Matias Saari
Sports writer
Call Matias at 907-459-7591.
Matias Saari, 37, grew up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan a quarter-mile from Lake Superior. After surviving a teenage year in Chengdu, China (his dad is a retired history professor) and spending many joyful childhood summers in Austria (his mom grew up on a dairy farm in the foothills of the Alps), he attended Michigan State University, where he “earned” a degree in journalism. Saari took his first newspaper job as a general assignment reporter for the Ketchikan Daily News in 1995 not because it was a dream to move to Alaska but because nobody else had offered him a job. Three and a half years later he moved to Fairbanks, thinking he wanted to pursue a creative writing master’s degree at UAF. Really he didn’t, so he tried a panoply of jobs — Census Bureau, herb farm, park ranger, library, used bookstore — before landing as a sportswriter at the News-Miner in April 2006. He lives near the top of Murphy Dome in a humble cabin he built (with much help) that still needs a lot of work. On his eighth attempt, he won the Equinox Marathon in 2007; Saari expects the book he’s begun about the history of the race to take at least as many years to finish.
Recent Stories
- Wilson shines with victory in first trip to state meet
- Sunday, Oct. 5, 2008
- Kailey Wilson — the lone runner at Kenny Lake High School — had plenty of company from her fans but none from the competition at the finish line in Palmer.
- Tri-Valley boys got an extra boost to reach state cross country meet
- Saturday, Oct. 4, 2008
- Until three weeks ago, Tri-Valley High School’s mission to win the boys Region II cross country championship was impossible.
- Nanooks claim exhibition win over British Columbia
- Saturday, Oct. 4, 2008
- It may have been an exhibition game — and one played on pink ice no less — but that didn’t diminish the importance of the Alaska Nanooks’ 3-2 victory over the University of British Columbia Friday night at the Carlson Center.
- Western Oregon outdigs Nanooks for GNAC volleyball triumph
- Friday, Oct. 3, 2008
- Ninety-three digs would normally be enough for the Alaska Nanooks to win a volleyball match. But not when the opponent gets 109.
- Anchorage Dream set down plans for pro basketball showcase in Fairbanks
- Friday, Oct. 3, 2008
- While lamenting the cancellation of the popular BP Top of the World Classic, the Alaska Dream — a new professional basketball team in Anchorage — sensed an opportunity.
- Kailey Wilson making huge splash in prep cross country
- Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2008
- Kailey Wilson is a freshman at Kenny Lake High School with no teammates and no prior experience competing as a runner. Heck, until last week she didn’t even have a Kenny Lake running singlet.
- UAF rifle team opens season against UTEP
- Sunday, Sept. 28, 2008
- FAIRBANKS — Ida Petersen has shot exceptionally high rifle scores in practice before. Doing so under pressure is another thing entirely.
- Eielson claims 3A cross country crowns
- Sunday, Sept. 28, 2008
- Led by their stocky “5-foot wonder” Nick Best, the Eielson Ravens swept the 1A-2A-3A Region VI cross country championships for the second straight year on a frigid day at Birch Hill Recreation Area.
- Lathrop girls nab 4A regional cross country win
- Sunday, Sept. 28, 2008
- Almost two minutes after Heather Edic crossed the line in exhaustion Saturday, Lathrop teammate Kim Fitzgerald sprinted past a North Pole runner to snag 12th place by nine-tenths of a second.
- Hard-hitting Nanooks down Seawolves in volleyball
- Sunday, Sept. 28, 2008
- The Alaska Nanooks took a line from their game plan — “ATTACK THEM ... Again & Again & Again” — to heart when it mattered most on Saturday afternoon against archrival Alaska Anchorage.