Joey Klecka

Ninilchik’s Olivia Delgado keeps the ball away from Selawik’s Kali Howarth Wednesday in an opening round contest at the Class 1A state basketball tournament at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)

State hoops: Ninilchik girls fall on opening day

A mix of youth and mistakes sent the Ninilchik girls tumbling to an opening day loss Wednesday morning at the Class 1A state basketball tournament.… Continue reading

Ninilchik’s Olivia Delgado keeps the ball away from Selawik’s Kali Howarth Wednesday in an opening round contest at the Class 1A state basketball tournament at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)
Veteran Nikolaevsk boys coach Steve Klaich directs his team in the Cook Inlet Classic at Cook Inlet Academy in Soldotna in December 2017. Klaich will lead his team at the Class 3A state tournament today. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

Nikolaevsk boys, Ninilchik girls take aim at Class 1A state titles

With 32 total teams between the boys and girls Class 1A state tournaments converging on Anchorage this weekend, there’s not a lot of room for… Continue reading

Veteran Nikolaevsk boys coach Steve Klaich directs his team in the Cook Inlet Classic at Cook Inlet Academy in Soldotna in December 2017. Klaich will lead his team at the Class 3A state tournament today. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Soldotna’s Jersey Truesdell (right) puts up a shot against Kenai’s Luke Beiser Saturday, March 3, 2018, at Soldotna High School. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)

NLC hoops preview: SoHi, Kenai ready to rumble

Last weekend’s slate of regular season finales really injected some intrigue and drama into this weekend’s Northern Lights Conference tournament. Not that it needed it,… Continue reading

Soldotna’s Jersey Truesdell (right) puts up a shot against Kenai’s Luke Beiser Saturday, March 3, 2018, at Soldotna High School. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)
Nikiski’s Cody Handley takes a shot March 2, 2018, against Houston at Nikiski High School. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)

Southcentral hoops preview: Nikiski girls look to erase bad memories

This time last year, the Nikiski girls basketball team was facing a scoring crisis. Leading scorer Bethany Carstens went down with a knee injury minutes… Continue reading

Nikiski’s Cody Handley takes a shot March 2, 2018, against Houston at Nikiski High School. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)

SoHi’s Tuisaula signs to play DII football

The Soldotna football program sent off another star Tuesday morning when senior linebacker Wendell Tuisaula signed a letter of intent to play football at Texas… Continue reading

Preben Strende of Kenai Central (left) and Caleb Spence of Soldotna contest a rebound Saturday night at Soldotna High School. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)

SoHi boys win thriller over Kenai to cap Senior Night sweep

The big dance hasn’t started yet, but hoops fans got an early sampling of March Madness. Soldotna sophomore Jersey Truesdell answered Kenai senior Luke Beiser’s… Continue reading

Preben Strende of Kenai Central (left) and Caleb Spence of Soldotna contest a rebound Saturday night at Soldotna High School. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)

Nikolaevsk boys, Ninilchik girls gain conference finals

The Nikolaevsk boys punched their ticket to the Peninsula Conference championship game with a narrow semifinal win Thursday night, and they can thank a former… Continue reading

Kenai’s Hayley Maw lays in a bucket early in Saturday’s game against Juneau-Douglas at Kenai Central High School. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)

Juneau dismantles Kenai girls hoops

The Juneau-Douglas girls had themselves a nice little weekend trip to the Kenai Peninsula. After sweeping the Soldotna Stars in a pair of nonconference meetings… Continue reading

Kenai’s Hayley Maw lays in a bucket early in Saturday’s game against Juneau-Douglas at Kenai Central High School. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)
ACS forward Frederick Onochie lays in a bucket over Nikiski’s Ian Johnson (10) Friday at Nikiski High School. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)

Friday hoops: ACS squads sweep Nikiski

To be the best, you’ve got to beat the best, and Friday night, the Nikiski hoops squads learned the crown still belongs to another school.… Continue reading

ACS forward Frederick Onochie lays in a bucket over Nikiski’s Ian Johnson (10) Friday at Nikiski High School. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai hoops sweeps Eagle River on senior night

Kenai boys 57, Eagle River 51 Luke Beiser poured in 23 points and Preben Strende added 18 to lead the host Kardinals past the Wolves… Continue reading

