Depth propels Warriors to SoHi title

SOLDOTNA — A battle for prep wrestling’s king of the hill in the Valley continued this weekend at the Marathon Oil North/South Wrestling Tournament, with Wasilla inching closer to the summit.

As the four-time defending state champion, Colony looks to defend its crown, but the Warriors are making a strong push this season to stake their own claim with a team win in Soldotna with 270 points. The Knights were second with 187.5.

Although the final score may seem a little lopsided, it was Wasilla’s depth that powered the Warriors’ victory.

Both teams placed five wrestlers in Saturday’s finals, with Wasilla winning three titles and Colony two, but in the third- and fifth-place matches, the Warriors were a strong 4-3 to 1-3 for Colony.

Speaking to the strength of both programs, Wasilla’s No. 2 squad also placed in the tournament’s top 10 with 97.5 points and Colony No. 2 was 13th with 68 points.

Warrior junior Abe Fox continued his strong season, winning at 119 pounds over teammate Nate McKimson, while Jake Johnson at 215 also won, along with 130-pounder Tyler Adams.

In the only match between the schools in the finals, Colony 152-pounder Porter Martin topped Daniel Wiggins of Wasilla, while heavyweight Renn Wright continued to dominate, following up a win at last week’s Lancer Smith invitational with another perfect performance.

Marathon Oil North/South

Wrestling Tournament

Friday and Saturday, Soldotna

Team scores

1. Wasilla 270, 2. Colony 187.5, 3. East Anchorage 164.5, 4. Nikiski 155.5, 5. Soldotna 113, 6. Valdez 106, 7. Kodiak 104.5, 8. Wasilla2 97.5, 9. Skyview 93, 10. Homer 92, 11. Voznesenka 78, 12. Houston 68.5, 13. Colony2 68, 14. Kenai 62.5, 15. Bartlett 59.5, 16. East2 28, 17. Skyview2 21, 18. Nikiski2 and Valdez2 20, 20. Grace Christian 19.5, 21. Bartlett2 19, 22. Ninilchik and Soldotna2 14, 24. Grace2 12.5, 25. Colony3 and Kenai2 25, 27. Kodiak2 and Kodiak3 7, 29. Grace3 and Houston2 4, 31. East3 3.

Championship matches*

103 pounds — Steffensen, Kenai def. Booth, Colony, 112 — Marquez, East def. Groeneveld, Valdez, 119 — Fox, Wasilla def. McKimson, Wasilla2, 125 — Sturgill, Bartlett def. Miller, Wasilla, 130 — Adams, Wasilla dec. Hanley, SoHi, 135 — Carroll, SoHi def. Faulkner, Colony, 140 — Brodie, Kodiak def. Malnoske, East, 145 — Downing, East def. Spurgeon, Nikiski, 152 — Martin, Colony def. Wiggins, Wasilla, 160 — Allen, Valdez def. Martushev, Voznesenka, 171 — Wyatt, Homer def. Deaton, Valdez, 189 — Wilson, East def. Wright, Colony, 215 — Johnson, Wasilla def. Polushkin, Voznesenka, 285 — Wright, Colony def. Green, Bartlett.

Third-place matches

103 pounds — Willard, East dec. Hutchinson, Skyview 7-0, 112 — Steiner, Wasilla pinned Minnick, Wasilla2 4:09, 119 — Llorente, Kodiak maj. dec. Cunningham, Skyview 9-0, 125 — Janorschke, Skyview maj. dec. Stengel, Nikiski 21-8, 130 — Sauve, Nikiski maj. dec. Drake, Houston 14-6, 135 — Brown, Nikiski dec. Serna, Wasilla 6-5, 140 — Peek, Nikiski maj. dec. Martisev, Valdez 19-8, 145 — Tennis, SoHi dec. Johnson, Wasilla 6-2, 152 — Armstrong, Nikiski dec. McGregor, Homer 4-3, 160 — Castonguay, Kodiak dec. Wolfe, Colony 6-4, 171 — Johnson, Nikiski pinned Reese, Houston 1:43, 189 — White, Wasilla pinned Akelkok, Wasilla2 :36, 215 — Farber, Colony dec. Wagner, Houston 7-3, 285 — Pomrenke, Wasilla pinned Yeager, Bartlett2 4:33.

Fifth-place matches

103 pounds — Ellibee, Colony2 dec. Warner, Wasilla 10-3, 112 — Rorher, Valdez2 pinned Media, Colony 1:28, 119 — Rake, Valez for. Walsh, Grace2, 125 — Marsengill, Homer pinned Simmons, Colony 4:21, 130 — Blumentritt, Skyview2 dec. Guzman, East 5-4, 135 — Carter, Kenai dec. Campbell, Wasilla2 6-1, 140 — Hoffer, East2 forf. Green, Nikiski2, 145 — Diederich, Wasilla2 dec. Canette, Kodiak 7-3, 152 — Burton, Colony2 maj. dec. Stone, Bartlett 13-5, 160 — Patrick, SoHi maj. dec. Daniels, Colony2 13-2, 171 — Makitrin, Wasilla forf. Hamilton, East, 189 — Bennett, Ninilchik pinned Eisey, SoHi 4:35, 215 — Alexander, Skyview pinned MacKenzie, Colony2 2:56, 285 — McKewen, Colony2 forf. Prins, Kenai2.

*Note: Final results for championship matches were not provided by tournament organizers.