Alaska Sports Blog

Utah State University hired a new women’s basketball coach in Jerry Finkbeiner and it didn’t take long for him to recognize the player that provides the team with hustle and muscle.

It’s Wasilla’s Jenna Johnson.

“He called me the Enforcer,” she told the Herald Journal newspaper.

Johnson, a former Alaska player of the year, is the only Utah State player to rank in the top 5 on the team in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocked shots.

She’s tough, talented and impressed with her new bench boss.

“He watched film on us, he knew us, he knew how we played, and I think that was the key factor of this coach is going to be ours. We need him,” Johnson said.

Utah State was 21-10 last year, losing in the women’s NIT.

Under Finkbeiner, the expectation is to play in the NCAA Tournament.

“This is a great opportunity for Utah State in general,” Johnson said. “Our program, this is just going to be a leap for us.”

If there’s one thing that separates Alaska’s Janay DeLoach from other long jumpers in the world it is her versatility.

It started at Eielson High School, where she won a combined seven state titles in the long jump and 100 meters.

It continued at Colorado State University, where she earned was an All-American in the long jump and all-conference in the 60 meters. She also threw the shot put.

Now, as a professional, she is ranked No. 2 in the world in the long jump but that hasn’t stopped her from doing the hurdles or competing in the pentathlon. Just last year she won a pentathlon in Boulder, Colo., and advanced to nationals, where she finished third.

“Body wise, I was in such better shape as an all-around athlete,” DeLoach told the Denver Post. “I was a better athlete and that made me a better jumper.”

The results speak for themselves.

DeLoach, 26, is enjoying a career year in 2012, winning a U.S. Championship and placing second at the World Championships. She currently ranks No. 2 in the world with a personal-best mark of 22 feet, 10¾ inches.

“My coach [in college] assured me that all the other events were going to contribute to improving my technique in the long jump,” she said. “They’ve taken me from ground zero to where I am.”

Anchorage’s Tabtip Louhabanjong helped the Indiana University of Pennsylvania advance to the second day of the Atlantic Regional opening round of the NCAA D2 Women’s Tennis Championships.

IUP beat West Liberty 5-0 in a mercy rule-induced victory.

Louhabanjong, of West High fame, teamed with Katie Eaton to net an 8-3 win at No. 1 doubles.

For the last 118 years the famed Penn Relays in Philadelphia have spotlighted some of the best runners in the country.

Maybe it’s time to add Kodiak’s Trevor Dunbar’s name.

The University of Oregon standout turned into a strong third leg in the men’s 4-mile championship relay, giving the Ducks the lead before Princeton rallied down the stretch for the win.

Led by Dunbar, Oregon finished fourth in 16:22, six seconds off the winning time.

Already having qualified for the Big Sky Championships in the two events, Anchorage’s Jacob Kirk today added to the list.

The Montana State University sophomore made his mark in the men’s 1,500 meters after a second-place finish in 3:56.41, nearly two seconds faster than his seed time.

He helped Montana State beat arch rival Montana 107-76 in the 79th all-time meeting.

Kirk, of Grace Christian fame, had already qualified for the Big Sky Championships in the steeplechase and 10,000.

Armed with a 96 mph fastball and a wicked breaking ball, Juneau’s Dylan Baker has been nearly unhittable this year.

Opposing hitters are batting just .117 against the sophomore righty at Western Nevada College, where he continues to impress head coach DJ Whittemore.

Whittemore has had a front-row seat to Baker’s sensational season – 10-0, 0.51 ERA and 85 Ks in 53 innings.

“Best season to this point in the history of college baseball … it might not be a stretch,” Whittemore told me. “He works very hard all day, every day. He is good because of his competitiveness, mound presence.

“His breaking ball is amazing and his velocity is overpowering.”

UFC fighter Cody McKenzie of Cordova is climbing back into the octagon.

McKenzie will face UFC newcomer Marcus LeVesseur in Fairfax, Va., on May 12, his first fight in eight months.

LeVesseur is 21-5 is his professional MMA career, although this will be his UFC debut.

McKenzie, on the other hand, is 12-2 as a pro with a 1-2 record in UFC.

In his last fight the Ultimate Fighter 12 alum lost by submission to Vagner Rocha at UFC Fight Night 25.

With his team facing a must-win situation to keep alive its title hopes in the Italian League, Doron Perkins of Anchorage delivered another strong performance.

The starting point guard scored 10 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in a 76-66 victory over Cimberio Varese. He added 2 assists and 2 steals.

Bennet Cantu has gone 8-2 since signing Perkins as a free agent, keeping the team within striking distance of first-place Montepaschi for the No. 1 seed in the playoffs.

Perkins, of Bartlett High fame, is averaging 10.7 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.7 steals per game.

Alaska’s Paige Blackburn continues to climb the Air Force Academy’s all-time list among the school’s greatest discus throwers.

The senior tossed a career-best 174 feet, 8 inches at the prestigious Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif., to finish seventh among collegiate throwers.

She improved her previous PR by more than five feet.

Blackburn, of Soldotna High fame, is now No. 2 on the Academy’s all-time list.