'It's very tough' Seven undefeated wrestlers fall in Lancer Smith finals

WASILLA — The Lancer Smith Memorial is billed as the toughest wrestling tournament in the state. The meet, once again, lived up to its reputation.

Seven wrestlers, including four defending state champions, suffered their first loss of the season during the Lancer Smith Memorial finals Saturday evening at the Menard Arena in Wasilla.

“It’s very tough. Tougher than state, that’s for sure,” Colony senior Rush Fannon said prior to the tournament’s award ceremony.

Fannon was part of a pair of matches during the final round that featured a pair of defending state champions. Fannon, a two-time state champ who won it all at 126 pounds last year, pinned Lathrop sophomore Kobe Ames in the first round of the 140-pound final. Ames, the champion at 132 last year, entered the match 16-0.

Fannon, who improved to 20-1, also avenged the only loss of his senior season. Ames beat Fannon 6-0 at the Bethel Invitational. Fannon said he was dealing with an injury the first time he saw Ames, but felt better Saturday. Fannon said he wanted to be aggressive as soon as he hit the mat Saturday night.

“Go out there and do what I do,” Fannon said.

Fannon needed only 1 minute, 29 seconds to pin Ames.

In the other match that included two defending state champions, North Pole senior Bradley Antesberger edged Glennallen senior Caden Gerlach 3-1 in the 189-pound final. Antesberger, the state champ at 195 last year, was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament after improving to 19-0 this season. Gerlach, the Division II state champion at 170 pounds last year, entered the finals Saturday 31-0 with 31 first-round pins.

A pair of defending state champions from the Peninsula also fell Saturday night.

Soldotna senior Gideon Hutchison, the state champ at 120 pounds last year, suffered a loss to South Anchorage senior Jacob Shack in the 130-pound finals. Hutchison was 27-0 before the loss.

Homer senior Seth Inama, another Division II defending state champion, was edged by South’s Niko Mayo in the finals. Inama was 24-0.

Lathrop’s Jeremy Bockert (103) and Robert Poras (112), and South’s Henry Saafi (285) also suffered the first losses of their seasons in the Lancer Smith finals.

Fannon was one of a trio of Valley wrestlers to win their weight class. Colony sophomore Aidan Ehmann and Wasilla junior Sterling Uhlenhake were also crowned champions.

Last week in the North-South Invitational finals, Wasilla’s Alex Logsdon edged Ehmann 3-2, handing the Colony sophomore his first loss of the season. Ehmann bounced back and beat Logsdon 11-4 in the 119-pound final Saturday. Ehmann jumped out to a quick lead, and led 7-0 in the second round.

Uhlenhake controlled throughout the 145-pound final, beating West Valley’s Isaac Coon 5-1.

Logsdon was one of four Valley grapplers to reach the finals, and finish as the runner up. Colony’s Vincent Cramer (135) and Levi Hopkins (171) and Palmer’s Asa Barnes (152) also finished second.

South, led by seven individual champions, earned the team title with 268 total points. Colony finished as the runner-up.

Contact Frontiersman editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.

Team scores (top 10):

1. South Anchorage 268; 2. Colony 219.5; 3. Lathrop 183; 4. Wasilla 139; 5. Bethel 97.5; 6. Palmer 83; 7. Soldotna 80; 8. Ketchikan 76; 9. Unalaska 66.5; 10. North Pole 63.5.

Championship finals:

103 pounds — Ad. Concepcion, Sou m.d. J. Bockert, Lat 11-3; 112 — Ae. Concepcion, Sou m.d. L. Porras, Lat 14-1; 119 — A. Ehmann, Col d. A. Logsdon, Was 11-4; 125 —N. Mayo, Sou d. S. Inama, Hom 5-3; 130 — J. Shack, Sou m.d. G. Hutchison, Sol 16-6; 135 — R. Harris, Sou d. V. Cramer, Col 10-5; 140 — R. Fannon, Col p. K. Ames, Lat 1:29; 145 — S. Uhlenhake, Was d. I. Coon, WV 5-1; 152 — C. Hudson, Sou p. A. Barnes, Pal 1:25; 160 — H. Lieb, Bet d. S. Martin, Sou 4-2 SV; 171 — J. Anderson, Sou d. L. Hopkins, Col 5-2; 189 — B. Antesberger, NP d. C. Gerlanch, Glen 3-1; 215 — A. Faletoi, Sol p. S. Henning, Una 4:00; 285 — P. Vaafuit, West d. H. Saafi, Sou 5-4.

Third-place matches:

103 — L. Smith, Bet p. B. Pope, East 4:27; 112 — C. Silva, Col d. C. Parduhn, Lat 5-4 TB; 119 — M. Kusnetzov, Voz d. P. Rauwolf, Ket 8-6; 125 — J. Hopkins, Col p. B. Stevens, Kod 2:44; 130 — H. Hayes, Was m.d. W. Poland, Lat 9-1; 135 — I. Rodman, Was d. C. Williams, Dil 7-5; 140 — D. Ruckman, Una d. J. Noden, Dill 9-3; 145 — A. Mueller, Lat p. S. Cuellar, Ser 0:26; 152 — R. Randolph-Oxholm, Dim d. D. Chaney, Dill 6-5 UTB; 152 — A. Shepersky, Lat d. G. Martin, Gra 3-1; 171 — J. Nummer, Kod d. E. Mernier, Gra 8-0; 189 — D. Niebles, Chu p. E. Roetman, Kot 4:35; 215 — K. Mock, West d. J. Toston, Col 7-5; 285 — J. Fitzpatrick, East d. S. Talaiasi, Bar 2:10.