Houston takes eager squad to conference championships

HOUSTON — Sometimes Mother Nature can be cruel. That’s a lesson Houston High wrestlers may be bracing to learn.

As freezing rain closed most of the Mat-Su Borough School District schools on Thursday, the Hawks are in wait-and-see mode about whether they’ll be able to make the trip to the Kachemak Conference Championships in Nikiski today and tomorrow. According to school district policy, cancellation of classes also requires cancellation of all extra-curricular activities, including travel and athletics.

For Valley winter sports teams, that meant putting the kibosh on Colony, Palmer and Wasilla hockey teams traveling to the peninsula for games, as well as a wrestling dual between valley rivals Wasilla and Palmer.

If school is cancelled, Houston would miss its last opportunity to make the conference tournament. If the regionals go on, that potentially could see the Hawks forfeit all their matches, and in the process lose any chances they would have to qualify for next weekend’s 123A state wrestling tournament.

“We’re still crossing our fingers and hoping it will go on, but we may have to scramble,” said Dave Porter, Houston High athletic director. Missing out on attempting to qualify for the state tournament “is possible, and it would be a bummer.”

It would be disappointing for the entire team, and for Luke Wagner, a two-time defending state champion at 220 pounds who is eager to win his third consecutive title, said head coach Brian Cook. Coming off an injury that saw Wagner miss a little time, Cook said he’s ready to get back on the mat.

“We purposely didn’t wrestle hi last weekend just to make sure it was healed up,” Cook said of Wagner’s fractured collarbone. “But he’ll be there, he wants it really bad and it’s driving him nuts to sit out.”

Along with Wagner, the Hawks have Aaron Drake, who placed third at 106 pounds at state last season. The placers were among seven state qualifiers who led the way for Houston to post a 10^th place finish in the team standings.

This year, the Hawks have a larger roster and, if they’re able to make the trip, will take a full lineup to the conference championships, Cook said.

“This is the first year since I’ve been at Houston that we’ve had a full lineup, and we have a couple of weights that are two or three deep. I think we should qualify a pretty decent amount. My optimistic guess would be about 12, if they wrestle like they can.”

Wagner’s run is also the first time in his tenure at the school that Cook said he’s seen a wrestler with a chance to win three titles.

“I think this is the first time, at least since this high school (building) has been here, that we’ve had a chance to get a third state title,” he said.

The coach added that Wagner handle the pressure of being a defending champion like, well, a champion.

“Luke’s not one who lets pressure get to him,” he said. “He has a real cool attitude and he doesn’t show pressure at all. In fact, he gets excited for the big matches. I don’t think it affects him too much, or he doesn’t show it too much.”

Cook is also excited about Drake’s chances to compete for a spot in the finals. He finished third last year and is ranked No. 2 in the state this season.

“He’s been wrestling some tough matches and getting some big wins,” Cook said. “He’s been working super hard and he wants it. He’s been lifting in the mornings before school. He’s got the mental attitude you look for, that drive.”

Contact Greg Johnson at 352-2269 or greg.johnson@frontiersman.com.

UPDATE: Classes are in session Friday, and Valley schools were cleared to travel to and host sports events. That means Houston left this morning to Nikiski for the Kachemak Conference Championships.

As of this posting, that tournament is moving through its first rounds. Due to a lack of competitors at 98 pounds, Houston’s Kavan Weinberger has already advanced to the region semifinals with a pair of byes. He’ll face Jadzia Martin of Homer, who also advanced with two byes.

Also on are a slew of hockey games between Valley and Kenai Peninsula teams down south. To make up for missing Thursday games, Palmer and Colony are playing two games today, while Wasilla will play a game today and a pair of games on Saturday.

As of this posting, Palmer had lost its first game against Kenai 7-1, and is set to face off with Soldotna at 6:15 p.m. Colony came from behind in the third period to beat Soldotna 2-1 and will play Kenai at 8:30 p.m.

Wasilla will play Homer today, then Soldotna (1 p.m.) and Kenai (6:15 p.m.) on Saturday, while both Colony and Palmer will round out their peninsula trip with games against Homer.

Closer to home, the Houston hockey team is a go to host Glenallen at the Big Lake Lions Club Rec Center in back-to-back games tonight and Saturday.