Knights win Lancer Smith tourney

WASILLA — The match was back and forth. There were close calls both ways.

But Levi Hopkins found a way to win in the final moment.

The Colony sophomore used a takedown just before the buzzer to score a 10-8 sudden victory win over Lathrop’s Westley Bockert during the 138-pound match of the championship final round of the Lancer Smith Memorial Saturday evening in Wasilla.

“I thought I did,” Hopkins said of getting the points right before the horn. “It could have gone either way.”

Hopkins trailed 7-3 midway through the third period, but worked his way toward the win. Hopkins used a key takedown near the edge of the match with 15 seconds left in regulation to take a lead, right after Hopkins was awarded a point for a Bockert stalling call. Bockert tied the score at 8 with an escape during the final seconds of the third. But Hopkins prevailed in extra time.

“Keep attacking, don’t let him get too aggressive,” Hopkins said of mindset in overtime.

Hopkins also used the victory to win a weight class that included four grapplers who wrestled for a state title last year. Hopkins won a 4A state championship in 2015. Bockert was a 4A runner-up last year. Hopkins’ opponent in the semifinals, Bethel’s Aaron Olsen, is also a defending state champion. The bracket also included Homer’s Jared Brant, a runner-up at the 123A state tourney last season.

“It’s pretty tough. Every match you’re wrestling good kids,” Hopkins said.

Hopkins was one of a half-dozen Knights to wrestle in the finals Saturday, and three to win titles. Robert Haan, also a defending state champion, scored a 10-2 major decision over North Pole’s Bradley Antesberger in the 195-pound final. Rush Fannon pinned Ketchikan’s Vince Tenebro in the second round of the 113-pound final.

Three also finished as a runner-up.

Homer’s Luciano Fasulo edged Colony’s Sam Sisco 3-2 at 126 pounds. Homer’s Timmy Woo, a defending 123A state champion, held on to score a 4-2 win over Colony’s Caleb Hopkins at 160. And in a match pitting a pair of defending state champions, Glennallen’s Joseph White got past Colony’s Dawson Nash 9-6 in the 182-pound title.

White was named the tournament’s most outstanding wrestler.

The group of Knights helped Colony place first overall 275 total points.

“We got the team victory. That was important,” Levi Hopkins said.

The Knights also had a wrestler win her weight class in the varsity girls’ class. Colony’s Kayley Farwell earned a 10-8 sudden victory win over North Pole’s Raeann Jackson in the 113-pound final.

Wasilla, which finished third overall with 166 points, placed three wrestlers in the finals. Both of Wasilla’s defending state champions, Micah Mathis and Sam Wolff, won their weight class Saturday. Mathis beat Ketchikan’s Brayden Linne 15-12 in the 120-pound final. Wolff scored a 6-4 victory over Holy Rosary Academy’s Michael Lucas in the 145-pound final. Andrue Shepersky also advanced to the finals, and placed second at 152.

Palmer was represented by Austin Farris, who was second at 220.

Susitna Valley’s Marshall Pinard was edged by Lathrop’s Ji Jeong 2-1 in the heavyweight final. Pinard led 1-0, but Jeong managed to score a reversal in the final seconds to win.

The Lancer Smith Memorial, viewed by most as Alaska’s toughest wrestling tournament at any point during the season, featured eight defending state champions in the final round alone. There were 14 in the Lancer Smith finals who wrestled in the state finals last year. Nash was the only defending state champion to fall during the final round, but four other defending state champions — Bethel’s Tristan Evan and Aaron Olsen, Grace Christian’s Evan Bockman and Homer’s Levi King — suffered losses during the first day of the tournament.

More than 700 grapplers hit the mat during the two-day event hosted by Palmer High School at the Menard Arena for the first time. Tournament officials opted to move the tourney from Palmer High to the Menard to accommodate the tournament’s growth in recent seasons. The Lancer Smith Memorial featured boys’ varsity, girls’ varsity and junior varsity tournaments running simultaneously under one roof. The tournament is named for Lancer Smith, a prominent figure in Alaska wrestling who coached high school teams at Palmer and Colony for nearly three decades. Smith was a college All-American and an Olympic alternate in Greco-Roman wrestling at summer games in 1968.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.

Lancer Smith Memorial

Friday-Saturday, Menard Arena

Overall team standings (top 20:

1. Colony 275; 2. Homer 211; 3. Wasilla 166; 4. Bethel 121.5; 5. Lathrop 118; 6. South 102.5; 7. Kethcikan 98; 8. Service 95; 9. Palmer 85; 10. North Pole 77; 11. Glennallen 71; 12. Soldotna 60; 13. Chugiak 51; 14. Kenai 44; 15. Thunder Mountain 44; 16. Eagle River 41; 17. Barrow 38; 18. Kodiak 36; 19. Dillingham 34. 20. Holy Rosary 32.

