Colony wins first state wrestling title

Feb. 4, 2007

By MATT TUNSETH/ Frontiersman

CHUGIAK - It was over almost before it began.

Colony High School amassed a huge lead heading into the final round of the state championship wrestling tournament Saturday at Chugiak High School, then wrestled their way to the school's first-ever state title.

The Knights led second-place Chugiak 217.5 to 154 heading into the medal rounds, amassing a lead that was virtually insurmountable. The Knights put six wrestlers into the finals, going on to outpace the host Mustangs by a final tally of 229.5 to 170.

Colony senior Hollan Gravley was the big individual story for the Knights, pinning every wrestler who got in his path en route to his fourth state title and the tournament's Outstanding Wrestler award..

&#8220It's awesome,” Gravley said of his run through the tournament. &#8220I think I showed my dominance.”

Although he was heavily favored to win the tournament, Gravley said it was still important for him to finish strong.

&#8220I did what I came to do,” he said.

Gravley's win, he said, was made even more special because of the fact that it came during his school's first-ever team victory.

&#8220It's awesome, especially considering how far we've come since my freshman year,” he said.

Gravley's coach, Fred McKenney, said he's been coaching wrestling since 1968 and has never had a wrestler perform as well as Gravley at the state level.

&#8220He's extremely special,” McKenney said.

Colony dominated the lower weight classes, with five wrestlers in the finals during the opening six weight classes.

McKenney said the state championship win was a great way to cap a dream season for the Knights, who lost just one tournament all season and finally ended a three-year run of titles by the Wasilla Warriors.

&#8220This whole thing is just a total group effort, from the coaches to the parents to the administrators, everyone,” McKenney said.

In the first match of the finals, Colony's Chase Montgomery was outclassed by East's Nathan Hoffer, losing by a pin with seven seconds remaining in the match. Montgomery finished the season 22-3 with an NLC title to his credit.

Following that disappointment, however, Colony got its first championship of the evening when Kyle Wilson picked up a dramatic overtime win over his Colony teammate Aaron Boss.

&#8220I'm speechless,” Wilson said after his escape in the second overtime allowed him to earn a 4-3 win.

Wilson's win was a repeat of his victory over Boss last week at the NLC tournament. He said he really wasn't sure coming into the match against Boss who would prevail.

&#8220We go back and forth in practice,” he said. &#8220I'm just stunned right now.”

Despite failing to win its fourth consecutive state title, Wasilla did have some bright spots. The first came at 119 pounds, when senior Alan Bartelli capped a stellar career with his third state title.

&#8220I couldn't have finished any better,” Bartelli said.

Bartelli's win in the finals over Colony's Josh West allowed him to finish his career with a 170-11 career record. Despite finishing his final state tournament, Bartelli said it would have been nice for the Warriors to bring home another team title.

&#8220It does sting a little bit,” he said of his team's fourth-place finish.

However, he said he believes his team did everything it could at the state meet, and left everything on the mat.

&#8220We tried our best, you can't take anything back,” he said. &#8220Whoever wins it deserves it.”

Wasilla coach Shawn Hayes agreed.

&#8220The kids wrestled tough,” Hayes said.

Wasilla 125-pounder Mike Chafin provided one of the best stories of the tournament. Chafin entered the tournament unseeded after a fourth-place finish at the NLC tourney. But the junior - who finished fifth at last year's state meet - went on to make it all the way to the finals, eventually falling to Jimmy Eggemeyer of Kodiak, 5-0. Earlier in the tournament, Chafin knocked off the second-seeded wrestler, Dante Santos of Juneau to advance in one of the biggest upsets of the weekend.

Following his loss in the finals, Chafin said he felt like his strong tournament performance was a great way to finish what had been a disappointing regular season.

&#8220All the hard work finally paid off,” Chafin said.

Wasilla got its second title of the evening when Duane Carpenter dominated North Pole's Josh Witcher in just 1:03. Carpenter was in control of the match from the opening whistle, stunning Witcher before eventually sinking a half Nelson to get the pin - much to the delight of the large contingent of Wasilla fans in attendance.

Carpenter finished second at state last year, and said the win this year was a great way to finish a wrestling career that began in the second grade.

&#8220It's pretty big to win the last match I'm probably ever going to wrestle,” Carpenter said.

Colony's James Savage wrestled the final match of the evening, falling in overtime to top-seeded Max Collins of North Pole. Despite the loss, however, Savage's second-place finish was his best ever at state.

That same thing can be said about the entire Colony team, which had never won a state title before this year. Following the tournament, Colony's McKenney said he could not be more proud of the effort displayed by his team over the two-day tournament.

&#8220How could you not be?” he asked.

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