WASILLA — Colony put the finishing touches on an historic Northern Lights Conference tournament by winning five individual titles Saturday night.

“We did really well,” Colony head coach Fred McKinney said.

That’s an understatement. The Knights qualified 25 of 28 possible wrestlers into next week’s Class 4A state tournament and tallied an NLC record 501 team points to easily outdistance second-place Wasilla. The Warriors had one individual champion and qualified 12 wrestlers into the state tournament, while third-place Kodiak got 13 into the big dance.

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The top six place-winners in each weight class at the NLC’s conference tournament receive automatic berths. The Cook Inlet Conference gets five berths, while the Mid Alaska gets three and Southeast gets two. All three also held conference tournaments this weekend.

The Warriors also made some history of their own Saturday when Kendra and Brooke Nelson joined Skyview’s Michaela and Monica Hutchison in becoming the first sisters to advance to the Alaska state tournament.

Kendra, a senior, finished fifth at 103 pounds Saturday, while sophomore Brooke was fifth at 112.

Fourth-place Skyview had one champion and advanced 11 wrestlers to state, fifth-place Soldotna won two individual titles and earned seven state bids.

Panthers senior Michaela Hutchison placed third at 119 pounds, while her sister was sixth at 103.

In 2006, Michaela Hutchison became the first girl in the nation to win an individual state title when she beat fellow sophomore Aaron Boss of Colony at 103 pounds in the state final.

On Saturday, she rebounded from a Friday night loss to Wasilla’s Mike Chafin in the 119 pound semifinals with wins over teammate Daniel Maciarello and Kenai’s Chris Obekoff to finish third.

Her younger sister earned her first state appearance this season by beating Wasilla’s Michael Spano and Soldotna’s Taylor Hanley before falling to Kendra Nelson in the fifth/sixth place match.

The Palmer Moose placed sixth overall and got just four state bids, but won two individual titles. Along with L.J. Lepanen’s win at 112 pounds, the Moose also got an NLC crown by junior Nick Stahler at 145 pounds.

Kenai Central finished seventh overall and had seven state qualifiers, while eighth-place Homer will send five wrestlers to state.

Undefeated Colony sophomore Charles Coisman started the finals off with a tense 3-2 win over freshman teammate Issac Wilson at 103 pounds, holding off a late Wilson takedown attempt as the final whistle sounded.

Coisman — the state’s top-ranked 103-pounder according to Web site AKmat.org — said wrestling Wilson presented a tough challenge because they know each other so well.

“We know exactly what each other’s going to do,” Coisman said. “He’s very tough.”

Coisman’s win was followed by a bit of an upset, as Lepanen pulled out an overtime decision over the 112-pound bracket’s top seed, Kodiak’s Chloe Ivanoff.

“I wasn’t expecting to take first,” Lepanen said moments after he countered Ivanoff’s single leg takedown attempt, sitting through and getting behind the Kodiak wrestler with one second left in overtime for the win.

Despite picking up a conference title in his first season at the high school level, Lepanen said he feels he’s still got room to improve between now and next week’s state tournament at Chugiak high.

“I’m very pleased with it, but could have done better,” he said.

Colony followed Lepanen’s win at 112 with back-to-back titles, picking up a 5-3 decision by junior Kyle Wilson over Wasilla’s Mike Chafin at 119 and a 1-0 win by senior Zach Beauchamp over Homer’s Ben Daigle at 125.

Ranked No. 4 entering the match, Beauchamp’s only point came on a second period escape from Daigle, the state’s No. 3 125-pounder.

The two then waited out a brief loss of power to the gym’s overhead spotlight before returning for a third period that saw Beauchamp literally hang on for the win by riding out Daigle for the entire two minutes.

Wilson — last year’s NLC and state champ at 112 pounds — was tied with Chafin late in the match when he managed to stand the Wasilla wrestler up and sweep the back leg to gain the winning takedown.

He said his first career bout against Chafin — who entered the tournament ranked fifth in the state — was a difficult one.

“On a scale of one to 10, it would be a 10,” he said. “I had no doubt about it he was going to be tough — nothing to joke around about.”

