The Sitka High School track team dominated at regionals last weekend, and both the baseball and softball teams are fighting for a shot at state in regional tournaments this weekend. Sitka Sentinel sports editor Garland Kennedy joined KCAW’s Katherine Rose (pinch hitting for News Director Robert Woolsey) to talk all things summer sports. Listen here:

Daily Sitka Sentinel Sports editor Garland Kennedy joins KCAW’s Robert Woolsey to discuss the Sitka Wolves second-place finish at last weekend’s state baseball tournament. The two also discuss Sitka High track’s runner-up showing at the state track meet in late May. Listen to their conversation here:

Daily Sitka Sentinel sports editor Klas Stolpe joins KCAW’s Robert Woolsey to discuss this summer’s Little League softball and baseball action, and the championship series starting today (Friday, July 26, 2019) at Moller Field. Also — a wrap up of last weekend’s Alpine Adventure Run.

Moller Field was teeming with activity this weekend. Players from South Anchorage, Juneau Douglas, Thunder Mountain, Ketchikan, and Sitka High Schools battled it out on the field, during the opening tournament of the baseball season.

Sitka Sentinel sports editor Klas Stolpe joined KCAW’s Rob Woolsey to give an insight into how the rest of the season might play out.

Tournament Scores

Thursday
– SA 8, SIT 4
– JDHS 10, TMHS 0
– SIT 3, TMHS 1
Friday
– KTN 10, TMHS 3
– KTN 11, SIT 2
– TMHS 7, SA 5
– SIT 10, JDHS 5
Saturday
– JDHS 8, KTN 8
– TMHS 7, SIT 6
– SA 3, KTN 3
– SA 9, SIT 8

Stephen Bethune, area wildlife biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in Sitka, enjoys the opportunities for adventure that his job provides. Photo provided by Bethune.

Stephen Bethune is the new area wildlife management biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in Sitka. He replaced longtime biologist Phil Mooney, who retired earlier this year. KCAW’s Katherine Rose spent some time with Bethune to see how he’s adjusting to life in Sitka.

Downloadable audio

He’s only been here for three weeks but Sitka’s new wildlife biologist, Stephen Bethune, already recognizes what’s important to locals.  

“I’ve noted since I’ve gotten here that Sitka is very serious about its baseball,” says Bethune.

He’s pretty serious about America’s favorite pastime too. In fact, he was a shortstop before he became a biologist.

“Well it was my fallback position. I didn’t quite make it as a professional baseball player.”

Baseball aside, Bethune knew from an early age that he wanted to be a wildlife biologist. He grew up on a farm in Oregon City, just outside of Portland, and his love for hunting and fishing led him to his career. But what led him to Alaska? Perhaps it was a pack of crayons.

“It’s funny, the little things in life that can steer you in a direction,” Bethune says. “I remember when I was maybe six or seven years old, my grandparents and some cousins took a vacation to Alaska, and they brought back with them a coloring book from Denali National Park, and I can remember being fascinated by the pictures in it of the giant caribou and moose and dall sheep and bears, and I kind of think that’s the seed that got planted in my mind for going to Alaska some day.”

After spending a year at Oregon State University, Bethune finally made it to Alaska, transferring to the University of Alaska Fairbanks where he earned his degree in wildlife biology. He’s worked for the Department of Fish and Game for nearly ten years, in Fairbanks, Anchorage, and the last eight years on Prince of Wales Island. Sitka’s a bit different, though…

“A lot of my field experiences with bears, mostly with black bears on Prince of Wales. I tell people I’m getting a bear upgrade when moving to Sitka,” Bethune says. “They’re much bigger and browner here.”

There aren’t any mountain goats on Prince of Wales Island either and prospect of researching them has piqued Bethune’s interest.

“We typically try to fly the mountains on Baranof Island every year to count the number of goats which helps us with our management and how to set the harvest limits for the goat hunting season,” says Bethune. “Our population levels have declined over time, and I’m really interested in looking into that and seeing what we can do to turn that around.”

Mountain goat tracking may be a new challenge, but Bethune’s no novice when it comes to bears. Whether he’s being chased or doing the chasing, it seems he has no shortage of bear stories. Sometimes, even the most experienced biologists, take risks. Like the time Bethune crawled into a bear den to dart an awake mother bear so he could check her collar.

“I have pictures afterwards that people were taking, and you can see my feet sticking out of the ground, and the other biologists are kind of standing around, and I kind of expected them to be, like, at the ready with my feet, ready to pull me out, but they didn’t seem to have as much concern as I did,” Bethune says. 

When he’s not darting goats or crawling in bear dens, Bethune is spending time with his two young daughters, picking on his guitar, or dall sheep hunting. Bethune and his wife recently celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary. He hopes Sitkans will stop by to ask questions or just share stories. His door is always open.

Downloadable audio

Sitka High School students Trevan Coleman and Brayden Case helped lead the varsity baseball team to the state championships last year – and won. This season, the two juniors are looking to repeat history. Two weeks into the season, the SHS Wolves won their first four games of the season against the Lathrop Malemutes.

Coleman and Case talked about their confidence in this year’s team and their new coach, Matt Way. They also talked about balancing sports with school. Former coach Ed Conway retired last year, after nearly two decades managing Sitka baseball. Under his management, the team won the state championship four times, including a “three-peat” in 2005, 2006, and 2007.

SHS will be playing several home games (4/17-4/18/15) next weekend against Ketchikan High School.

Moller Field re-opened in 2012 after a $2.6-million renovation. (KCAW photo)

The Sitka School District has reached a settlement in a gender equity dispute over the community’s new ball field.

