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For the first time in their program history, the Mitkof Middle School Robotics team qualified and competed in the national competition on June 13 – 15 in Boston. Forty-eight states and 28 countries across the world such as Japan, China, Korea and more were represented at this meet. In the weeks leading up to the meet the robotics team worked with researchers from Oregon State University to refine their ROVs. "We added a motor that releases our little arms that grab onto the glacier surfaces a...
This past weekend, now Petersburg senior Gabriele Whitacre competed in the Alaska State Powerlifting Championship, in Eagle River, Alaska. Whitacre took a similar approach to her training routine as she did when she competed in the St. Patty's competition. "Just trying to maximize my deadlift, bench and squat. The goal going into this competition was to beat the deadlift record and my own bench record which didn't happen but I did see some improvements," Whitacre said. Whitacre's powerlifting...
Petersburg's Devil's Thumb Shooters wrapped up their season this past weekend at the AK YESS State Tournament to huge results. For the first time, DTS won the High Over All Grand Champion Team. For long-tenured seniors such as Cayden Turland, who has been in this program since the spring of third grade and Trent Kittams, who has been with the team since fall of fourth grade, this accomplishment ended their careers with a bang. However, despite the accomplishment, it wasn't all smooth sailing...
The Petersburg High School track and field team had a strong finish to a successful season during the ASAA Division 2 State Championships in Anchorage. One of the reasons why this team had a successful season is due to their togetherness. "I think the best part about this season has been the team that we have has been very close, great energy, positive attitudes, excited about working hard and competing in their events. Seeing them step up and support each other has been really cool," said head...
The Petersburg high school track and field team had a strong performance at the Region V Championships this past weekend in Juneau. A two-day meet full of new personal bests and individual championship victories meant that 20 athletes qualified to the state meet – 11 on the boys team and nine on the girls team. "One of my favorite parts was seeing our senior throwers take one, two, three in the discus and then one, two, four in the shot put," said head coach Erin Hofacre. "I was so impressed wit...
Needing a series win to keep their postseason hopes alive, the Petersburg high school baseball team battled the Ketchikan Kings at home this past weekend. In game one, the Vikings lost 12-0, committing seven errors. In game two, the Vikings put themselves in a 9-0 deficit by the top of the third inning. This time however, the Vikings were able to mount a comeback in the bottom of the third, scoring six runs to make the score 9-6. “It shows just a little glimmer of what we think our team will be like down the road going into next season,” said h...
The Petersburg high school track and field team compiled 46 personal bests this past weekend in Ketchikan. "They did great. Lots of great team working together type performances. That home meet was a great time for the team to bond and get excited about going to regionals with some goals to score points and to try to place as high as they can as a team," said head coach Erin Hofacre. One athlete that set a personal best and broke the school record was Petersburg senior Kaden Duke, who threw 143...
The Petersburg high school baseball team looked to claim their first pair of victories this past weekend against the undefeated Sitka Wolves. The Vikings ran into a Wolves buzzsaw as they were swept 3-0 by the Wolves, losing 17-0, 11-1 and 10-0. The Vikings have been inconsistent on offense and haven't scored more than three runs since April 12, against the Ketchikan Kings. "We've had games where balls are hit right to people. We had that happen multiple times in Sitka where the ball was hit...
In their first home games of the season, the Petersburg high school baseball team struggled to contain the Juneau-Douglas Crimson Bears high powered offense. In game one, the Vikings were defeated 16-1. "The weather played a huge role. We had to juggle our lineup a little bit because of a couple of different issues, we were not at full strength on Thursday," head coach Jim Engell said. Errors were an issue for the Vikings against the Crimson Bears. "We made four errors on Friday and one on...
This past weekend, the Mitkof middle school and Petersburg high school had an opportunity to come together for an intersquad track and field meet. Historically, Petersburg's track program has lagged behind when it comes to track facility and equipment. From a gravel oval space for running to a rigid, old boardwalk connecting with a rough sandpit for long jumpers, the conditions have not been ideal. But some improvements have been made in recent years. "We brought in some new rock two years ago...
For the first time ever, Petersburg hosted a Native Youth Olympics showcase for 19 students (17 due to illness) between the middle and high schools. Thanks to community support/sponsors, Petersburg was able to have the showcase here on April 29 and 30th, allowing for the community to see what the student-athletes have been working on this season. For the last three years, the number of participants for NYO have exceeded 15. Since the start of the season in February, the team has been focusing...
This past weekend, Petersburg's high school art program brought their talent and work to the annual Artfest, in Wrangell – a four-day series of workshops, creativity and fun. "I brought an acrylic painting of a whale tale with a bunch of flowers on it," said sophomore Rebecca Midkiff, who has been working on the whale tale since the beginning of the year. "I did an acrylic painting of Ketchikan – a board walk with houses," sophomore Ali Kittams added. Senior Becky Fisher brought one of her for...
For the second year in a row, the Viking Swim Club won the highest points per swimmer award at the Alaska State Championships. "They just continue to impress me. I don't know how these kids do it," head coach Scott Burt said. "One of the most impressive things that I liked as a coach is – this is the second year we've been able to do highest points per swimmer, so I'm very proud of our swimmers for that accomplishment." Overall, VSC finished seventh out of 23 teams. The VSC had numerous s...
