3 EARN STATE CHAMPIONS

ANCHORAGE - Three Valley wrestlers capped tremendous careers with state championships Saturday at Bartlett High School, while the Palmer Moose settled for second place in the team standings.

Wasillas Jesse Brock (125 pounds) and the Palmer duo of Tony DAmico (152) and James Wade (160) all won state titles as Valley wrestlers went a combined 3-5 in the finals of the season-ending tournament.

All three state titlists completed undefeated seasons, and they were glad to get through the year without any upsets.

It gets to be a lot of pressure, because everyone expects you to win every time you wrestle, said Wade, who won his second state title. It is mostly relief when you finally win the title because nobody has another shot at beating you.

Palmers hopes of winning a state championship as a team were dashed by several factors. Jade Ekle, the Region III champ at 140 pounds, was hospitalized the week prior to the tournament after suffering from flu symptoms. He advanced to the semifinals, but could not continue after falling ill.

Thats a 20 or 30 point swing in the standings, said DAmico, who won his third state title. Skyview got a lot of breaks like that, and you need those breaks to win a title.

Skyviews 186.5 points earned it the team title, while Palmer and Service tied for second with 155.5. Colony was fourth with 99.5, while Wasilla was seventh with 75.

The finals got started with Wasillas Jordan Brock squaring off against Kodiaks Junior Valladolid in the 103-pound division. Valladolid took a 4-1 lead over the sophomore after two rounds, but he opened the match up in the third with an escape and a take down.

Jordan Brock managed two escapes in the match, but fell 7-2.

Colonys Ryan Gillette took on Region III champion Siri Neal of Homer in the finals of the 112-pound division. Neal was a state runner-up a year ago and finally won a state title with a 10-2 victory over Gillette.

After a scoreless first round, Neal scored two three-point near falls in the second to seize a 6-0 lead heading into the final two minutes of action. Gillette scored a reversal on Neal in the third, but it wasnt enough as Neal scored four points to counter Gillettes tally.

Last years runner up in the 103-pound division, Palmers Scotty Jorgensen, advanced to the finals of the 119-pound class and faced Neal Strausbaugh of Skyview.

The thrilling match went into the third period with both wrestlers scoring two points. After an optional start in which Jorgensen allowed Strausbaugh to escape for a point, Jorgensen took Strausbaugh down, taking a 4-3 lead with only 38 seconds left in the match.

Strausbaughs final half-minute of action proved to be tremendous. He quickly took Jorgensen down to regain the lead, and then scored a three-point near fall in the final seconds to secure an 8-4 victory.

As happy as I am to win my championship, I really feel bad for Scotty, Jesse Brock said. He is one of my closest friends. I know how hard he worked and how much he put into winning this year. He really deserved to win.

Brock himself put a lot into winning this year. The defending state champion broke his leg the first week of the season, but completed a remarkable comeback that included a Region III title last week. Saturday, he put an exclamation point on a fantastic career.

Brock dominated Tim Grosdidier of Bartlett in the finals to win his second title in as many years. Brock was firmly in control of the match from the start and took the 8-4 decision. He celebrated by doing a little dance on the mat that Fred Astaire would have been proud of.

I wanted to go out on top. That means so much to me winning my last match in high school in the state finals, Brock said. I think that this one means a little more to me because it is my senior year and the whole leg thing.

The next time a Valley wrestler took the mat was in the finals of the 152-pound weight class. DAmico, gunning for his third state title in as many years, had no problem with Chris Rice of Kenai.

DAmico dominated the match and took a 14-8 decision to complete a two-year undefeated streak against Alaskan opponents.

Ive had a couple of good years, and Im relieved that its over now, DAmico said. I didnt want to make any mistakes and I wanted to get after him early in the match.

DAmico did just that by taking a 4-1 lead. After claiming a 6-1 lead in the second, DAmico fell victim to a take down by Rice. As soon as DAmico looked vincible, he quickly reversed the hold and showed why nobody has been able to beat him in years.

He caught me going down, DAmico said with a chuckle. I didnt get worried and kept wrestling my own match.