In a battle of the state’s top two 130-pounders, No. 1 Jimmy Eggemeyer of Kodiak took a major decision from No. 2 Sam Loggins of Colony, while Wes Mills of Soldotna — who grew up in Palmer and wrestled for the Moose at state last season — got a 9-6 win over Colony’s Aaron Boss at 135.

Eggemeyer, last year’s 125-pound conference and state champion, took Loggins down seven times during the match, capping a leisurely run through the 130-pound NLC bracket this year. Eggemeyer had to wrestle just twice after getting a forfeit from SoHi’s Keith Porter in his opening match. He beat Skyview’s Alex Janorschk by a technical fall in the semifinals Friday before routing Loggins Saturday evening.

After thanking members of the Palmer coaching staff in his pre-match introduction, Mills used an escape and takedown to break a 6-6 tie in the third period over Boss, who wasn’t taken the distance in either of his matches Friday, pinning Palmer’s Jared Logsdon, earning a technical fall over Wasilla’s Pat Chafin and advancing to the finals with a win by default over an injured Tom Appelhanz of Homer.

Colony got its fourth title of the evening when junior Josh West controlled Homer’s Robby Brymer for the duration of the match, earning a 6-2 win and a first career NLC title after falling in the finals last season to Wasilla’s Alan Bartelli.

Stahler had little trouble with Colony’s Levi Krueger at 145 pounds, leading the entire way en route to a 10-6 win.

The Palmer junior credited an afternoon jog around the Colony running trails with giving him some extra energy in the finals.

“I went for about a 30-minute run,” he said. “That helped really get the spring back in the legs.”

Colony was denied its fifth title of the night at 152, when Homer’s Tris Brymer put the Knights’ David Crozier on his back late in the third period, picking up a takedown and back exposure points to win an 8-3 decision that was much closer than the score indicated.

Kodiak’s Marlon Branson received a forfeit over teammate Gary Anthony at 160 pounds as the Bears elected not to risk any injury to either wrestler.

Branson’s forfeit was followed by Wasilla’s only individual championship of the night, a 14-6 win by junior Casey Katchinska over Colony senior Tyler Milner. The match gave Katchinska a second win in three tries against his Valley rival.

“He has a really good single, so I was working all week to try and counter it, and I don’t think he got it once tonight,” Katchinska said.

Katchinska said picking up his first career NLC crown was “very gratifying.”

Skyview’s Eddie Buffington fought off Colony’s Angelo Bellotte at 189 pounds for a 9-3 decision. The top seed, Buffington easily reached the finals with two pins Friday, while Bellotte reached the finals with an exhausting overtime win over Wasilla’s Chris Crane.

That match was followed by one of the most entertaining of the evening, as Colony sophomore Eric Fan pulled off a dramatic head and arm takedown late in the third period to cap a 9-8 win over SoHi’s Matthew Strieby. Strieby had led the match 7-2 heading into the period, but Fan — who returned from an injury just two weeks ago and was wrestling in only his seventh match of the season — reversed Strieby and took the SoHi wrestler down twice in the final two minutes of the match for the win.

SoHi’s Les Baker closed out the evening with an easy 11-1 win over Colony’s Jeff Pritchett.

Colony is currently the top-ranked Class 4A school in the state and will be the favorites at next week’s state tournament, which begins Friday at Chugiak High School.

Contact Matt Tunseth at 352-2265 or matt.tunseth@frontiersman.com

Northern Lights Conference Tournament

Friday-Saturday

Colony High School

Team Scores

1. Colony, 501; 2. Wasilla, 282.5; 3. Kodiak, 267.5; 4. Skyview, 230; 5. Soldotna, 182; 6. Palmer, 144.5; 7. Kenai Central, 123; 8. Homer, 104.5

Place winners (advance to state tournament)

103 — 1. Charles Coisman, Col; 2. Isaac Wilson, Col; 3. Dylan Anthony, Kod; 4. Bryce Wilson, Sky; 5. Kendra Nelson, Was; 6. Monica Hutchison, Sky

112 — 1. L.J. Lepanen, Pal; 2. Chloe Ivanoff, Kod; 3. Matt Vukich, Col; 4. Quintun Pribbenow, Ken; 5. Brooke Nelson, Was; 6. David Castonguoy, Kod