Several shooting sports participants from Petersburg's Devil Thumb Shooters headed to Las Vegas March 21 through March 23 to compete in the Western Regionals. The tournament consisted of about 500 athletes, ranging from novice to collegiate shooters. Petersburg junior Serena Helms shot 90 in Trap. "A lot of it is a mental game so just trying to stay focused and when you miss one, don't focus on that, focus on shooting the next one," Helms said. "Have the same repetitive motion because the mount...
The Petersburg High School music team stunned the crowd during Spring Music Fest this past weekend in Juneau. The music team was determined to perform at their best, from jazz bands to solo ensembles. In 2024, Petersburg’s concert band did not receive any “superiors,” the highest marks from the judges. They changed that this past weekend. “We were just focused, we were like ‘Let’s just try to get one,’ but our concert band got three and that’s a reflection on the amount of work they [seniors] put into it and the amount of care,” music di...
The Petersburg High School baseball team began its season on the road at Ketchikan. In their first game against the Homer Mariners, the Vikings faced a 4-0 deficit after two innings and then a 9-0 deficit after four. The Vikings didn’t score until the sixth inning but by that point, the Mariners had complete control and they would go on to win 11-3. “We made some mistakes, we committed quite a few errors in that game. That was probably one huge contributing factor to the score. We have to rely upon making outs on the defensive side of thi...
The Viking Swim Club continued its successful season this past weekend at the Southeast Championships in Juneau. The meet consisted of six other teams: Wrangell, Craig, Haines, Sitka, Ketchikan, and Juneau. VSC finished second, with 1144 points, 42 gold, 33 silver, and 25 bronze medals. "As a coach, I'm very happy with what I saw in the water, both with respect to the events that they swam and also how clean they swam," head coach Scott Burt said. "We had very few DQs. Incredibly happy with how...
The Petersburg High School Track and Field team enters 2025 surrounded by excitement, led by first-time head coach Erin Hofacre. Hofacre was an assistant for the 2022 cross country season. "Even back in high school, being part of coach [Tom] Thompson and then [Brad] Taylor's track teams, there were pieces of those teams that I see as successful – having a really strong team atmosphere," Hofacre said. "Making sure that the team knows they're in this together and supporting each other." P...
Petersburg seventh-grade swimmer Tori Miller competed in the 2025 Northwest Age Group Championships from March 20-23, in Boise, Idaho. The meet consisted of over 600 swimmers, 68 teams across seven states, including Hawaii, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. Miller competed in six events and exhibited a stellar performance throughout the meet. In Girl's 12 Age Group, Miller placed six out eight in the 50-yard freestyle, with a final time of 26 seconds; sixth in the 50-yard...
A year after they won nine games and finished fourth at state, The Petersburg High School baseball team looks to carry their momentum in 2025. "The guys are excited about playing. We've had more open gyms – pulling the batting cages out this year than before," head coach Jim Engell said. The team graduated two key players last season Hunter Conn and Kieran Cabral. Some teams would rely more on their seniors but this year's squad will look towards their juniors and sophomores. "My two seniors, L...
Over spring break, Petersburg junior Gabriele Whitacre got an opportunity to compete in her first powerlifting meet, the St. Patty's Power at Southside Strength and Fitness, in Anchorage. The meet was sponsored by USA Powerlifting Alaska and Petersburg's Athletic Director Jaime Cabral, who got Whitacre involved with the aforementioned competition. "I had been training for four weeks but I've been lifting for five years," Whitacre said. "For the four weeks leading up, it was more low reps and...
The Petersburg Cheer team headed to regionals, set on claiming their third consecutive regional title. After weeks of preparation, the cheer team unveiled its halftime routine. "It was all new material. The material for the dance part was all done by the athletes, with little things here and there that I changed," head coach Becky Turland said. "They got to choose the music at the beginning of the season – I gave them a list of 16 to 17 songs and we did a secret ballet casting for the song and i...
The #5 seed Petersburg Vikings faced off against the #4 seed Craig Panthers in their first game of the regional tournament. The Vikings faced a 19-12 deficit at halftime. In the third, the Vikings scored 12 points to take a 24-23 lead heading into the fourth. "At the beginning of the year, we were really struggling and not able to score unless we ran a set play. We hardly ever called a set play, though regions – it really shows our growth," head coach Rick Brock said. The Vikings would go on to...
The Petersburg Lady Vikings entered the regional tournament as the #5 seed, with their first game against the #4 seed, Wrangell Lady Wolves. The Lady Vikings got off to a slow start – facing a 14-6 deficit at the end of the first quarter. However, the Lady Vikings were able to go on an 11-4 run to pull within 18-17 at halftime. "I felt like Wrangell had the advantage in the first and then we had the advantage in the second quarter," head coach Matt Pawuk said. "I was pretty happy with where we w...
Petersburg AAU girls' basketball team – which is made up of players from fifth grade through eighth – recently went undefeated during a tournament in Wrangell, sweeping the A, B & C brackets. Petersburg went an impressive 11-0 throughout the tournament. "They're extremely talented," head coach Matt Nilsen said. "We've been working on fundamentals and ball handling, passing, defense and playing to the best of our abilities." The team was split into A, B & C brackets, with every player getting a t...
