Lincoln Memorial

When he was just 18 months old, Mason Yamada pushed a bowling ball down the lane with the help of his father, Glenn.“It was a… Continue reading

Photo provided by Peninsula Shooting Stars At top, Brayden Gagnon, Bradley Phelps, Bailey Horne and Nick Edwards, and at bottom, Bradley Walters, Emily Books, Lance Kramer and James Lott show off their hardware from the Alaska Scholastic Clay Target Program - Youth Education in Shooting Sports State Championship last weekend at Birchwood Shooting Park.

Peninsula Shooting Stars excel at state meet

The Peninsula Shooting Stars brought quality, not quantity, to the Alaska Scholastic Clay Target Program - Youth Education in Shooting Sports State Championship last weekend… Continue reading

Photo provided by Peninsula Shooting Stars At top, Brayden Gagnon, Bradley Phelps, Bailey Horne and Nick Edwards, and at bottom, Bradley Walters, Emily Books, Lance Kramer and James Lott show off their hardware from the Alaska Scholastic Clay Target Program - Youth Education in Shooting Sports State Championship last weekend at Birchwood Shooting Park.

Riddall, Coburn leave head coaching positions at Nikiski

Nikiski boys football — whether it be the American or international kind — lost a bunch of experience when the school year came to a… Continue reading

Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion Sprint competitor Lee Frey of Soldotna competes in the 500-yard swim portion of Tri the Kenai on Sunday at Skyview Middle School.

Crawford rides home-course edge to Tri the Kenai victory

Running. Biking. Skiing. Organizing races. Serving on the board. Kenai’s Mike Crawford has seemingly done it all at Tsalteshi Trails.Now he can add winning a… Continue reading

Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion Sprint competitor Lee Frey of Soldotna competes in the 500-yard swim portion of Tri the Kenai on Sunday at Skyview Middle School.

Brown Bears coach Worlton excited by influx of talent from NAHL Draft

Kenai River Brown Bears coach Jeff Worlton said the team took a major step forward Tuesday with the North American Hockey League Draft. The Brown… Continue reading

American Legion Twins preview: The pieces are there, but they’re not in place yet

American Legion Post 20 Twins coach Robb Quelland has a bunch of puzzle pieces in front of him that he thinks will make a nice… Continue reading

Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion Soldotna pitcher Matthew Daugherty winds up for the pitch Wednesday against Kenai Central at the Kenai Little League Fields.

Stars head to state baseball tourney with confidence

The Soldotna baseball team has just two appearances at state, going two-and-out each time. Sitka, meanwhile, has four state championships since the tournament started in… Continue reading

Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion Soldotna pitcher Matthew Daugherty winds up for the pitch Wednesday against Kenai Central at the Kenai Little League Fields.
Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion Connor Jones pitches to Soldotna on Saturday in the second-place game of the Southcentral Conference tournament at Coral Seymour Memorial Park in Kenai.

Southcentral baseball Saturday: Stars top Kardinals for second place and state berth

Soldotna defeated Kenai Central 17-2 in five innings Saturday at Coral Seymour Memorial Park in Kenai to take second place and the final state berth… Continue reading

Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion Connor Jones pitches to Soldotna on Saturday in the second-place game of the Southcentral Conference tournament at Coral Seymour Memorial Park in Kenai.
Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion Wasilla celebrates winning its third straight Southcentral Conference tournament title after topping Soldotna 5-0 on Friday at Coral Seymour Memorial Park in Kenai.

Friday Southcentral baseball: Warriors top Stars for crown

Co-division MVPs before the game. Harnessers of Soldotna’s bats and vaunted running attack during the game. Center of the celebratory mob after the game.Wasilla senior… Continue reading

Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion Wasilla celebrates winning its third straight Southcentral Conference tournament title after topping Soldotna 5-0 on Friday at Coral Seymour Memorial Park in Kenai.
Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion Kenai's Sam Combs is tagged out trying to steal third base in the second inning by Colony's Zachary Satterly on Thursday at the Southcentral Conference tournament at Coral Seymour Memorial Park in Kenai.

Wasilla, Soldotna to clash for Southcentral baseball crown

The top two seeds in the Southcentral Conference tournament will clash for the title at 7 p.m. tonight at Coral Seymour Memorial Park in Kenai.… Continue reading

Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion Kenai's Sam Combs is tagged out trying to steal third base in the second inning by Colony's Zachary Satterly on Thursday at the Southcentral Conference tournament at Coral Seymour Memorial Park in Kenai.
Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion Kenai Central midfielder Zack Tuttle (23) heads the ball amid a group of Colony defenders Saturday, May 21, at Ed Hollier Field in Kenai. The Kenai boys won the Northern Lights Conference championship with a 3-1 victory over Colony.

State soccer preview: Can Kenai teams, SoHi boys, make peninsula history?

