4A state wrestling championships: Colony heavyweight upsets top seed, five Knights advance to state finals

CHUGIAK — Heavyweight Renn Wright leads a group of five Colony Knights who will wrestle for a state title Saturday night.

Wright upset top-seeded Nathan Strieby, of Soldotna, in the semifinal round of the ASAA/First National Bank 4A State Wrestling Championships at Chugiak High School on Friday.

Wright, a junior who placed third in the Northern Lights Conference Championships last week, pinned Strieby, the NLC champ, in the third round of the 285-pound semifinal.

Senior Eric Fan will have the chance to pin down his second straight state title after sticking Service’s Andy Enz in the 215-pound semifinal.

Senior Charles Coisman, a past state finalist, will wrestle for the 119-pound championship after an 11-6 win over Ketchikan’s Ross Sanford in the semifinals.

Senior Sam Loggins scored a 19-10 win over Wasilla’s Josh Brown in the semifinals, and advanced to the championship at 130.

Top-seeded Kenny Boykin used a 12-2 major decision over Thunder Mountain’s Cameron Frominos to advance at 171.

Thanks in part to the five Knights in the finals, Colony had a healthy lead at the top of the team standings following Friday night’s semifinal round.

Junior Jacob Johnson will represent the Wasilla Warriors in the state finals. Johnson upset the second- and third-seeded wrestlers en route to earning a spot in the final match at 215. Johnson will face Fan in the championships.

Wasilla is tied for seventh in the team standings.

Wrestling resumes at 9 a.m. Saturday morning at Chugiak High School. The championship round is slated for 7 p.m.

Wright was the lone wrestler to upset a top seed during the first day of action.

Johnson is the lowest seeded wrestler to advance to the final. Johnson was seeded sixth, but upset third-seeded Brandon Nichols, of Lathrop, in the quarterfinals and South Anchorage’s Nick Archuleta, the second seed, in the semifinals.

A defending state champion, a 2008 state runner-up and a second-seeded wrestler were all knocked out of the tournament before the state event even started Friday morning. Colony junior Isaac Wilson and North Pole’s Eric Antesberger and Jacob Rahlfs all scratched before the first round.

Antesberger, who won a state title at 152, has been recovering from injuries suffered in a car accident in the North Pole area last month.

Antesberger was driving a car that was hit in a head-on collision by a drunk driver, according to the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. He was able to come back in time for the Mid-Alaska Conference Championships and qualify for state.

Wilson, an unseeded wrestler, was the runner-up at 112 last year. He won the Northern Lights Conference title in that weight class last week, but scratched this season due to injury.

Rahlfs was the second seed at 135.

ASAA/First National Bank 4A State Wrestling Championships

4A semifinals

103 — E. Burris, Kod p. N. Roetman, Col 1:58; N. Marquez, East p. H. Steffensen, Ken 0:26.

112 — D. Achman, Lat d. C. Lacey, Ser 5-4; C. Decker, NP d. J. Hogenson, South 11-7.

119 — Joe Hughes, Lat d. T. Adams, Was 9-3; C. Coisman, Col d. R. Sanford, Ket 11-6.

125 — M. Malnoske, East d. J. Russell, South 4-3; C. Ercolino, NP d. D. Taus, ER 8-5.

130 — S. Moore, East d. K. Curry, Lat 4-2; S. Loggins, Col m.d. J. Brown, Was 19-10.

135 — B. Sullivan, Chu d. I. Fultz, Ket 11-5; C. Frazier, NP d. L. Cosgriff, Ser 6-2.

140 — N. Hoffer, East p. S. Temple, Lat 1:42; A. Tennis, Sky d. K. Banning, Ser 11-8.

145 — G. Sullivan, Chu m.d. K. Boss, Col 15-2; D. McGraw, Dim d. K. Jutila, NP.

152 — L. Shelley, South won by dflt M. Miranda, Dim; T. Lemons, lat p. M. Wyatt, Hom 3:30.

160 — B. Pressler, West t.f. R. Knutson, Col 18-3; B. Weise, Lat d. F. Pollard, Sky 5-3.

171 —K. Boykin, Col m.d. C. Fronimos, TM 12-2; K. Kirn, South win by DQ T. Shepersky, NP.