First-place matches:

98 pounds — A. Concepcion, Sou p. L. Craig, Sol 1:49; 106 — T. Dyment, Bet p. W. Newman, Hom 2:40; 113 — R. Fannon, Col p. V. Tenebro, Ket 3:52; 120 — M. Mathis, Was d. B. Linne, Ket 15-12; 126 — L. Fasulo, Hom d. S. Sisco, Col 3-2; 132 — J. Opp, Lat p. B. Evans, EEK 5:36; 138 — L. Hopkins, Col d. W. Bockert, Lat 10-8 SV; 145 — S. Wolff, Was d. M. Lucas, HR 6-4; 152 — K. McEnerney, Ken d. A. Shepersky, Was 11-4; 160 — T. Woo, Hom d. C. Hopkins, Col 4-2; 170 — D. Budke, Chu d. T. Cook, Hom 5-2; 182 — J. White, Glen d. D. Nash, Col 9-6; 195 — R. Haan, Col m.d. B. Antesberger, NP 10-2; 220 — C. Weldon, TM p. A. Farris, Pal 2:56; 285 — J. Jeong, Lat d. M. Pinard, SV 3-1.

Third-place matches:

98 — S. Benefield, NP p. D. Geerdts, Bet 516; 106 — M. Rodriguez, Ket d. V. Cramer, Col 4-2; 113 — G. Hutchison, Sol m.d. S. Inama, Hom 8-0; 120 — J. Shack, Sou d. T. Severson, Col 2-0; 126 — I. Rodman, Was p. J. Perkins, Ser 3:30; 132 — J. Virgin, Glen d. D. Simpson, Was 8-6 SV; 138 — J. Brant, Hom d. A. Olsen, Bet 3-2; 145 — W. Martin, Sou d. E. Christy, Col 4-2; 152 — L. Farris, Pal d. B. Easley, Col 5-2; 160 — E. Bockman, Gra d. J. Malnoske, East 3-0; 170 ¬— T. Farless, Ser d. T. Miller-Hickerson, Kot 11-6; 182 — B. Antesberger, NP d. L. King, Hom 4-0; 195 — K. Wells, Hom m.d. C. Minnick, Was 9-1; 220 — I. Christy, Col d. K. Caldarera, Ser 3-1; 285 — J. Mann, Hom d. P. Vaafuti, West 8-2.

Fifth-place matches:

98 — A. Edwards, Col d. J. Harvey, Col 8-2; 106 — B. Gonzalez, Kod d. A. Logsdon, Was 4-3; 113 — A. Kraft, ER d. B. Blunka, NS 3-2; 120 — T. Evan, Bet d. T. Savo, Dill 4-1; 126 — C. Charlie, Bet won by fft I. Elvsaas, Was; 132 — J. Divelbiss, Dim won by inj def S. LeMay, ACS; 138 — G. Burningham, ER d. M. Agoney, Was 8-5; 145 — W. Story, Lat d. E. Eakin, Kot 5-1; 152 — B. Metcalf, Sol d. Q. Lema, Ser 5-2; 160 — C. Gerlach, Glen p. I. Passi, Bar 2:25; 170 — Z. Rogers, Pal won by fft T. Henning, Una; 182 — C. Fontanta, NP d. L. Rubenstein, TM 8-3; 195 — M. Martinez, Ser d. S. Tu’ifua, Bar 5-2; 220 — B. Heather, Bar d. G. Cole, WV 5-3; 285 — D. Jackson, Hou won by inj def K. Anderson, Pal.

Girls’ first-place:

106 — K. Fowlkes, NP p. R. Bault, Bar 1:58; 113 — K. Farwell, Col d. R. Jackson, NP 10-8 SV; 120 — S. Ottum, Sou d. K. Fabricante, Kod 2-0; 132 — K. Andrew, NS won by inj def M. Fontana, NP; 145 — M. Cook, Hom p. K. O’Brien, Bet 2:37; 160 — M. Bistodeau, East p. R. Gerke, Bar 3:48; 220 — H. Harrington, Hom p. A. Pleasant, Bet 5:04.

Girls’ third-place:

106 — B. Twitchell, Was d. D. Lake, Gal 11-9; 113 — A. Moseley, Hom p. C. McCall, Kot 1:58; 120 — A. Heller, Val p. M. Hadley, Kot 1:41; 132 — M. Sheldon, Kot p. L. Beans-Polk, Bet 3:19; 145 — A. Peacock, Kot p. V. Jacobs, West 0:54; 160 — B. Davis, Kot p. S. Middleton, Kot 1:40;

Girls’ fifth-place:

106 — M. Nicely, Bar won by fft J. Colvin, Bar; 113 — H. Stewart, Ket p. E. Jacob, Gal 0:11; 120 — K. Sperry, Bar won by fft M. Cavasos, Hom; 132 — D. Matheny, Lat won by fft A. Toyvak, Ser; 145 — A. Wylie, Sol won by fft T. Nicholai, Was; 160 — T. Tinker, Gal won by fft;