119 — 1. Kyle Wilson, Col; 2. Mike Chafin, Was; 3. Michaela Hutchison, Sky; 4. Chris Osbekoff, Ken; 5. Kyle Boss, Col; 6. Daniel Maciariello, Sky

125 — 1. Zach Beauchamp, Col; 2. Ben Daigle, Hom; 3. Nick Van Metre, Kod; 4. Josh Brown, Was; 5. John Hughes, Ken; 6. Nathan Such, Col

130 — 1. Jimmy Eggemeyer, Kod; 2. Sam Loggins, Col; 3. Chris Gross, Was; 4. Alex Janorschke, Sky; 5. Dan Gregory, Col; 6. Bucky Tacke, Pal

135 — 1. Wes Mills, Sol; 2. Aaron Boss, Col; 3. Noah Fields, Kod; 4. Jacob Pfeiffer, Col; 5. David Muzechuk, Was; 6. Tom Appelhanz, Hom

140 — 1. Josh West, Col; 2. Robby Brymer, Hom; 3. Jared Thomas, Sky; 4. Ryan Kuntson, Col; 5. David Rounsville, Kod; 6. Michael Gilbert, Kod

145 — 1. Nick Stahler, Pal; 2. Levi Krueger, Col; 3. Steven Burlison, Sol; 4. Ryan Hanley, Sol; 5. Bridger VanNess, Col; 6. Cody Booth, Ken

152 — 1. Tris Brymer, Hom; 2. David Crozier, Col; 3. Freddie Pollard, Sky; 4. Mike Trask, Col; 5. Mack Gagnon, Was; 6. Eric Weinfurter, Hom

160 — 1. Marlon Branson, Kod; 2. Gary Anthony, Kod; 3. Kenny Boykin, Col; 4. Karl Rathbun, Was; 5. Chris Olivera, Col; 6. Jesse Carlson, Sol

171 — 1. Casey Katchinska, Was; 2. Tyler Milner, Col; 3. Patrick Sheridan, Sky; 4. Jimmy Caswell, Kod; 5. Jaron Dambacher, Ken; 6. Kyle Rogers, Ken

189 — 1. Eddie Buffington, Sky; 2. Angelo Bellotte, Col; 3. Chris Crane, Was; 4. Sam Heindel, Pal; 5. Ken Mahan, Sky; 6. Paul McKeown, Col

215 — 1. Eric Fan, Col; 2. Matthew Strieby, Sol; 3. Beebo Russell, Was; 4. Michael Odell, Kod; 5. Renn Wright, Col; 6. Adam Byme, Sky

285 — 1. Les Baker, Sol; 2. Jeff Pritchett, Col; 3. Jed Johnson, Was; 4. Halyn Lipps, Ken; 5. Nathan Strieby, Sol; 6. Jacob Long, Kod

Championship Finals

103 – Charles Coisman, Col, dec. Issac Wilson, Col, 3-2

112 – L. J. Lepanen, Pal, dec. Chloe Ivanoff, Kod, 8-6 (OT)

119 – Kyle Wilson, Col, dec. Mike Chafin, Was, 5-3

125 – Zach Beauchamp, Col, dec. Ben Daigle, Hom, 1-0

130 – Jimmy Eggemeyer, Kod, maj. dec. Sam Loggins, Col, 18-7

135 – Wes Mills, Sol, dec. Aaron Boss, Col, 9-6

140 – Josh West, Col, dec. Robby Brymer, Hom, 9-2

145 – Nick Stahler, Pal, dec. Levi Krueger, Col, 11-6

152 – Tris Brymer, Hom, dec. David Crozier, Col, 8-3

160 – Marlon Branson, Kod, win by default over Gary Anderson, Kod

171 – Casey Katchinska, Was, dec. Tyler Milner, Col, 14-6

189 – Eddie Buffington, Sky, dec. Angelo Bellotte, Col, 9-3

215 – Eric Fan, Col, dec. Matthew Strieby, Sol, 11-8

285 – Les Baker, Sol, dec. Jeff Pritchett, Col, 11-1