Rylee Jackson of Nikiski contends for a rebound Thursday night against Grace Christian at Nikiski High School. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)

Nikiski battles conference foe Grace Christian

While the Nikiski girls basketball squad flaunts an efficient offense, they would like you to know that their defense is tough too. It was a… Continue reading

Rylee Jackson of Nikiski contends for a rebound Thursday night against Grace Christian at Nikiski High School. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Central’s Karl Danielson leads Soldotna’s John-Mark Pothast up Kill Bill hill Nov. 21, 2017, at the Turkey Skate race on the Tsalteshi Trails in Soldotna. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)

Statebound skiers ready to test mettle against best

Last week’s Region III nordic skiing championships featured the fastest skiers from the Kenai Peninsula as they won a team title for a 19th straight… Continue reading

Kenai Central’s Karl Danielson leads Soldotna’s John-Mark Pothast up Kill Bill hill Nov. 21, 2017, at the Turkey Skate race on the Tsalteshi Trails in Soldotna. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)
Nikiski’s Bethany Carstens, Soldotna’s Kianna Holland, Nikiski’s Rylee Jackson and Soldotna’s Danica Schmidt battle for a rebound Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2018, at Soldotna High School. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

SoHi hoops sweep Nikiski

The old saying, “It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish,” worked perfectly for the Soldotna boys hoops team Tuesday night. After scoring just… Continue reading

Nikiski’s Bethany Carstens, Soldotna’s Kianna Holland, Nikiski’s Rylee Jackson and Soldotna’s Danica Schmidt battle for a rebound Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2018, at Soldotna High School. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai senior Luke Beiser puts up a shot in front of Palmer’s Clayton Southwick (23) Friday night at Kenai Central High School. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)

Friday: Kenai cagers fall short to Palmer

For as much bang as they were getting for their buck, the Palmer girls basketball team should’ve invested in some stock Friday night in Kenai.… Continue reading

Kenai senior Luke Beiser puts up a shot in front of Palmer’s Clayton Southwick (23) Friday night at Kenai Central High School. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Central senior Karl Danielson toes the finish line to win the boys varsity race Saturday afternoon at the Region III skiing championships at the Tsalteshi Trails in Soldotna. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)

Hanestad, Danielson claim Region III ski crowns

Addison Gibson has routinely been near the top of her sport, but still has no Region III cross-country ski title to show for it. John-Mark… Continue reading

Kenai Central senior Karl Danielson toes the finish line to win the boys varsity race Saturday afternoon at the Region III skiing championships at the Tsalteshi Trails in Soldotna. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)

Iron Dog void of local riders

As the 35th annual Iron Dog snowmachine race, billed as the “world’s longest, toughest snowmobile race,” gets set to wave the green flag, the biggest… Continue reading

Kenai Central’s Hayley Maw works against the Wasilla press Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018, on Cliff Massie at Kenai Central High School. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

Hoops roundup: Wasilla hoops sweeps Kenai

When it comes to Alaska’s hoops powerhouse programs, not many can stand with the Wasilla Warriors, who own five of the last seven girls state… Continue reading

Kenai Central’s Hayley Maw works against the Wasilla press Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018, on Cliff Massie at Kenai Central High School. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai River Brown Bears forward Ross Hanson works out of the corner Nov. 3, 2017, at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex against the Fairbanks Ice Dogs. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

Brown Bears’ Hanson returns on special weekend

Cancer’s scar across humanity is an ugly one, but when survivors and supporters unite together, the results can be amazing. In their two-game series this… Continue reading

Kenai River Brown Bears forward Ross Hanson works out of the corner Nov. 3, 2017, at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex against the Fairbanks Ice Dogs. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

Brown Bears rotate roster in playoff pursuit

Desperation time is beginning to set in for the Kenai River Brown Bears, but head coach Josh Petrich said the mind-set remains the same. “It’s… Continue reading

The Wasilla Warriors celebrate a 4-2 semifinal victory over Homer, Friday at the North Star Conference tournament at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)

NSC Hockey: Homer, Kenai lose Friday semis

The chance to capture the first state berth in school history will have to wait another year for the Homer hockey team. Wasilla skated off… Continue reading

The Wasilla Warriors celebrate a 4-2 semifinal victory over Homer, Friday at the North Star Conference tournament at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)