Ostrander, Seavey, Hill named to Alaska Sports Hall of Fame

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Three more names joined the iconic list of Alaskan athletes in the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame Wednesday.

Allie Ostrander, Dallas Seavey, and Bobby Hill became the latest stars to be inducted, joining 44 others already in the Hall of Fame to become the official Class of 2024.

In the “Moment” category, hockey player Scott Gomez — already a Hall of Fame member — joined the trio with his 2000 NHL Rookie of the Year honor.

All three new inductees stand out as athletes who have either rewritten the record books or have influenced the Alaska sports landscape for the better.

Allie Ostrander

Ostrander was a standout distance runner in her prep days at Kenai Central High School, dominating the Alaska cross-country and track scenes for four years before heading off to Boise State University in fall 2015. There, she became the first woman ever to win three consecutive Div. I national steeplechase championships at the NCAA level, picking up 13 All-American honors along the way.

Ostrander has also left her mark on the storied Mt. Marathon race in Seward, held each year on the Fourth of July in the small harbor town on the Kenai Peninsula. Ostrander earned six straight junior girls races — which go only halfway up the 3,022-foot peak — to set a record in that division, and in 2014, accomplished the very rare feat of beating all the boys in the mixed-gender race. She also still holds the junior girls course record, which no female athlete has seriously challenged. In the adult women’s race, Ostrander holds the third-fastest course time with her victory in 2017.

Ostrander also has made two attempts to qualify for the Summer Olympic Games, coming up short in the 2016 and 2021 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase.

As someone in the public spotlight, Ostrander also hasn’t shied away from controversial issues. Since going pro in 2019, Ostrander has been vocal about her recovery from injuries, eating disorders, and female body image issues, something she says she has dealt with since her preteen days. In Dec. 2021, Ostrander stepped away from professional competition to focus on her mental health, but has since returned to a reduced schedule of events.

Dallas Seavey

Seavey’s induction into the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame was cemented when he earned his record-tying fifth Iditarod title in March 2021, putting himself on equal terms with race legend Rick Swenson.

While Swenson claimed five Iditarod crowns between 1977 and 1991, Seavey reached the five-win mark in shorter time; Swenson won his fifth in his 16th start, while Seavey picked up win No. 5 in his 12th attempt.

Seavey, who followed in his father Mitch’s footsteps in the Last Great Race, won his Iditarod titles in 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2021. Mitch Seavey holds three Iditarod wins over a long career spanning four decades. The Seaveys are originally from Seward but also train teams and live in Sterling. Dallas trains in the Susitna Valley as well.

Dallas Seavey also holds the unofficial race record of 7 days, 14 hours, 8 minutes, 57 seconds, which he accomplished in his 2021 victory, although that year’s race was run on a revised course due to COVID-19 concerns in the smaller villages. The Gold Trail Loop that was used that year ran from the unofficial start in Deshka Landing to the checkpoint of Iditarod before turning around and heading back to the finish at Deshka Landing.

Bobby Hill

Hill’s prowess in weightlifting at the Special Olympics measures up with just about anyone. In the World Summer Games, the Eagle River resident has laid claim to 10 powerlifting medals in three appearances, and is fresh off a gold and three silver medals at the 2023 Berlin Games. Hill won the gold in the bench press, then added silvers in the squat, deadlift and combination events.

The haul was added to Hill’s two golds at the 2003 Dublin Games and four silvers in the 2007 Shanghai Games. Overall, Hill has claimed over 200 medals at the statewide level across multiple events and sports, including powerlifting, floor hockey, golf, and bocce.

Hill’s influence has also been felt at the high school football level, where he has served as the Bartlett High School football team manager. In 2018, he was honored by the state legislature for 20 years of dedication in that role.

Moment

When it comes to Alaska hockey, Scotty Gomez has been the standard bearer. The Bettye Davis East High School product turned heads in his days playing high school hockey in Anchorage before ascending through the ranks to ultimately reach the National Hockey League.

It was his rookie year in 2000 that earned Gomez’s third induction into the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame, this one in the “moment” category from that season when Gomez was awarded the NHL Calder Memorial Trophy, which goes to the league’s top rookie.

Gomez was 20 years old when he won that award, and added to it that year with a Stanley Cup trophy as a member of the NHL champion New Jersey Devils. Gomez notched 70 points (with a 19-51 goal/assist line) and tacked on 10 more points in the playoffs.

Gomez later added a second Stanley Cup to his resume in 2003 with the Devils.

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