Eagles

West High School ushered in the Brad Lauwers era in style, with a 69-43 triumph over Wasilla in a rematch of last season's state 4A title game, also won by the Eagles.  Devon Bookert paced the  Eagles with 20 points, while Kendal Brown chipped in with 19. Lauwers is in his first season coaching West after taking over for the legendary Chuck White, who left Alaska following his 18th state title last season. In the girls game, Wasilla trounced West, 77-40 behind 45 total points from Alyssa Hutchins and Kelsey Cottle.

Apparently West Anchorage and Soldotna enjoy the view from the top. For the fourth straight week, the Eagles (6-0) top the Alaska Sports Broadcasting Network large schools football poll, while the Stars (6-0) have maintained the small schools top spot for five weeks. Both West and Soldotna face major challenges in week seven of the regular season. The Eagles take on fourth ranked Dimond (4-2), while Soldotna meets third ranked Eielson (5-1). ASBN Large Schools Football Poll: Team       Record       next Opponent 1. West       6-0        @ Dimond 2. Service   5-1        @ Bartlett 3. Juneau    5-1        vs. Mt. Vernon 4. Dimond  4-2        vs. West 5. Colony   4-2        vs. Palmer   ASBN Small Schools Football Poll: Team                  Record            next Opponent 1. Soldotna         6-0        vs. Eielson 2. Thunder Mt.   6-0        vs. Ketchikan 3. Eielson           5-1        @ Soldotna 4. Kenai             4-2         vs. Homer 5. Skyview         4-2        vs. Monroe  

The buildup to Friday's Dimond-West boys basketball game surrounded a father-son matchup of Eagles coach Brad Lauwers against the Lynx, and senior guard Dylan Lauwers.  The story became the fact that Dimond handed top-ranked West its first loss of the season against Alaska competition, 51-38.   The younger Lauwers wasn't any spectator, scoring 11 points against his dad's team.  Ryden Hines led  the Lynx with 17.  West was limited to 22 percent shooting from the field.

KTUU's selection for the third best sports story of 2010 was a collaborative effort by three athletic programs at West Anchorage High School. West became the first high school to win state hockey, boys basketball and football championships in the same calendar year. (It hasn't been accomplished in the same school year either, according to ASAA records) The hockey squad battled through the regular season and entered the Cook Inlet Conference tournament seeded only fourth. West rallied to win that title, and kept the momentum going into the state tournament.

The West Eagles won the clash of number one versus number two teams in the Alaska State 4A Coaches Poll, downing Bartlett, 68-57 on Tuesday night.   Devon Bookert starred for the top ranked Eagles, scoring 29 points, grabbing 10 rebounds while notching 10 assists.   The game was close until an 18-0 West run that spanned the late third and early fourth quarters. Damon Sherman-Newsome led the Golden Bears with 25 points, but it wasn't enough to keep Bartlett from suffering their first in-state loss of the season.

In Week 5 Cook Inlet Conference high-school football action, No. 1 West visited last-place Eagle River Saturday. The Wolves were ready, however, with Kalecchi Madubuko drawing first blood in the first quarter to leave the CIC-leading Eagles trailing 7-0. But the score was quickly evened on the Eagles’ next possession when Connor Feckley found Will Sharp, who made a pointed effort to tie the game with a 45-yard touchdown. By the third quarter, West had taken a 21-14 lead over Eagle River in what was still a competitive game.

Murray State and Southern Mississippi will face off for the Great Alaska Shootout title. In Friday's first semifinal, Murray State survived a late charge by San Francisco to win, 70-67.  Guards Isaiah Canaan and Dante Poole combined for 43 points, including each of the Racers' first 35 points scored.  Murray State went up 30-19 at halftime and led the Dons wire to wire. In the late game, Southern Mississippi overcame a four point halftime deficit to nip 1992 Shootout champion New Mexico State, 80-72.  LaShay Page steered the Eagles with 22 points.  Southern Mississippi also got 30 points from bench players.  Both finalists will be aiming for their first Shootout title.

A video recently shot in Unalaska showing cats, a bald eagle, and a fox hanging out on a woman's porch, is going viral on YouTube. “After I took the video I realized, wow, this is a good one to kind of show people that they're not out to kill each other,” said Pam Aus, the Unalaska resident who shot the clip, which has been viewed nearly one million times since it was posted earlier this week. “We all kind of just coexist in this town,” she said. Eagles are everywhere in Unalaska, Aus said, and for years they've been perching on her deck just feet from her cats.

The high school basketball schedulers nailed it with this week’s season opener, a title game rematch and the debut of a new coach. The Wasilla Warriors hosted West with Brad Lauwers taking over for legendary coach Chuck White on the boys’ side. Devon Bookert, one of Alaska’s best, led the Eagles with 20 points, and in the same result as March, it was a decisive 69-43 Eagles win. In the girls’ game, the Warriors, who were also a state finalist last season, took it to the Eagles 74-40.