The resolution means that high school baseball and softball will have to arrive at an equitable practice and game schedule at the city-owned field — a goal which has been difficult to achieve so far.

Superintendent Mary Wegner informed the school board Tuesday night (11-4-14) that an agreement had been signed with the individual who filed the complaint under a federal anti-discrimination statute commonly known as Title IX.

“The settlement proposed by the complainant was something that was very realistic, and something that will help us move our initiative forward in sharing Moller Field.”

The agreement was drafted by the federal Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights under the “Early Complaint Resolution” process. The agreement averts further investigation into gender equity in Sitka’s schools. District officials feared that a full-blown Title IX investigation would put several relatively recent programs at risk, such as football and soccer.

The agreement itself is only three paragraphs. It requires the district to develop a plan this fall for scheduling varsity baseball and softball teams for the 2015 season. The district must reaffirm its responsibility to ensure that both genders receive “equivalent benefits with respect to practice and game facilities,” and finally, the agreement does not constitute an admission of any violation of Title IX by the district, and the complaint is officially withdrawn.

“You know I’m really excited to see this,” says softball coach Bob Potrzuski. “Practice facilities, times of practice. Where one team is using the facility, it’s going to be on an equal basis with the other, and I think that’s exactly what we wanted.”

Moller Field opened in 2012 after a $2.6-million dollar renovation, including artificial turf and lights. Baseball, which historically played there, claimed the new field, though accommodations — such as a removeable pitcher’s mound and temporary outfield fence — were provided for softball games.

And a final twist: Moller Field doesn’t belong to the district. It’s owned by the city. Potrzuski says that created a grey area of scheduling that the Office of Civil Rights resolution has fixed.

“What it’s done is asserted the school district’s authority to assign Moller Field to high school teams.”

The OCR resolution specifies that the city’s Parks and Recreation participate — if needed — in the scheduling process developed for the spring season.

Sitka’s municipal government has already weighed in on the problem: It’s proposed asking the legislature for $1.5-million in renovations to the Frank Vilandre Field at Blatchley Middle School, so that it can be used for softball and Little League.

Superintendent Mary Wegner said the softball funding request was still on the table. And coach Potrzuski — though perfectly content with the OCR settlement — wouldn’t say no to a new field either.

“If the community can bear it, if the state can bear it, if this is something that certainly people bigger than me think that they can provide for our kids — I’m all for it.”

Potrzuski has consistently advocated for equity for his team, but did not file the Title IX complaint. That individual’s name will remain confidential. However, had the parties not arrived at an early resolution, the complainant would have been required to come forward  in the public process associated with a Title IX investigation.

The Sitka baseball team poses after winning the 2014 State Baseball Tournament. (KCAW photo/Robert Woolsey)

The Sitka Wolves are the state high school baseball champions.

Sitka defeated South Anchorage 11-10, in the final game of the state tournament on Saturday afternoon (6-7-14).

It was a wet, cold affair at Sitka’s Moller Park as the two teams — both undefeated in tournament play — squared off, after two days of baseball in the sunshine.

Sitka coach Ed Conway was glad his team made it to the finals, after all the effort that went into bringing the state baseball tournament to Southeast Alaska for the first time.

“It was one of those deals where you kind of dream of it, when they were putting this whole thing together, and you just don’t think it’s going to come true. But we started peaking at the right time.”

The Wolves jumped to an early 4-to-nothing lead, and held it through two innings. In the third, however, pitcher Fred Elliot gave up six runs — including a grand slam — and the Wolves fell behind South 4 – 6.

But South could not keep a lead in the game — in fact, the lead changed hands 5 times over six innings. Every time South went ahead, Sitka managed to win back the deficit, plus a little more.

Senior Brian Way relieved Elliot and pitched three solid innings. Coach Conway then opted to put senior Erikson Fish on the mound for the final seventh inning.

Fish had pitched a five-inning no-hitter the night before, and he struggled to find his rhythm, with the Wolves holding a one-run lead.

He walked the first batter, and eventually loaded the bases with two outs.

“The first batter, I was a little shaky, couldn’t throw him strikes. After that, I started throwing strikes, and had a better feel than that first batter. But once we had the two outs, I knew there was no way that guy on third was scoring. Not a chance.”

Fish struck out the final batter to retire the side, and give the Wolves the state championship.

Speaking of retirement, coach Ed Conway is hanging up his spikes after nearly two decades managing Sitka baseball. KCAW’s Robert Woolsey asked him about making the transition from the dugout to the bleachers.

KCAW – Is it going to be difficult for you to sit in the stands?
CONWAY – No. It’s going to be easy. Real easy.

This is Conway’s fourth state baseball championship coaching Sitka. In 2005, 2006, and 2007 the Wolves “three-peated” the state title.

A photo taken after game four shows both teams’ players standing with their arms around each other. They’re each signaling “Number One,” representing the fact that both were tops in their respective districts this year. (Photo provided)

Sitka’s Little League All Stars lost a hard-fought series in Wrangell over the weekend, 3 games to 1. Anchorage’s Abbott-O-Rabbit claimed the Little League title, and will represent the state in the regional tournament in August.

After losing the first two games of the series, the Sitka All Stars held on to game three, posting a 4-to-3 victory over Anchorage.

In game four, Anchorage put up most of its runs late in the game. Sitka couldn’t come back from the deficit. Game 4 ended 1-to-11.

Coach Rich Riggs says he’s proud of his team, and that they created good memories on the field and off.

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