Colony wrestlers place in Washington tourney

Vincent Cramer capped his prep season in Alaska with his first high school state title. But the Colony standout didn’t stop there.

Cramer recently placed seventh during the Gut Check wrestling meet Jan. 5 in Kent, Washington. Cramer beat Scott Lees of Washougal, Washington, 3-1 in the seventh-place match of the 152-pound bracket. Cramer entered the tourney as the No. 2 seed in his weight class. He started with a 7-2 in his first match, and followed with an 18-1 win by technical fall in the second round. Joey Chavez of Kamiakin, Washington, upset Cramer 5-3 in the championship quarterfinals.

Colony freshman Elijah Larson also placed in the tournament, finishing sixth at 113. After receiving a first-round bye, Larson won his first two matches. Horacio Godinez of Toppinish, Washington, got past Larson in the quarterfinals. Godinez, the No. 3 seed, continued on to win the weight class.

Jared Hopkins was the No. 3 seed at 138 pounds. After a first-round bye, Hopkins won consecutive matches 11-1 and 9-0, but was upset in the quarterfinals.

Glennallen’s Kael Gerlach was the highest placing Alaska wrestler in the meet, finishing third at 170.

Cramer, Hopkins and Larson helped the Knights storm to the Division I state wrestling team title in late December. The Knights finished with 333 team points, more than 50 better than runner-up South Anchorage. Cramer and Hopkins both earned their first career state title. Cramer won it all at 152, and Hopkins was first at 135. Larson finished fourth at 112.

The Gut Check is an annual tournament that features some of the top talent from Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Alaska.

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