Alaska Sports Blog

Saint John’s University wrestler Dustin Baxter of Fairbanks has won 19 straight matches and is ranked No. 2 in the country, but you’d never know it.

He is as gracious as he is good.

“I would say humility is one of my greatest strengths,” Baxter told me.

The senior standout is a two-time D3 All-American and owner of one of the longest winning streaks in Saint John’s history, a result of sweat and sacrifice.

“I wouldn’t say I’m doing anything out of the ordinary compared to other guys on the team,” he said. “I’ve got great teammates. They push me, I push them. My assistant coach, Tony, he is always pushing me and helping me achieve.”

Baxter, of West Valley fame, faces a tough test this weekend as No. 8 Saint John’s competes against No. 2 Augsburg and No. 18 Concordia-Moorhead.

“My confidence is high. No reason it won’t keep rolling the way it is,” he said. “I’ve got quite the task ahead of me and that’s where my focus is.”

Last year, Baxter rocked a Mohawk, a sneak peek into his wild side.

“Looking back at the pictures I’m not sure that was the best hairstyle that I could have chosen,” he said.

Then again, he is considering a professional MMA career after college, so he’s got a little crazy in him.

Good thing Clark College women’s basketball players Chelsea Dyson and Deborah Simmers of Anchorage were so productive on offense in a recent win over Pierce.

Because they combined for 19 of the team’s 37 turnovers.

Ouch, babe.

Yet it almost didn’t matter because Clark won 86-65, making 20 for 20 foul shots and surviving Piece’s offensive assault of 88 shots in 40 minutes.

Dyson, of ACS fame, scored a season-high 31 points. She sank 8 of 13 shots from the field and 14 of 14 from the free-throw line. She added 6 rebounds and 4 steals.

Simmers, also of ACS fame, delivered a monster double-double with 18 points and 18 rebounds to go along with 6 assists.

Brad Oleson of North Pole caught fire from downtown, hitting 4 of 9 3-pointers for Caja Laboral in a Spanish League loss to first place Real Madrid.

Oleson, of UAF fame, finished with 18 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist. He started at guard and played 28 minutes.

He raised his season scoring average to 10.6 in 17 league games.

Oleson is shooting a 50 percent clip from 3-point land.

After spending the last six years in the minor leagues, Corey Madden of Anchorage received a vote of confidence from the Miami Marlins.

He was invited to spring training.

The 27-year-old relief pitcher will be among 22 non-roster players joining the 40-man roster in Jupiter, Fla., early next month. Pitchers and catchers report Feb. 22 and the team’s first full-squad workout is Feb. 26.

“My presence there doesn’t necessarily mean I’m going to make the team,” Madden told me. “Even if I pitch well it doesn’t guarantee me a spot right away as well. The biggest thing that it’s going to do for me is showing that I can pitch against [major-league] quality of hitters.”

Madden, of East High fame, is a first-time non-roster invitee to spring training. He ended last season with Triple-A New Orleans after getting promoted from Double-A Jacksonville in July.

“I deserve this opportunity,” he said. “To be honest, I was getting a little frustrated before I got the phone call because I felt like I’ve pitched well.”

Madden has 188 career professional appearances in the minors, making the All-Star team in 2008 and 2010.

The 6-foot-1 right-hander comes out of the bullpen in the seventh and eighth innings, specializing in getting hitters out with runners in scoring position. He has an impressive 332 strikeouts in just 274 innings.

His career numbers: 3.11 ERA, 17-12 record, 13 saves.

Not bad for a guy who signed for $1,000 out of St. Mary’s College.

His journey with the Marlins has been filled with ups and downs, but his persistence deserves praise. Madden has gone all the way from rookie ball to Triple-A to spring training with the Marlins.

“Pitching well is my only chance [to get recognized],” Madden said. “You have to have that mindset. I expect a lot out of myself. I don’t expect a lot out of the situation.”

Anchorage’s Leif Karlberg pumped in 10 of his 12 points in the second half to spark The Master’s College to a 66-63 win over Pt. Loma Nazarene in Santa Clarita, Calif.

With the win, The Master’s College remained in first place in the GSAC.

