Brianna Bailey and the South girls soccer team were among seven state champions for the Wolverines in 2025-26. Photo by Stephanie Burgoon/Alaska Sports Report
If it wasn’t football, boys cross-country running and flag football, then it was hockey, nordic skiing and girls soccer.
Whatever the sport, no matter the season, the South Wolverines seemed to always be the team to beat.
The Anchorage high school captured seven state championships, finished state runner-up in boys basketball and wrestling, and sported a nationally ranked hockey team.
Add it up and South regained its footing as the state’s No. 1 overall athletic program by winning the Alaska MaxPreps Cup for the ninth time in the 14-year history of the competition.
MaxPreps released a state-by-state list on July 30, headlined by national Cup winner Carmel of Indiana.
Last year, Soldotna won the top prize for Alaska and South finished fourth. A year later, though, the Wolverines have clawed back to the top of the mountain. Homer finished a distant second – 514 points behind South.
South and Chugiak were the only two Cook Inlet Conference teams in the top five of the Alaska MaxPreps Cup points race.
The MaxPreps Cup recognizes the best high school sports programs in the country. The competition uses an algorithm that awards points for state championships, runner-up finishes and national rankings based on size of state, popularity of the sport, size of school and number of teams in each playoff division.
High School Sports
2025-26 Alaska MaxPreps Cup
1,266 – South Anchorage
752 – Homer
692 – Chugiak
606 – Soldotna
592 – Colony
South’s hockey team finished the season 22-0-2, capping the season with a 1-0 victory over West in the First National Cup and finished the season ranked 14th in the country.
On the ski trails, Mia Stiassny became the first South girl since 2007 to win the state Skimeister award. In the relays, Stiassny and Ethan Elliott closed well to help the Wolverines win the relay en route to sweeping the team titles.
In flag football, All-American quarterback Jillian Preston threw three touchdown passes as the Wolverines beat Dimond 19-0 in the title game.
On the soccer field, the South girls beat Dimond 5-0 to win the state title and extend its 37-match winning streak. In the final, Bailey family members accounted for all but one of the of the goals. Addison scored twice, Alivia once and Brianna once. Darby D’Amico also scored in the win.
Jaeger Huelskoetter was the centerpiece to South’s unbeaten season. Photo by Stephanie Burgoon/Alaska Sports Report
