Alaska Sports Blog

When Anchorage’s Silas Talbot ran a 3:47.35 in the 1,500 meters in mid-April, he probably hoped his time would be good enough to qualify him for NCAAs.

At the same time he knew it would be close with a month before the competition.

Turns out, Talbot made the cut – but just barely.

His time ranks 48 out of 48 entering Thursday’s first round of elimination at the NCAA East Regional in Greensboro, N.C.

Talbot, of Service High fame, is a sophomore at Dartmouth College and has the fourth-fastest 1,500 time in the Ivy League.

Earlier this season, he won his first college race in the 800.

Last fall during cross country, Talbot finished third at the All-New England Championships.

Stuck on the bench for the Euroleague champions, Doron Perkins of Anchorage finally got a chance to do his thing for Olympiacos in Greece.

The 6-foot-3 reserve guard collected a season-high nine points and five rebounds in an 80-53 win over Apollon Patras in league play.

Perkins, of Bartlett High fame, joined the team late in the season after starting the season in Ukraine and then China.

He sank 6 of 10 shots and played 19 minutes. He also had three assists and two steals.

Perkins has averaged just 2.6 points and 9.6 minutes in 12 games with Olympiacos and it is tough seeing him play much moving forward.

But he got a Euroleague championship ring out of the deal regardless.

Lierin Flanagan of Kenai had the race of her life at the Big Sky Championships.

The Montana State junior placed third in the 800 meters to earn all-conference honors for the second straight year.

Flanagan, of Kenai High fame, made a big push at the end of the race for a lifetime best time of 2:10.61.

Freshman runner Jani Lane of Anchorage has been named men’s Rookie of the Year for the Michigan Tech track and field team.

Lane ran the 10th fastest time in school history in the 800 meters of 1:53.13.

Lane, of Service High fame, competed for Michigan Tech in cross country and nordic skiing in addition to track.

Christine Henie of Chugiak was named to the Northwest Collegiate Rowing Conference academic all-star team for the third consecutive year.

The senior rower at Western Washington University is an Art major with a 3.62 grade point average.

She’s just as good on the water.

She plays the stroke position and has helped Western Washington maintain its stranglehold as the premier rowing team in the league.

Last year, Henie was named a second-team all-star as the Vikings placed second at nationals. She was part of the team’s national championship in 2011.

Playing without leading scorer Juan Carlos Navarro, Spanish power Barcelona turned to another veteran for points production.

North Pole’s Brad Oleson.

The 30-year-old Alaskan pumped in a career-high 26 points in a 90-89 victory over Lagun Aro that assured Barca will finish no worse than third in the league.

Olson, of UAF fame, connected on 12-of-14 field goals, including 3-of-5 on 3-pointers. He also sank 5-of-7 free throws.

His previous career high in the Spanish League was 24 points, set almost exactly a year ago, April 22, 2012, when he played for Caja Laboral. On that night he hit 6-of-9 3s.

He has averaged 9.9 points on 56 percent shooting in 14 games since getting traded to Barca earlier this season.

He nearly retired from the game. Tonight Corey Madden of Anchorage retired batters in an independent league in Texas.

The 28-year-old reliever with the Amarillo Sox made his debut in the American Association, getting the final two outs in the eighth inning in a 9-5 win over El Paso.

It was the 207th professional game for Madden, of East High fame.

He walked the first guy on a 3-2 count.

“It was a strike,” he told me.

He struck out the next batter before getting the next guy to pop up.

He threw 88 to 92 mph.

“I’ll get up to 94 within the end of the month,” he said.

Soldotna’s Joey Newby is expected to start Friday for Amarillo. Last season, Sitka’s Matt Way pitched in this league.

WNBA veteran Jessica Moore of Palmer today signed a free-agent deal with the Washington Mystics, her sixth team in what will be her ninth season in the league.

The 6-foot-3 center has played in 221 career WNBA games, the most of any player from Alaska. She has scored a total of 644 points and grabbed a total of 449 rebounds.

Moore, of Colony High fame, played for Atlanta and Connecticut last season. In Washington, she will reunite with former Connecticut Sun coach Mike Thibault.

Moore was the 24th overall draft pick in 2005 by the Charlotte Sting. She has since carved out the more professional career of any player from Alaska.

Her best season came in 2009 with the Indiana Fever when she averaged career highs in points [4.8], rebounds [3.1], minutes [19.8], FG% [.471] in helping the Fever advance to the WNBA Finals.

Known more of a defensive specialist, her career averages are 2.9 points and 2.1 rebounds per game.

After two seasons in the NWAACC, Colby Mitchell of Chugiak is headed to the GNAC, where he will play for a Western Washington team that has established itself as the best NCAA D2 team on the West Coast.

The 6-foot-7, 220-pound forward has signed his letter of intent and will have two seasons of eligibility.

Mitchell, of Chugiak High fame, played his first two seasons of college basketball for Mount Hood CC in Oregon. Last year he was team captain.

“He brings a lot of toughness and athleticism to our program,” head coach Tony Dominguez told the school’s website. “He also has some intangibles that we feel our team was needing moving forward.”

As a sophomore he led the team in points [13.6] and rebounds [7.3] per game. He shot 51 percent from the field.

Western Washington, the 2012 national champion, graduated six of its top eight players from a 31-3 team that reached the final four.

Mitchell is a veteran of the Spring Alaska Exposure Senior Trip, which tours NWAACC schools with travel coach Jim Young of Anchorage.

Arizona State senior Jordan Clarke of Anchorage etched his name in another record book, becoming the first Sun Devil in nearly two decades to win three conference shot put titles.

The defending NCAA champion won this year’s Pac-12 Conference championship in Los Angeles with a throw of 63 feet, 6 inches.

He is also just the fourth athlete in Pac-12 history to win the shot put three times.

It was the 33rd victory of his storied college career.

Clarke, of Bartlett High fame, also competed in the hammer throw and discus.

The 6-foot-4 All-American was fifth in the hammer throw at 204-11 and did not qualify for finals in the discus.