Palmer junior among Alaska’s top athletes in girls’ wrestling

PALMER — Teeana Nicholai has not needed much time to make an impact.

Last spring, competing in her first season of high school track and field, the Palmer sophomore won a Region III title in the girls’ 100 meters. Now a junior, Nicholai is in her first season with the Palmer High wrestling team. This weekend, Nicholai has an opportunity to score another region crown, this time on the mat in the girls’ 132-pound class. Nicholai is expected to be seeded first in her weight class in the Northern Lights Conference Championships, which start Friday in Kodiak.

Palmer head coach Daniel Graham said Nicholai has been a great addition to the program.

“We had no idea coming into this season,” Graham said of Nicholai’s overall potential. “We knew she was a good track athlete.”

Graham said Nicholai’s overall athleticism and maturity is what stood out the most initially. But her true potential was seen when Nicholai stormed through the bracket to win her weight class at the Lancer Smith Memorial in November. Nicholai beat Mount Edgcumbe’s Andrea Prince 7-4 in the finals to become just the second Palmer wrestler to win their weight class in the 15-year history of the notoriously tough Lancer Smith tourney. Prince finished as the runner-up at 132 in the girls’ state tournament last year.

“We knew we had a good athlete on our hands. The real difference is when the lights are on, she shines,” Graham’s said of Nicholai’s ability to succeed in big moments.

Nicholai was also named Co-Most Outstanding Wrestler of the girls’ tournament at the Lancer Smith Memorial.

Nicholai, who started her prep career at Houston High, has been wrestling for four years. She finished second in state as a freshman at Houston in 2015. Since she did not wrestle in state last year, Nicholai said she wasn’t sure what to expect entering the Lancer Smith tournament.

“I was just happy to be there. I knew the potential was there. I knew I’d have to work really hard,” Nicholai said. “I didn’t even go to state last year. I was not even thinking that I’d do that well.”

With her success at the Lancer Smith, Nicholai said she’s certainly looking forward to regions and state. Graham sees her as the athlete to beat in her weight class.

“At Lancer, she had all her competition there, and it was the hardest class in the state,” Graham said. “We knew she’d be competitive. Now we’ve seen the competition, ya, I think she’s the front-runner going into state.”

Nicholai said she likes where she is at as she enters the final stretch of her season.

“I feel like this year, I’ve been the healthiest I’ve been. I’ve been working harder. I did cross-country (running) and walked into the season in really good shape,” Nicholai said.

Nicholai said, in addition to wrestling, she’s also training for the 2018 track season. Last year, she earned her region title, but was disqualified in the event during the state meet because of a false start.

“It was disappointing, but it makes me hungry,” she said.

Nicholai said she’s already set a goal for her junior year of track.

“I want to beat my own times,” Nicholai said.

She has personal records of 12.88 seconds in the 100 and 28.17 in the 200. After running cross-country, Nicholai said she’d like to expand her list of events and also run in the 400 meters.

Overall, Nicholai said she enjoys competing in the different sports and being a part of the team.

“I’ve always liked to do lots of different sports,” Nicholai said. “It’s nice to have that extra time after the day, an hour or two after the (school) day to run, exercise, work out, clear my head.”

Nicholai said she’s already thinking about the opportunity to compete in a sport after high school.

“If the opportunity is there, if I work hard and can get a scholarship to pay for my education, oh yes,” Nicholai said.

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