189 — S. Ellis, Ser p. J. White, Was 1:35; D. Wilson, East d. R. Morehouse, South 14-8.

215 — E. Fan, Col p. A. Enz, Ser 2:24; J. Johnson, Was d. N. Archuleta, South 5-1.

285 — R. Wright, Col p. N. Strieby, Sol 5:30; A. Antonio, Kod p. C. Green, Bar 1:14.

4A quarterfinals

103 — E. Burris, Kod d. E. Garvey, Hom 6-4; N. Roetman, Col p. E. Fields, Kod 3:20; H. Steffensen, Ken d. G. Wright, NP 4-2; N. Marquez, East p. K. Willard, East 1:54.

112 — D. Achman, Lat p. F. Llorente, Kod 2:43; C. Lacey, Ser d. C. Miller, Was 6-4; J. Hogenson, South t.f. A. Wood, NP 17-1; C. Decker, NP md. W. Mielke, Col 9-0.

119 — J. Hughes, Lat d. J. Wenzel, Chu 4-2; T. Adams, Was m.d. B. Wilson, Sky 15-3; R. Sanford, Ket m.d. T. Mockta, Ser 16-2; C. Coisman, Col d. J. Lunsford, Ser 11-4.

125 — M. Malnoske, East p. A. Lounsbury, Kod 0:47; J. Russell, South p. J. Borrgo, ER 1:54; D. Taus, ER d. E. Tupper, Lat 3-2; C. Ercolino, NP p. L. Collins, Ket 3:49.

130 — S. Moore, East m.d. D. Barrie, NP 8-0; K. Curry, Lat d. L. Faulkner, Col 12-5; J. Brown, Was md. C. Credito, Ket 10-1; S. Loggins, Col t.f. J. Diederich, Was 22-7.

135 — B. Sullivan, Chu d. C. Carroll, Sol 8-2; I. Fultz, Ket m.d. C. Lowery, Col 15-6; C. Frazier, NP d. T. Osborn, Lat 7-2; L. Cosgriff, Ser m.d. B. Markson, South 16-7.

140 — N. Hoffer, East p. P. Pena, West 3:18; S. Temple, Lat d. P. Brodie, Kod 12-8; K. Banning, Ser d. C. Montgomery, Col 7-2; A. Tennis, Sky d. D. Johnsen, Was 13-7.

145 — G. Sullivan, Chu p. M. Gilbert, Kod 0:57; K. Boss, Col d. L. Swanson, Lat 5-1; K. Jutila, NP d. D. Castonguay, Kod 7-4; D. McGraw, Dim d. N> Gordon, Ser 5-4.

152 — L. Shelley, South t.f. R. Skieens, Ser 23-7; M. Miranda, d. J. Thomas, Sky 4-0; M. Wyatt, Hom p. G. Elder, Hou 1:59; T. Lemons, Lat t.f. B. Nix, Dim 18-3.

160 — B. Pressler, West p. A. Fuller, Was 1:31; R. Knutson, Col m.d. N. Such, Chu 12-2; B. Weise, Lat p. J. Marshall, Was 4:47; F. Pollard, Sky p. Z. Wright, ER 3:32.

171 — K. Boykin, Col p. S. Huff, WV 1:11; C. Fronimos, TM d. J. Dennehy, South 5-1; K. Kirn, South p. T. Link, Sol; T. Shepersky, NP p. K. Monti, ER 0:35.

189 — S. Ellis, Ser p. L. Croft, Hom 1:45; J. White, p. N. Vanbruggen, Sky 3:35; R. Moorhouse, South p. G. Morrison, Chu 3:36; D. Wilson, East p. A. Gattenby, Ken 2:31.

215 — E. Fan, Col p. M. Eyre, Sky 2:48; A. Enz, Ser p. D. Dormady, 2:47; J. Johnson, Was d. B. Nichols, Lat 3-2; N. Archuleta, South p. J. Brandt, Hom 3:40.

285 — N. Strieby, Sol p. R. Pomrenke, Was 1:00; R. Wright, Col m.d. D. Short, South 16-4; C. Green, Bar p. K. Trombley, Chu 3:18; A. Atonio, Kod p. C. Foster, Lat 0:40.