Joey Klecka

Ninilchik senior Austin White holds the championship trophy high above his head after the Class 1A state championship game Saturday, March 18, 2017, at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)

On Repeat: Ninilchik boys win 2nd straight state hoops crown

Rare is it that a sports team comes along with the ability to dominate its competition to a degree that the outcome is a near… Continue reading

Ninilchik senior Austin White holds the championship trophy high above his head after the Class 1A state championship game Saturday, March 18, 2017, at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)
Nikolaevsk’s Markiana Yakunin shoots a 3-pointer against King Cove on Thursday, March 16, 2017, at the Class 1A state basketball tournament at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)

Nikolaevsk, Ninilchik girls fall at state

The Ninilchik girls ran into a Class 1A juggernaut Thursday afternoon, but came away knowing the future is bright. The Wolverines fell 43-26 against the… Continue reading

Nikolaevsk’s Markiana Yakunin shoots a 3-pointer against King Cove on Thursday, March 16, 2017, at the Class 1A state basketball tournament at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)
Ninilchik’s Tyler Presley drives down the lane against Shaktoolik’s Joshua Takak (13) Thursday, March 16, 2017, afternoon at the Class 1A state basketball tournament at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)

Ninilchik boys move to state semis, Nikolaevsk falls

As the defending Class 1A state champions, the Ninilchik boys know the name of the game. Survive and advance. The No. 1 seeded Wolverines did… Continue reading

Ninilchik’s Tyler Presley drives down the lane against Shaktoolik’s Joshua Takak (13) Thursday, March 16, 2017, afternoon at the Class 1A state basketball tournament at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)
Ninilchik’s Austin White puts down a two-handed dunk against the Aniak Halfbreeds Wednesday at the Class 1A state basketball tournament at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)

Ninilchik boys win 1st day at state hoops

In Villanova-esque style, senior Nikit Fefelov drained a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to send the Nikolaevsk boys off to the Class 1A state championship bracket Wednesday night… Continue reading

Ninilchik’s Austin White puts down a two-handed dunk against the Aniak Halfbreeds Wednesday at the Class 1A state basketball tournament at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)
Nikolaevsk’s Markiana Yakunin dribbles to the rim against Nunamiut, Wednesday at the Class 1A state girls tournament at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)

Ninilchik, Nikolaevsk girls win 1st day of state

Part of the excitement that is March Madness Alaska is the suspense of early upsets. In their sixth straight appearance at the Class 1A state… Continue reading

Nikolaevsk’s Markiana Yakunin dribbles to the rim against Nunamiut, Wednesday at the Class 1A state girls tournament at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)
Nikiski’s Brianna Vollertsen dives for a loose ball against Grace Christian, Friday at the Southcentral Conference basketball tournament at Nikiski High School. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)

Nikiski girls lose Carstens, region semifinal to Grace

A 33-27 loss to Grace Christian in Friday’s Southcentral Conference tournament semifinal dropped the Nikiski girls out of title contention, but a bigger blow was… Continue reading

Nikiski’s Brianna Vollertsen dives for a loose ball against Grace Christian, Friday at the Southcentral Conference basketball tournament at Nikiski High School. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)

Nikiski girls come back to take 3rd place

A night after losing their top player to injury, the Nikiski girls basketball squad roared back to life Saturday afternoon to snatch third-place honors at… Continue reading

Nikiski’s Bethany Carstens (20) drives into a pack of Redington defenders, Thursday, March 9, 2017, at the Southcentral Conference tournament at Nikiski High School. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)

Nikiski girls win 1st day of Southcentral tourney

The Nikiski girls passed Thursday’s opening test at the Southcentral Conference tournament with flying colors, cruising to a 59-24 win over Redington on their home… Continue reading

Nikiski’s Bethany Carstens (20) drives into a pack of Redington defenders, Thursday, March 9, 2017, at the Southcentral Conference tournament at Nikiski High School. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)

Nikiski girls enter SCC tourney as coin flip losers

The coin toss that determined the seeding of the top two teams in this weekend’s Southcentral Conference girls tournament could come back to play a… Continue reading

Stars, Kards look for state spot at NLC tourney

If regular seasons decided championships, then the Wasilla girls would have clinched the Northern Lights Conference crown long ago. Luckily for everyone else, there is… Continue reading

Ninilchik’s DeeAnn White (left) looks for space against Nikolaevsk’s Elizabeth Fefelov in the second half of Friday’s Peninsula Conference girls championship game at Homer High School. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)

Ninilchik boys, Nikolaevsk girls win Peninsula Conference titles

After taking a year off, the Nikolaevsk girls are back on top of the Peninsula Conference. In the fifth meeting of the season between the… Continue reading

Ninilchik’s DeeAnn White (left) looks for space against Nikolaevsk’s Elizabeth Fefelov in the second half of Friday’s Peninsula Conference girls championship game at Homer High School. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)
Saturday: Kenai boys, SoHi girls win on crazed Cliff Massie court

Saturday: Kenai boys, SoHi girls win on crazed Cliff Massie court

The Kenai Central basketball program capped an emotional senior night with a high-energy 52-47 boys victory over Soldotna on Kenai Central’s Cliff Massie court. With… Continue reading

Saturday: Kenai boys, SoHi girls win on crazed Cliff Massie court

Peninsula Conference boys tournament preview: Ninilchik reigns supreme

The 2016-17 Ninilchik boys basketball contingent has been one of superlatives this year. As reigning state champions, the Wolverines had no significant loss of seniors.… Continue reading

Peninsula Conference girls tourney preview

The Ninilchik girls will be looking to repeat at this weekend’s Peninsula Conference tournament, something they haven’t done since their days of dominance. The top-seeded… Continue reading

Brown Bears to cease operations next year

The fate of the Kenai River Brown Bears was determined Sunday night in a board room in Detroit, and the news is not good for… Continue reading

Brown Bears weekend wrapup

A pair of losses to cap a three-week road trip does not look great on paper, but Jeff Worlton, head coach of the Kenai River… Continue reading

Nikiski’s Kelsey Clark looks to the rim against Grace Christian defenders Sarah Laker (30) and Annie VanderWeide, Friday at Nikiski High School. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)

Friday hoops: Nikiski girls win late over Grace

After holding a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter, the Nikiski girls were falling apart Friday night. First it started with sophomore Kelsey Clark being… Continue reading

Nikiski’s Kelsey Clark looks to the rim against Grace Christian defenders Sarah Laker (30) and Annie VanderWeide, Friday at Nikiski High School. (Photo by Joey Klecka/Peninsula Clarion)

State ski teams ready for fun

For the first time in three years, high school varsity cross-country ski teams are headed to the season-ending state meet with hardly a concern for… Continue reading

Nikiski, Homer hoops teams split

The Nikiski girls hoops squad is piling up victories at a staggering rate this season, but with each passing game, opposing teams are figuring out… Continue reading

Mike Crawford of Kenai leads a group of fat tire bikers up a climb in the Caribou Hills in January. A fat tire race and ride is planned for Sunday starting at Freddie’s Road House on Oil Well Road near Ninilchik. (Clarion file photo)

Fat tire bike event hits Caribou Hills

By JOEY KLECKA Peninsula Clarion Call them back country backcountry beasts, call them wilderness warriors, call them beach bums. But just don’t call them fat.… Continue reading

Mike Crawford of Kenai leads a group of fat tire bikers up a climb in the Caribou Hills in January. A fat tire race and ride is planned for Sunday starting at Freddie’s Road House on Oil Well Road near Ninilchik. (Clarion file photo)