Joey Klecka

Kenai Golf Course column

August and September have been very busy months at the Kenai Golf Course. The course is spectacular! As of this week, the KGA season-long competitions… Continue reading

Youth rider Laramie Gibson gets off a bull at the Saturday, Sept. 8 9/11 Tribute Rodeo in Soldotna, Alaska. Gibson scored 73 points on the ride and won first in junior bull riding, first in the 0-10 age group for barrels and placed in poles and key hole at the rodeo. Gibson won all-around cowboy for 0-10 age group. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)

9/11 Tribute Rodeo benefits heroes, local family

The final scene in the classic Christmas film, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” may make for a tear-shedding ending, but it also bears itself out in… Continue reading

Youth rider Laramie Gibson gets off a bull at the Saturday, Sept. 8 9/11 Tribute Rodeo in Soldotna, Alaska. Gibson scored 73 points on the ride and won first in junior bull riding, first in the 0-10 age group for barrels and placed in poles and key hole at the rodeo. Gibson won all-around cowboy for 0-10 age group. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)

Owens, Aldridge take Gauntlet bike race

Soldotna rider Tyle Owens took the overall victory in Saturday’s Tsalteshi Gauntlet bicycle race. Owens prevailed over a field of 33 in the three-hour endurance… Continue reading

Week 5 football: Nikiski escapes in OT, SoHi buries Wolves

When it came down to crunch time, the Nikiski Bulldogs showed up when they needed to. Nikiski pulled out a 14-8 overtime win over Seward… Continue reading

Justin Creech collides with the outside wall Friday night in the Late Model feature event at Twin City Raceway in Kenai. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)

Frantic action marks Twin City night races

The action around Justin Creech’s battered dirt Late Model was frenetic in the fading daylight at Twin City Raceway in Kenai. The impact the car… Continue reading

Justin Creech collides with the outside wall Friday night in the Late Model feature event at Twin City Raceway in Kenai. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)

9/11 Tribute Rodeo to kick off

The 9/11 Soldotna Tribute Rodeo kicks off today with an opening night of festivities and action at the Soldotna Rodeo Grounds off Kalifornsky Beach Road.… Continue reading

Nikiski, SoHi volleyball get wins

The Nikiski Bulldogs opened their Southcentral Conference volleyball campaign with a 3-1 match victory Thursday night in Seward. On the heels of three straight tournament… Continue reading

Week 5 prep football: Conference races heat up

The halfway point of the prep football season gives pause and reflection on how preseason predictions have been proven right or wrong, and the chaos… Continue reading

Audrey McDonald (56) rides through a narrow section of trail in the Soldotna Cycle Series season finale held Aug. 30, 2018, at the Tsalteshi Trails. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)

Soldotna Cycle Series sees biggest year yet

Sometimes, all it takes for an idea to explode is a little push. With a record number of racers in the sixth year of existence,… Continue reading

Audrey McDonald (56) rides through a narrow section of trail in the Soldotna Cycle Series season finale held Aug. 30, 2018, at the Tsalteshi Trails. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai’s Dye leads college team at golf tourney

Marian University sophomore Max Dye led the Sabres mens golf team Saturday at the Culver’s Edgewood Fall Classic tournament in Janesville, Wisconsin, with a 36th… Continue reading

Kenai’s Braedon Pitsch (88) gets his fingers on a ball intended for North Pole’s Riley Walters (2) Saturday at Ed Hollier Field in Kenai. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai defense runs rampant in win over North Pole

One by one on Saturday afternoon, the Kenai Central defense picked off North Pole quarterback Chris Lovett like daisies in a meadow, and before long,… Continue reading

Kenai’s Braedon Pitsch (88) gets his fingers on a ball intended for North Pole’s Riley Walters (2) Saturday at Ed Hollier Field in Kenai. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)
Soldotna junior Wyatt Medcoff (7) intercepts a pass intended for West Valley receiver Avery Weston, Friday at Justin Maile Field in Soldotna. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)

SoHi football topples West Valley

In their usual pound-the-rock manner, the Soldotna Stars football team pulled out a dominant 62-18 nonconference victory Friday night over the West Valley Wolfpack, with… Continue reading

Soldotna junior Wyatt Medcoff (7) intercepts a pass intended for West Valley receiver Avery Weston, Friday at Justin Maile Field in Soldotna. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Central’s Savaii Heaven races to the third-place finish in the boys 100-yard backstroke Nov. 4, 2017, at the ASAA First National Bank State Swimming & Diving Championships at the Bartlett High pool. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)

2018 preview: Swimming and dive teams hope to make waves

There is a small sense of change in the air in swimming circles. While the traditional powerhouses of the Region III swimming and diving scene… Continue reading

Kenai Central’s Savaii Heaven races to the third-place finish in the boys 100-yard backstroke Nov. 4, 2017, at the ASAA First National Bank State Swimming & Diving Championships at the Bartlett High pool. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)
Nikiski junior Michael Eiter (11) slips through a tackle Friday against the Redington Huskies at Nikiski High School. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)

Week 4 football preview: Smaller teams set for conference play

The fourth weekend of the prep football season signals the end of a first half of wild nonconference and nondivision contests that have left the… Continue reading

Nikiski junior Michael Eiter (11) slips through a tackle Friday against the Redington Huskies at Nikiski High School. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)
This photo, taken on the Skyline Trail on Sept. 20, 2017, shows the fall colors that will soon be starting to pop now that Labor Day is here. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

Column: Labor Day activities abound for peninsula folks

According to the United States Department of Labor, the Labor Day holiday is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers, and was… Continue reading

This photo, taken on the Skyline Trail on Sept. 20, 2017, shows the fall colors that will soon be starting to pop now that Labor Day is here. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Nikiski senior Brock Sarks (21) cuts through a field of Redington defenders Friday against the Redington Huskies at Nikiski High School. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)

Nikiski football blanks Redington

Two weeks of sitting on the sidelines will rev up anyone’s motor. A fresh trio of Nikiski’s best gridiron gladiators picked up the load Friday… Continue reading

Nikiski senior Brock Sarks (21) cuts through a field of Redington defenders Friday against the Redington Huskies at Nikiski High School. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)

Week 3 football preview

A dreadful 0-5 combined start to the football season among Kenai Peninsula schools turned much rosier last week, as local teams returned to the turf… Continue reading

Kenai Golf Course report

The Kenai Golf Course continues a very busy tournament schedule. Jeff Helminiak did a great job covering the Peninsula Cup, so we’ll move on to… Continue reading

Soldotna junior Jersey Truesdell winds up for a pass Friday against North Pole at Soldotna’s Justin Maile Field. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)

Fast start fuels SoHi to win over North Pole

With their stunning opening week loss to West Anchorage fading in the rearview mirror, it didn’t take long for the Soldotna Stars to return to… Continue reading

Soldotna junior Jersey Truesdell winds up for a pass Friday against North Pole at Soldotna’s Justin Maile Field. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)
Nikiski junior Noah Litke attempts to tackle Valdez back Owen Chadwick (3) Saturday at Nikiski High School. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)

Nikiski football overwhelms Valdez

Nikiski senior Cody Handley handled business through one half of football on a cloudy Saturday afternoon at Nikiski High School, and his teammates handled the… Continue reading

Nikiski junior Noah Litke attempts to tackle Valdez back Owen Chadwick (3) Saturday at Nikiski High School. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)