Alaska's highschool football playoffs are called the second season, but it's an elimination phase. West doesn't have to be reminded: last year the Eagles entered the postseason 8-0, only to lose their quarterfinal versus North Pole. This regular season, West coach Tim Davis ran the table again, and his players were motivated to redeem themselves in their Friday quarterfinal game against West Valley. West hit the ground running as Conor Feckley found wide receiver Will Sharp, landing the Eagles on the board 7-0 barely two minutes into the game.

STORY UPDATED AT 11:04 a.m. at 5/18/13: Anchorage police say the missing teen from Eagle River was found "alive and well" late Friday night. Police say Conall Gelston, 15, was found around midnight in the area of Debarr Road and Nunaka in Anchorage. STORY UPDATED AT 9:28 p.m. at 5/17/13: Anchorage police are asking for the public's help in finding a missing teen last seen in Eagle River. Police received reports that Conall Gelston, 15, was spotted Friday morning at his bus stop in his neighborhood on Trail Bay Drive in Eagle River.

A 26-year-old male suspect is being sought by Anchorage police in an Eagle River shooting during a drug deal gone bad last month, which left a man with a grazing injury to his head. APD spokesperson Dani Myren says in a Wednesday statement that an arrest warrant has been issued for Daniel Eugene Rosendahl on charges of first-degree robbery, second-degree assault and third-degree misconduct involving weapons. Police responded to reports of shots fired in the parking lot of the Eagle River Alaska Club, at 12130 Regency Dr., at about 8:30 p.m. on April 24. Witnesses had said two vehicles fled the area before officers arrived; blood was found at the scene, but APD wasn't able to contact the victim until several hours later, based on information from the investigation.

Anchorage police are responding to a fatal Glenn Highway crash near Eagle River, in which one man was apparently entrapped and died Wednesday afternoon. APD spokesperson Dani Myren says police were informed of the wreck, which appeared to involve a single-occupant vehicle inbound on the Glenn south of a weigh station near the Hiland Road exit, at about 3:50 p.m. The man was found in the vehicle, which apparently left the highway and ended up on its side after striking a fence, but Myren says no other injuries have been reported.

Firefighters responded to a fire in Eagle River in the eleven-thousand block of Terrace Hills Drive Sunday afternoon. Responding firefighters arrived to find flames on the roof of the home. The Anchorage Fire Department said the homeowners started a fire in their fireplace, causing embers from inside the chimney to collect on the roof. AFD said there was substantial damage to the roof from the fire, but also significant water damage to the house from firefighters trying to control the blaze.

Anchorage police are looking for a shooting suspect after a man's head was grazed by a bullet at an Eagle River fitness club during a drug deal that went bad Wednesday night. According to a statement from APD spokesperson Anita Shell, police responded to a shots-fired report at about 8:30 p.m. from outside the Alaska Club at 12001 Business Blvd. Witnesses reported seeing one man shoot another, with both parties leaving in separate vehicles. Dani Myren, another APD spokesperson, says responding officers arrived at a confusing situation outside the club.

Adam Klie was nearly perfect on 10 of 11 shooting from the field while Marques Robinson added 18 points as the Service boys basketball team avenged a regular season loss to East at the buzzer by defeating the T-Birds, 70-45 in Saturday's title game of the Cook Inlet Conference.  Both schools will head to the state tournament. Klie scored 25 points in all as Service pulled away from East with a 27-9 edge in the third quarter.  The Cougars shot 71% in the second half.  Austin Huss was the only East player to reach double figures with 12. In the girls tournament, Dimond repeated as Cook Inlet Conference champion by hammering West in the finals, 76-49.  Tara Thompson led five players in double figures with 20 points, while Thompson and Rohyn Huss combined to make nine of nine shots from three point range.  The Lynx led from the opening tap, and pushed their advantage to 47-14 by halftime.  Both the Lynx and Eagles advance to the state tournament in two weeks.

STORY UPDATED AT 10:49 p.m. 3/8/13: Martin Buser checked into Eagle Island shortly before 10 p.m. Friday, holding onto his lead in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Aliy Zirkle remained in second place checking out of Grayling shortly before 6 p.m. with some shakeup in the remaining top five. Rookie Joar Leifseth Ulsom, who hails from Norway, was listed in third, followed by Nicolas Petit in fourth, and Jessie Royer in fifth who has yet to declare an eight-hour layover. After Eagle Island, teams will approach Kaltag on the Yukon River, which is about 335 miles west of Fairbanks.

The Steese Highway has been closed near Eagle Summit Friday for the second time in two weeks due to blowing and drifting snow. The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities' road-conditions website announced the closure, between closed avalanche gates at Mile 101 and Mile 116, at about 4:30 p.m. Friday. AST spokesperson Megan Peters says no vehicle accidents have been reported in the area of the closure Friday. The Steese's avalanche gates were also closed on Jan. 31 after poor conditions.

Flooding and water damage has become an issue for residents living on the west side of Old Eagle River Road. Neighbors told Channel 2 on Monday that the issue has been on going since the city of Eagle River approved the construction of the Hidden Hills subdivision.  Merry Adams said she has been living on the west side of Old Eagle River Road for more than 20 years and only since the subdivision was built has she has water damage issues.  ...