Anyone who has climbed one of the various mountains in Alaska knows the view at the top is worth savoring for a while.
The Cook Inlet Academy girls basketball team could not agree more.
In 2010, the CIA girls won their first Peninsula Conference crown since 1988. The Eagles followed up an undefeated regular season in the conference with another crown in 2011. If area coaches are right, CIA is not yet ready to give up its perch.
Rustin Hitchcock, in his third year leading the Eagles, will have to make up for the loss of four seniors.

The Kenai Central cross-country ski team has a saying: “We’re not runners, we’re skiers.”

This year, Mother Nature was listening.

Ski teams around the state were allowed to start practice on Oct. 31. Teams from the central Kenai Peninsula were on snow within a week, while Homer was on snow within three weeks.

“It has been pretty good,” Soldotna coach Dan Harbison said. “We had that windstorm that kind of threw debris all over the trail, but the groomers at Tsalteshi have been great at getting that cleared off and cutting up the trees that fell across the trail.”

By JEFF HELMINIAK

Peninsula Clarion

This ain't so bad.

Sure, at first blush, the idea of raising funds in Alaska on the day after Thanksgiving by holding a fun run matches up with the reason Kasilof's Carolyn Roush gave when asked why she participated.

"Insanity," she said, after trotting in the first T200 Turkey Trot, which was held to raise funds for the Tustumena 200.

One day at practice this season, Homer senior swimmer Kyle Wentz broke out with a self-created poem that has become a theme of sorts for the Homer swim team this season:

“The wounds of our parting soon shall mend, so let’s swim our best to the end.”

That end, at least as far as prep swimming careers go, comes for the Homer seniors Saturday after the two-day state swimming and diving championships at Bartlett High School in Anchorage. The swimming and diving finals start at 1 p.m. Saturday.