Soldotna High junior Jersey Truesdell received the Youth Pride of Alaska Award in the annual Alaska Sports Hall of Fame Directors’ Awards announced Thursday. Truesdell was the youth male winner, while West Valley cross-country runner and skiier Kendall Kramer was the youth female winner. The Directors’ Awards are selected by the Hall of Fame’s board of directors.
The honor is given to athletes for “consistent excellence in athletic competition”. Truesdell recently led the SoHi boys basketball team to a runner-up Northern Lights Conference tournament finish, then an upset run to the state 4A boys semifinals with 31 points in a 45-42 quarterfinal win over West Anchorage. In Soldotna’s first boys state appearance in nine years, Truesdell averaged 27.3 points over three games at state, and the Stars ultimately finished fifth among the eight-team field.
In football, Truesdell quarterbacked the Stars to a seventh straight Division II state championship last October with a smooth postseason run and was ultimately named Div. II Offensive Player of the Year.
