RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesAug. 5—For the third year in a row, the Abbott-O-Rabbit Little League Majors 12U team of Anchorage proved to be the cream of the crop. After besting Juneau's Gastineau Channel Little League squad Monday night at the 2026 Alaska Little League State Tournament in Ketchikan, the team advanced to the Northwest Region Tournament, which starts Saturday in San Bernardino, California. The tournament runs through Aug. 14.
"It's huge," AOR team manager Tom Mueller said. "To be able to repeat for the third time in a row, there's a lot of pressure on the kids and the coaches because expectations are high. You don't want to be the team that doesn't repeat and the kids have answered the call really well."
After his team got shellacked 9-0 on Saturday night in the first game of the best-of-3 series, they bounced back with a 10-run victory in Game 2 and won 10-2 in Game 3 to seal the deal.
Despite the program being two-time defending champion, there is rarely any continuity from one year to the next as each year's AOR team is composed of the 12 All-Stars from across the league. There was only one returner from last year's title-winning team, so to pull off a three-peat with almost a completely new team was an accomplishment.
"We have a tryout process, select coaches and then select kids for the tryout process," Mueller said. "It's just such a great group of kids and they just really want to be on this team because they want to have that opportunity to be able to travel and try to make it to regionals and have a chance to punch a ticket to the Little League World Series in Pennsylvania."
All of the regional games will be broadcast on ESPN, and AOR's first takes place Saturday at 8 a.m. Alaska time against the state champion from Idaho.
The South Anchorage High School athletic program was a force to be reckoned with from start to finish during the 2025-26 school year, claiming seven team state championships and a pair of runner-up finishes between fall, winter and spring sports. As a result, the Wolverines were named winners of the 2026 Alaska MaxPreps Cup with a state-leading 1,266 points, according to the grading system that awarded points for state titles, runner-up finishes and national rankings based on a state's size, popularity of the sport, size of school and number of teams in each playoff division.
Whale Pass' Jesse Dempsey and Joseph Hillis represented the Songahm Martial Arts Academy and their small community on Prince of Wales Island in Southeast well at the American Taekwondo Association World Championships in Phoenix, Arizona, last month. Hillis brought home a war chest of medals after winning gold in extreme forms and weapons, silver in sparring and creative forms and weapons and bronze in traditional weapons. Dempsey was named Junior Black Belt of the Year for ATA Martial Arts for both North America and the world. The prestigious honor recognizes a student-athlete's excellence in competition, outstanding character, leadership, sportsmanship, service, and "dedication to living the Songahm Spirit of Taekwondo."
Kodiak's Trevor Dunbar was named interim head coach of the University of Virginia track and field and cross-country programs last week. The 35-year-old former elite athlete-turned-coach is replacing legendary head coach Vin Lananna, who resigned from the position after being named Chief Executive Officer of the USA Track and Field Foundation. Dunbar was a seven-time champion at the prep level and junior national champion while competing at Kodiak High School, where he led the Bears to three straight cross-country titles from 2006-08. At the collegiate level, he competed for two NCAA Division I programs, spending two seasons at the University of Portland and going on to become an eight-time NCAA All-American at the University of Oregon, where he was on Ducks squads that won both the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field national titles in 2014.
He began his coaching career as a volunteer with a couple of programs before working his way up through the ranks and reuniting with Lananna at Virginia, after being previously coached by him at Oregon.
"I am extremely grateful for the incredible leadership of President Scott Beardsley and Director of Athletics Carla Williams in trusting me with the opportunity to lead this program," Dunbar said in a statement. "I would also like to thank Vin Lananna for the mentorship he has provided to me throughout my career, and I'm looking forward to his continued guidance. He has prepared me over the past five years to carry the baton into this next chapter. I am excited to continue building positive relationships with our student-athletes, our staff and the Charlottesville community."
Anchorage's Isaiah Moses recorded his ninth straight game of reaching double figures in scoring for the Perry Lakes Hawks on Saturday in the NBL1 Australia. In an 87-57 win over the Eastern Suns, the former Dimond star and Gatorade Player of the Year recorded 20 points, a team-leading five assists and wasn't far off from a double-double with seven rebounds.
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