Teammate Wade also completed a two-year unbeaten streak in Alaska with an 18-9 dismantling of Burt Johnson of Ketchikan.

Wade never trailed and used a workman-like approach to his match, taking down his opponent and then allowing him to get up so that he could take him down once again.

He was firmly in control in the match, and he made no mistakes to allow Johnson back into the match.

You cant get too cocky at state because someone always is ready to beat you, Wade said.

The two-time state champion also has two runner-up finishes in his impressive four-year career, but the one that stands out to him is last years tournament.

The first time you win a state championship is the most special one, Wade said.

At 189 pounds, Colonys Justin Harris advanced to the finals against John Fisher of Service.

After falling behind 4-2 after the first round, Harris cut into the lead by scoring an escape early in the second. Fisher countered and took a 7-5 lead into the final period, where it remained a two-point match with less than a minute to go.

Fisher scored an escape to take an 8-5 lead. With Harris trying everything to score a late take down, Fisher took advantage of Harris aggressiveness by scoring a two-point take down with less than 10 seconds remaining to take a 10-5 decision.

The only other time the two had met before the finals, Fisher also won because of an injury to Harris.

The tournament concluded with Palmers Isaac Wesley trying to upset Soldotnas heavyweight, Seth Thompson. Thompson entered the tourney with a 32-0 record with every win by pin. Only two of his pins happened as late as the second round.

Thompson finished his season in much the same manner. Wesley recorded a take down early in the first round as Thompson struggled to get a feel for his opponent.

It didnt take long, as Thompson scored a reversal and then pinned Wesley.

Wasillas Chris Halverson finished second in last weeks Region III tournament to Thompson.

While preparing for the state tournament last week, Halverson broke a bone in his left hand and was forced to withdraw from the tournament.

State wrestling tournament

Team scores 1. Skyview, 186.5 points; 2. (tie) Palmer and Service, 155.5; 4. Colony, 99; 5. Kodiak, 88.5; 6. North Pole, 78; 7. Wasilla, 75; 8. Ketchikan, 73; 9. Chugiak, 64; 10. Soldotna, 60; 11. West Valley, 58; 12. Bartlett, 49; 13. Homer, 48; 14. Lathrop, 46.5; 15. Juneau, 44; 16. West, 39.5; 17. Kenai, 38; 18. Dimond, 35; 19. East, 19; 20. Sitka, 12.

First through fourth-place finishers

103 Junior Vallalodid, Kod; Jordan Brock, Was; Dan Pickett, Col; Todd Kreig, NP. 112 Siri Neal, Hom; Ryan Gillette, Col; Craig Larionoff, Kod; Ben Nabringer, Sky. 119 Neal Strausbaugh, Sky; Scotty Jorgensen, Pal; Ron Winger, Sky; Mike Sturrock, Ken. 125 Jesse Brock, Was; Tim Grosdidier, Bar; Willie young, NP; Chris Hill, Ser. 130 Zeb Hutchison, Sky; Bill Jolin, Ser; Arlo Bante, Lat; Mike Drake, Hom. 135 Travis Johnson, Sky; Andy Probasco, Kod; John Ford, Pal; Trevor Thompson, Ser. 140 Shad Lierly, Chu; Nick Zerbinos, Sky; J.R. Lindstrom, Sit; David Lorring, WV. 145 Devin Hawkins, WV; Castel Santana, Ser; Josh Hoeldt, Pal; Evan Perkins, Ken. 152 Tony DAmico, Pal; Chris Rice, Ken; Joey Beckman, Col; Scott Peterson, NP. 160 James Wade, Pal; Josh Hoffman, Bar; Garrett Schoenberger, Jun; Shayne Norton, Col. 171 Ryan Kopiasz, Ser; Charlie Karron, Sky; Tom Croffut, Dim; Scott Foster, Was. 189 Zach Legner, Sky; Spencer Hooker, Ket; Eric Romberg, Sol; Mike Quinn, WV. 215 John Fisher, Ser; Justin Harris, Col; Scott Dillard, NP; Danney Alley, West. 275 Seth Thompson, Sol; Isaac Wesley, Pal; Abel Piercy, Ket; Michael Nabers, East.