Houston wrestlers make school history

HOUSTON — The Houston Hawks spent the 2014 prep wrestling season dreaming of what it would be like to celebrate a region title on their home mat.

Saturday, that dream became a reality.

Houston amassed 222.5 total points to win the Kachemak Conference Championships team title at Houston High School.

“It’s really exciting. These guys worked so hard this season,” Houston head coach Brian Cook said. “It’s one thing to win the title of a tournament, but to win the region tournament at home with the home crowd, it’s not much better than that.”

Houston crowned four individual champs en route to winning its first region wrestling title in school history. Senior Aaron Drake repeated as a conference champion. Seniors Jacob McAnulty and Arrin Paul, and junior Kavan Weinberger each earned their first individual crown.

The Hawks also qualified 14 grapplers for the 123A state tournament.

“We had a fantastic weekend,” Cook said. “These guys really came ready to wrestle.”

Houston fought off region rivals Nikiski and Homer to win its first title. Nikiski finished second with 206.5 points, just ahead of third-place Homer (204). Prior to the meet, Cook figured his squad had a good chance of winning the team title, as long as the Hawks wrestled strong. When Cook put together potential team scores based on the seeding of the wrestlers prior to the tournament he saw Nikiski had the edge, strictly based on the seeding. But big Houston wins tipped the scale.

Three Hawks also helped their team’s cause by beating either a Nikiski wrestler or Homer wrestler in the finals.

“Those were big wins, big matches,” Cook said.

Houston also featured career performances.

Terry Jackson, a No. 3 seed at 138, advanced to the finals. Cook said it’s the best he’s seen Jackson wrestle. Jackson finished second.

Weinberger and McAnulty both beat Nikiski wrestlers in the finals. Weinberger scored a 13-3 major decision over Nikiski’s Tyler Olsen in the 106-pound final. Weinberger won his first career region title despite suffering a broken toe about two weeks ago.

“Kavan works so hard. His mental drive to succeed is really impressive,” Cook said.

McAnulty won by technical fall, beating Nikiski’s Donovan Smith 18-3 in the 113-pound final. McAnulty won his first region title in just his second year as a wrestler.

“I tried to get him to come out for years and years. I saw his potential,” Cook said.”He rose to the occasion and became a great wrestler.”

Paul pinned Homer’s Antonio Ochoa in the 170-pound final. Paul didn’t wrestle as a junior, but came back as a senior and is now a region champ.

“It’s really exciting. His senior year, coming back, getting that spotlight,” Cook said.

Drake, a defending region and state champion, won another region title Saturday, finishing first in the 126-pound class. Drake received a forfeit victory. His opponent, Grace Christian’s Evan Brockman, failed to make weight prior to the second day of the tournament.

“It’s really unfortunate. He was really looking forward to wrestling in front of his home crowd. It’s unfortunate circumstances, but he took it well,” Cook said of Drake.

Despite not having the chance to officially wrestle in the finals, Drake was named the conference’s most outstanding wrestler after the meet. Cook said that speaks to how much respect the coaches in the conference have for Drake.

Cook was named the conference’s coach of the year.

The Hawks featured six grapplers in the finals. In addition to Jackson, Etienne Kinney also placed second. Kinney was the runner-up at 132.

Of the school-record 14 wrestlers Houston qualified for the state tournament, three are in the 220-pound class. Kendel Beasley, Ezra Lincecum and Kyle Quincy placed second, third and fourth respectively.

Damien Jessup (98), Kyle Anderson (106), Sean Lang (195) and Dylan Jackson (285) each placed third and qualified for state. Shyan Horner (106) qualified in the girls’ bracket.

The ASAA/First National Bank 123A State Championships starts Friday at Bartlett High School in Anchorage.

Kachemak Conference Championships

Friday-Saturday, Houston

Team scores:

1. Houston 222.5; 2. Nikiski 206.5; 3. Homer 204; 4. ACS 136; 5. Seward 124; 6. Grace Christian 106; 7. Voznesenka 46; 8. Cordova 44; 9. Holy Rosary 25.

Championship final:

98 pounds — S. Blaine, Hom d. A. Ozbun, Nik 1:38; 106 — K. Weinberger, Hou m.d. T. Olsen, Nik 13-3; 113 — J. McAnulty, Hou t.f. D. Smith, Nik 4:00; 120 — J. Cox, Nik d. D. LeMay, ACS 6-3; 126 — A. Drake, Hou won by fft E. Brockman, Gra; 132 — M. Lucas, HR d. E. Kinney, Hou 10-3; 138 — T. Woo, Hom m.d. T. Jackson, Hou 16-5; 145 — G. Kalugin, Voz d. G. Sorenson, Gra 8-6 OT; 152 — T. Handley, Nik d. K. Wells, Hom 10-1; 160 — N. Carstens, Nik m.d. T. Cook, Hom 10-0; 170 — A. Paul, Hou p. A. Ochoa, Hom 2:38; 182 — C. Howard, Cor m.d. B. Nicholson, ACS 16-2; 195 — J. McCormick, Nik d. J. Willis, ACS 4-0; 220 — L. Johnson, Nik p. K. Beasley, Hou 1:21; 285 — T. Scott, ACS p. J. Schutter, Sew 5:12.

Third-pace:

98 — D. Jessup, Hou won by fft; 106 — K. Anderson, Hou p. B. Medetov, Nik 0:23; 113 — L. Broussard, Nik p. S. Estes, Sew 3:58; 120 — J. Brant, Hom p. C. Estes, Sew 2:26; 126 — R. Cavasos, Hom p. J. Perkins, Gra 0:44; 132 — J. Rios, Hom won by fft T. Johnson, Hom; 138 — J. Sapp, Cor d. R. Merriner, Gra 7-5 OT; 145 — T. Zweifel, Sew d. J. Hofacker, ACS 2-1 OT; 152 — C. Webb, Gra d. K. Hettick, Sew 4-1; 152 — Z. Young, Gra won by fft D. Broussard, Nik; 170 — M. Morris, Sew p. M. Kusnetsov, Voz 1:59; 182 — M. Pollack, Hom won by fft I. Johnson, Nik; 195 — S. Lang, Hou p. R. Kohutek, ACS 1:50; 220 — E. Lincecum, Hou d. K. Quincy, Hou 8-7; 285 — D. Jackson, Hou d. W. Olsen, Nik 2:21.