Upcoming events

Swim/Dive: The Homer Mariner swim and dive team will compete at Regions at 11 .m. Friday, Oct. 27, and at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28, in Palmer. Head Coach Thaddaeus Gunther said he’s hoping for several new personal best times for the team. Several members and relays are close to breaking school records, he said.

“I think the kids are ready. They’ve practiced really well the whole season. We’re starting to rest a little bit so they can swim fast at the region meet, but overall I think they’re going to perform really well. I’d hope that we’d have almost 100 percent best times,” he said.

On the medley relay, which will be the first event of the regional meet, Gunther said the girls relay is within two tenths of a second of the school record. They’re shooting to beat that record at both regions and state. The way Homer historically performs against other schools in the region tends to ebb and flow, Gunther said. The past few years there haven’t been many state-bound swimmers, but this year’s teammates are hoping to change that.

“This year we’re trying to get … anywhere from seven to nine swimmers heading to the state meet this year. So it’s a good turn for the better as (far) as the high school team is concerned,” he said.

Young members of the Kachemak Swim Club filled the Kate Kuhns Aquatic Center on Tuesday evening to give the high school athletes a proper send off complete with signs, snacks and a tunnel for them to run through made by the youngsters holding up boogie boards.

In review

Football: Homer ended its strong season of football on a high note after falling short of the Division III state championship title with Teddy Croft being named Offensive Player of the Year by all-state voting released Monday. The full results are as follows: Division III Offensive Player of the Year: Teddy Croft, Homer; Defensive Player of the Year: Reed Graham, Houston; Lineman of the Year: Scott Fry, Eielson; Coach of the Year: Chris Battle, Barrow; Assistant Coach of the Year: Don Fry, Eielson.

First-team offense: Quarterback — Teddy Croft, Homer; Running back — Noah Fisk, Homer; Jeramiah Brown, Eielson; Fullback — Ben Heather, Barrow; Wide receiver — Joe Ravin, Homer; Tight end — Sione Tuifua, Barrow; Tackle — Lau Takafua, Barrow; Kevin Baird, Eielson; Guard — Reed Graham, Houston; Ryan Armour, Eielson; Center — Scott Fry, Eielson; Utility — Travis Adams, Barrow. First-team defense: Defensive line — Levi King, Homer; Brian Filipo, Barrow; Sebastian Sias, Barrow; Scott Fry, Eielson; Inside linebacker — Reed Graham, Houston; David Sanarov, Voznesenka; Outside linebacker — Noah Plum, Houston; Sione Tuifua, Barrow; Defensive back — Jeramiah Brown, Eielson; Joe Ravin, Homer; Isaac Minnema, Monroe.

First-team special teams: Kicker — Zach Paul, Eielson; Punter — Kyle Sadergren, Valdez; Return specialist — Isaac Minnema, Monroe; Long snapper — Derek Berg, Valdez.

Second-team offense: Quarterback — Trae Puryear, Monroe; Running back — Noah Plumb, Houston; Kyler Rumfelt, Redington; Fullback — Ian Johnson, Nikiski; Wide receiver — Justin Sumpton, Homer; Jordan Higbee, Monroe; Tight end — Brian Amirault, Redington; Tackle — Baker Hensley, Homer; Finn Heimbold, Homer; Guard — Justin Mullings, Nikiski; Isaac Acheryok, Redington; Center — Levi King, Homer; Utility — Dawson Felde, Homer.

Second-team defense: Defensive line — Dylan Jackson, Houston; Baker Hensley, Nikiski; Nikit Anufriev, Voznesenka; Kyle Wells, Homer; Inside linebacker — Josh Grey, Monroe; Ian Johnson, Nikiski; Outside linebacker — Eli Benson, Redington; Noah Fisk, Homer; Defensive back — Christian Bolton, Eielson; Tyler Olsen, Nikiski; Aiden Norris, Redington; Second-team special teams: Kicker — Michael Mysing, Nikiski; Punter — Kyle Wells, Homer; Return specialist — David Sanarov, Voznesenka; Long snapper — Beau Freiberg, Seward.

Volleyball: The Homer Mariners volleyball teams competed at the Dimond/Service Tournament in Anchorage on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 20-21. in Bronze Bracket play, Homer fell to Grace Christian two sets to one, 27-25, 18-25 and 13-15. Karmyn Gallios had five aces, Marina Carroll had 10 kills and two blocks, Kelli Bishop had eight kills and Brianna Hetrick had 14 assists. The Mariners then went on to beat Ketchikan, winning the sets 25-20 and 25-13. Ksenia Kuzmin had five aces and Marina Carroll had seven kills. Brianna Hetrick was named most important player for the team. During a home game against Nikiski on Tuesday, Homer fell three sets to zero, with Nikiski winning 25-9, 25-8 and 25-20. This brought Homer’s finale league record to 2-10.

“It took us a while to warm up, adjust and play,” said head coach Erin Brege.

Brege has said it’s a building year for the varsity team, with only one senior and several underclassmen who haven’t previously played at the varsity level. She said that although Tuesday’s scores and the league standings don’t show it, the team has come a long way and has transformed from the team she had at the beginning of the season. Even the coach from Nikiski commented to Brege that the Bulldogs saw a “tremendous improvement” in the Mariners since the last time the two teams played each other.

“Not the way I wanted to end the conference season, but we knew coming in, you know, Nikiski had a lot to offer,” Brege said. “Plenty of experience, a strong program, and so we wanted to come in and offer as much as we could.”