Alaska college sports notebook: UAA track star named GNAC Male Athlete of the Year; UAF men’s basketball hires former Seawolves standout as assistant

In his first year with the program — and in the United States altogether — University of Alaska Anchorage freshman track star Joshua Caleb didn’t just hit the ground running, he made history along the way. On Monday, he added yet another prestigious honor to his already impressive resume when he was named the 2023-24 GNAC Male Athlete of the Year.

“From his very first race, it has been a series of amazements,” UAA head coach Ryan McWilliams said in a statement. “As great as his season was it’s not like the rest of his competition took it lying down. As impressive as he was, it was a necessity that we all stayed engaged. In hindsight though, man what a great year he had.”

Caleb, a native of Okrika in Rivers State, Nigeria, rewrote program and conference history as he dominated the competition during the indoor and outdoor seasons. His lofty list of accolades includes receiving honorable mention All-American honors after finishing 12th in the 400 meters at the Division II national championships and being crowned GNAC champion in the 100 meters with a mark of 10.28. He also set GNAC championship records in the 200 with a mark of 21.04 and set program records in the 100, 200, 400 and as a member of a 4x100 relay team that recorded a mark of 41.42.

“I am not so sure he is really motivated to break records,” McWilliams said. “I think he is certainly happy to break them and they provide good targets for him to aim for but his biggest motivation is to be the best he can be. If he was running 11.2 trying to run 11.0 rather than running 10.2 trying to run 10.0 like he is, I do not think his motivation and work ethic would be any different. He is young, talented and so driven that I am not sure what his ceiling is, but I don’t think he has come close to hitting it.”

[This UAA freshman is tearing through the track and field record book]

Caleb is the first male freshman in program history to win the award, and just the second-ever freshman to receive the honor since the conference was founded in 2001-02. The only other was Seattle Pacific University women’s cross country/track and field star Jessica Pixler during her freshman campaign in 2006-07.

“He is a lightning rod with his level of talent,” said McWilliams. “His presence has generated a lot of interest from new recruits and his ability to get teammates to stop looking up to him and rather aspire to look out from the top with him is big.”

Alaska hoops star joins UAF men’s basketball coaching staff

Just two years removed from partaking in the rivalry between the UAA and UAF men’s college basketball programs as a Seawolf, Anchorage’s Tobin Karlberg is returning to Alaska as a coach for the Nanooks. On Monday, he was announced as the newest addition to the staff. Working as an assistant coach, he’ll be reunited with Frank Ostanik, who was hired as the program’s next head coach this spring.

“When the idea of my getting this job became a reality, there was one guy I wanted as my assistant, and that was Tobin,” Ostanik said in a statement. “I’ve traveled and worked with Tobin in the past and he is as hard a worker as there is. He is known as a great player, but I can tell you definitively, he is a better human being. ... His connection to Alaska, work ethic, and ability to gain the trust of players will play a key role in our success recruiting high-caliber young men as we move forward.”

Karlberg will continue his budding coaching career in his home state following one year as an assistant at Lewis-Clark State College, a NAIA program in Lewiston, Idaho, that is part of the Cascade Collegiate Conference. In his season serving on the Warriors’ staff, his responsibilities included on-court instruction, recruiting, fundraising and player development, among other duties. He assisted the Warriors to a 24-9, 19-3 CCC record, and first- and second-round victories in the NAIA Tournament. He also was instrumental in recruiting 2024 Alaska Gatorade Player of the Year Kellen Jedlicka to LC State.

During his three years playing for UAA, Karlberg racked up several athletic, academic and program honors, including team MVP in 2022. He played his final collegiate season at Point Loma Nazarene University for the 2022-23 season and led the Sea Lions to a PacWest championship; earned PacWest All-Conference selection and NCAA Regional All-Tournament Team selection honors; and helped lead the team to the NCAA Division II Sweet 16 at the NCAA DII West Regional.

Karlberg starred at the high school level for Grace Christian School, and in 2017 he led the Grizzlies to the boys basketball state championship and was named the 3A Basketball Alaska State Player of the Year. As a senior in 2018, he nearly led his team to a successful title defense before coming up short in the state finals but was still named Gatorade Player of the Year.

“I’m incredibly excited to join Coach Ostanik on the staff at Alaska,” Karlberg said in a statement. “I have a huge belief in his ability to coach and lead young men with a high level of excellence. Being from Alaska, I see this as an awesome opportunity to love and serve people in my home state using the vehicle of basketball!”

Seawolves and Nanooks rack up academic honors

Several members of both the UAA and UAF spring sports programs were recently recognized for their outstanding scholastic achievements. Headlining the bunch is former Seawolf and dominant distance runner Cole Nash, who last week became the first athlete in conference history to be named GNAC Scholar Athlete of the Year for the third year in a row.

“Cole inhabits a place in his mind that I think is difficult for almost everyone to get to,” McWilliams said in a statement. “He never needs or wants more, but he is always aware that there is more and it’s worth trying to get. I think that is part of the secret to his success. He frees himself of a lot of pressure others put on themselves, but manages to hang on to the desire to push past his breaking point and that will to never let himself be beaten, which all the most successful athletes have. It’s not just with sports either.”

Nash was also one of nine Seawolves to receive Cross Country/Track and Field Academic All-Region honors from College Sports Communicators. The others included John Peckham, Felix Robertson, Michael Zapherson, Nell Baker, Blanca De Arvizu Sarrias, Mikayla Mader, Joei Vidad and Tressa Wood.

The UAA Nordic ski and hockey teams combined had a dozen student-athletes receive At-Large Academic All-Region honors. A whopping 10 hailed from the ski program, including Moro Bamber, Ella Bromee, Tuva Bygrave, Caeden Carruthers, Beth Granstrom, Carmen Nielssen, Leon Nikic, Ainsley Proffit, Matt Seline and Astrid Stav. The two hockey players to earn the honor were Ben Almquist and Jared Whale.

UAF had 11 hockey players and its entire swim team recognized for standout scholastic achievement. The skaters who were named 2023-24 Men’s Division I Krampade All-American Scholars include Cade Ahrenholz, Braden Birnie, Dawson Bruneski, William Hambley, Will Hilfiker, Harrison Israels, Lassi Lehti, A.J. Macaulay, Broten Sabo, Matteo Pecchia and Jonny Sorenson. Meanwhile, the Nanooks swim team was named a 2024 CSCAA Scholar All-America Team.