The Soldotna Stars will be the sole Kenai Peninsula representative at the Class 4A level at this weekend’s state volleyball tournament championship at the Curtis Menard Sports Complex in Wasilla.

Fresh off a Northern Lights Conference championship, the Stars are seeded number one No. 1 in the NLC, and have refocused and are preparing for their first game of the tournament, a matchup against the Cook Inlet Conference’s second seed, the South Anchorage Wolverines, Thursday at 11:45 a.m.

Soldotna beat crosstown rival Kenai Central 12-2 on the third and final day of the Peninsula Ice Challenge tournament at the Soldotna Sports Center, wrapping up the tournament crown at the same time by winning all three of the weekend’s games.

Juneau beat North Pole 4-2 on Saturday to finish second in the tournament with a 2-1 record. North Pole finished 1-2, and Kenai finished fourth with a 0-3 record.

A season’s worth of hard work will be put to the test this weekend at the Bartlett High School pool in Anchorage as the state’s best swimmers and divers compete for the top of the podium in 12 separate events.

The top two divers in each conference tournament qualify for state, along with the next best eight scores in the state. For timed events, the conference champion for each individual contest qualifies, along with the next 12 best statewide times, and the championship relay team from each conference qualifies, along with the next four fastest teams statewide.

The prep hockey season kicks into full gear today for North Star Conference squads, with Juneau playing Soldotna at 6 p.m. and Kenai Central facing North Pole at 8 p.m. in the first day of the Peninsula Ice Challenge at the Soldotna Sports Center.

The additions of incoming freshman and the absences of graduating seniors almost always leaves its mark on teams, so changes are necessary.