Karlberg, of Grace Christian fame, scored the go-ahead basket with 2:28 to play to cap his team’s 8-0 run. He put the game away with a pair of free throws with 16 seconds left.

The Master’s College is 14-5 overall and 6-2 in league.

Alaska’s Janay DeLoach won the women’s 60-meter hurdles [8.25s] today at the Potts Indoor Invitational in Boulder, Colo.

DeLoach, of Eielson High fame, is sponsored by Nike.

Her main event is the long jump. A former NCAA D1 All-American at Colorado State University, she is coming off a strong outdoor season.

In July, she was beat a strong field to win the Birmingham UK Grand Prix with a best jump of 22¼ feet.

Alaska mixed martial arts fighter Jake Heun was on the losing side tonight in Honolulu during the semifinals of the ProElite heavyweight tournament.

Undefeated Richard Odoms forced Heun to tap out with a hold dubbed ‘the neck crank’ in the second round.

It was just Heun’s second loss in his budding professional career.

The former football player at Bartlett High and the University of Hawaii won the first round and looked to be in control. Here is a rundown of the fight thanks to MAAjunkie.com:

In the evening’s second heavyweight grand prix semifinal, undefeated Richard Odoms (7-0) scored a second-round submission win over Jake Heun (2-2) in a highly entertaining – if not exactly technically sound – back-and-forth affair. The action started immediately, with Heun scoring an early slam takedown and then moving quickly to mount and an armbar attempt that looked close to ending the fight. Odoms then wiggled free and nearly had a rear-naked choke, but Heun escaped to the feet and reset. The pair fell into a dueling leglock battle for much of the later moments, and while neither was able to hit the finish, Heun did pull free and land a few heavy punches before the bell.

In the second, a tiring Heun scored a lateral drop and transitioned to mount. But Odoms fought off the charge once again and slipped to his opponent’s back and instantly locking his arms around the neck. With the look of a deranged lunatic on his face, Odoms cranked the neck and earned a tapout finish that was deemed a rear-naked choke but looked to be more neck crank than anything. The finish came at the 1:56 mark and put Odoms in the tournament final.

He hasn’t played a down in the NFL yet, but Daniel Hardy of Anchorage is inching closer to the field and believes he will get an opportunity.

The Minnesota Vikings agree.

They signed the 24-year-old tight end as a free agent after a rookie season that saw him get drafted by the Tampa Bay Bucs just last spring before being released and eventually landing with the New Orleans Saints as a practice player. He was on the Saints sideline in San Francisco last week during that epic playoff game won by the 49ers.

But that was then. Now he’s a member of the Vikings.

“Looking at the overall situation there, I just felt like it was the best decision for me,” Hardy told me.

The 6-foot-4, 249-pounder is currently staying with his girlfriend in Salt Lake City and plans to return to Anchorage in the summer.

His rookie experience in the NFL was a whirlwind of teams, tryouts and playbooks.

The former West High standout signed with New Orleans in late November and was a member of the practice squad. There he got an inside look at what it takes to be a champion [the Saints won Super Bowl 44 in 2010].

“Words can’t describe what you can learn in that short amount of time,” Hardy said. “I learned how to become a professional.”

He raved about Drew Brees and Sean Payton.

“You always hear the clichés about first one in, first one out, but [Brees] epitomizes that. He epitomizes what a leader should be. There is no mistake why he broke Dan Marino’s passing record,” Hardy said. “They are top to bottom so meticulous in their preparation.”

He will apply what he learned to his career moving forward.

“I’m excited to be going to Minnesota,” Hardy said.

And unlike last year, there will be no waiting for the draft, no waiting for the lockout to end. He already knows where he’s going.

“You know what’s mapped out for you,” he said. “I have an offseason training regimen given to me by the coaching staff. I was able to talk with my tight ends coach today. It’s nice.”

Eagle River’s Alev Kelter netted her first goal of the season for the No. 1 ranked University of Wisconsin women’s hockey team in today’s 2-0 matinee victory over No. 8 Minnesota Duluth.

Kelter, who also stars for the school’s soccer squad, has played in only 13 of the team’s 25 games. The Badgers are 21-2-2.

The junior blueliner also has 3 assists this season.