Despite the limitations of school size and lack of access to a year-round playing surface, Kenai Peninsula schools will try to keep making their presence… Continue reading

Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion Kenai Central midfielder Zack Tuttle (23) heads the ball amid a group of Colony defenders Saturday, May 21, at Ed Hollier Field in Kenai. The Kenai boys won the Northern Lights Conference championship with a 3-1 victory over Colony.
Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion Soldotna pitcher Matthew Daugherty delivers a strike to a Kenai Central batter Wednesday at the Kenai Little League Fields.

Trio of Peninsula baseball teams ready to bat at region tourney

When the Southcentral Conference baseball tournament boots up from today to Saturday in Kenai, Kenai Peninsula nines will try and shake off a state drought… Continue reading

Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion Soldotna pitcher Matthew Daugherty delivers a strike to a Kenai Central batter Wednesday at the Kenai Little League Fields.
Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion Kenai Central sophomore Zack Tuttle dribbles the ball away from a Nikiski defender April 19 at Ed Hollier Field in Kenai. The Kardinals are hosting the Northern Lights Conference tournament today through Saturday.

Kenai soccer squads head into home region tourney as top seeds

Thanks to a warm spring and artificial turf, the Kenai Central girls and boys soccer teams have played a once-unthinkable 10 varsity matches apiece this… Continue reading

Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion Kenai Central sophomore Zack Tuttle dribbles the ball away from a Nikiski defender April 19 at Ed Hollier Field in Kenai. The Kardinals are hosting the Northern Lights Conference tournament today through Saturday.
Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion Soldotna's Cody Quelland is hit by a pitch in the third inning of Thursday's 9-2 victory over Houston at Soldotna LIttle League fields.

SoHi pitchers shine again in defeating Houston

The pitching and defense of the Soldotna baseball team kept shining as the Stars defeated Houston 9-2 in Southcentral Conference action Thursday at the Soldotna… Continue reading

Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion Soldotna's Cody Quelland is hit by a pitch in the third inning of Thursday's 9-2 victory over Houston at Soldotna LIttle League fields.
Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion Soldotna right fielder Alicia McClelland can't catch up to a triple by Kenai Central's Darcy Blume in the bottom of the second inning Wednesday, May 11, 2016, at Steve Shearer Memorial Ball Park in Kenai.

SoHi softball defeats Kenai, clinches berth to state

A long wait is over for the Soldotna softball team thanks, in part, to patience.The Stars clinched their first berth to the small-schools state softball… Continue reading

Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion Soldotna right fielder Alicia McClelland can't catch up to a triple by Kenai Central's Darcy Blume in the bottom of the second inning Wednesday, May 11, 2016, at Steve Shearer Memorial Ball Park in Kenai.
Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion Homer's Malina Fellows slides under the tag of Soldotna third baseman Ember Lohrke on Tuesday, May 10, 2016, at the Soldotna Little League fields.

Homer’s bats come on to defeat SoHi in softball

The Homer softball team defeated Soldotna 15-4 in five innings Tuesday at the Soldotna Little League fields in a battle of Northern Lights Conference unbeatens.The… Continue reading

Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion Homer's Malina Fellows slides under the tag of Soldotna third baseman Ember Lohrke on Tuesday, May 10, 2016, at the Soldotna Little League fields.
Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion Nikiski goalie Brianna Vollertsen stretches for a save Monday at Nikiski High School in front of Kenai Central's Sam Morse and Nikiski's Avery Kornstad.

Kenai soccer sweeps Nikiski

Nikiski girls soccer coach Troy Zimmerman is trying to convince his team of just how much they have improved this season. The scores continue to… Continue reading

Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion Nikiski goalie Brianna Vollertsen stretches for a save Monday at Nikiski High School in front of Kenai Central's Sam Morse and Nikiski's Avery Kornstad.
Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion Soldotna's Joey Becher dives for first base just before Kenai Central first baseman XXX catches the ball Wednesday at the Kenai Little League fields.

SoHi baseball escapes stronger Kenai team with win

The Soldotna baseball team kept its perfect record, while the Kenai Central baseball team kept getting better.The Stars topped the Kardinals 11-7 on Wednesday at… Continue reading

Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion Soldotna's Joey Becher dives for first base just before Kenai Central first baseman XXX catches the ball Wednesday at the Kenai Little League fields.
Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion Homer's Kyle Johnson (17) tags home plate to score a run behind Kenai Central catcher Taylor Landry Tuesday evening at the Kenai Little League Fields.

Homer baseball escapes Kenai with victory

The Homer baseball team got five runs from batters who had reached on walks in defeating Kenai Central 10-8 on Tuesday in Southcentral Conference action… Continue reading

Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion Homer's Kyle Johnson (17) tags home plate to score a run behind Kenai Central catcher Taylor Landry Tuesday evening at the Kenai Little League Fields.