Palmer Junior Middle School wins state wrestling title

PALMER — With hard work and dedication, coaches know how much improvement can be made in a single offseason. A group of middle schoolers now know how much difference one good offseason can make.

Led by its strong contingent of seventh-graders, the Palmer Junior Middle School wrestling team earned the team title at the Tanana Invitational, the unofficial state tournament for middle school wrestling, Saturday in Fairbanks.

Last year, PJMS, which sported 18 sixth-graders, capped its season with a fourth-place finish at the Tanana Invite.

“The group of 18 sixth-graders followed up the season with freestyle. Freestyle raises their ability. I could see with that much interest, they were on the move,” PJMS head coach Don Malone said Monday.

Malone said PJMS’s 110-pounder Brenan Powell could have epitomized that effort.

“Last year he was not quite two-and-out. This year he’s our only champion,” Malone said.

As a sixth-grader, Powell was 2-2 in the Tanana tourney, but Saturday Powell beat Colony Middle’s Caleb Hopkins 3-0 to win the 110-pound weight class and his first state title. Powell was one of two PJMS wrestlers to reach the finals. Ausin Farris was second at 160.

Malone said PJMS sat in third place during most of the first day of the tournament, but was able to make a move during Day 2.

“Coming into Saturday we started creeping up. We were beat up a little bit in the semifinal round, but we were holding on to second. After that we ended up doing better than we expected,” Malone said.

In addition to its pair in the finals, PJMS also moved six grapplers into the third-place match. Thirteen PJMS wrestlers placed, leaving the team with a meet-high 279 points, five ahead of runner-up North Pole.

Teeland, the defending Tanana champions, finished fourth in the 2013 event. The Wasilla-based middle school placed five wrestlers in the final round. Teeland’s Rush Fannan and Robert Haan both won their weight classes. Fannon beat Teeland teammate David Lincoln in the 77-pound final. Haan pinned Colony’s Carson Reed in the 126-pound final.

Lincoln, Berit Sturgeon (98) and Gavin Cole (174) also advanced to the finals and placed second.

Teeland finished with 228.5 points in the team standings, only 2.5 ahead of fifth-place Colony Middle.

Colony also moved five wrestlers into the finals, and crowned a pair of champions.

Levi Hopkins scored a win by technical fall over Anchorage Wrestling Club’s Gunner Karsten in the 91-pound final. Jarord Ruffing beat North Pole’s Brandon Antesberger 8-3 to win the 148-pound title for CMS.

Caleb Hopkins (110), Dawson Nash (118) and Reed (126) advanced to the finals for CMS and finished second.

Jacob Bartlett (132) and Chase Minnick (275) earned second-place finishes to lead Wasilla Middle to a seventh-place finish in the team standings. Houston Middle placed 13th in the team standings.

Palmer’s title is its second since 2010. It also marks the 20th straight season that a Valley team has won the Tanana Invite.

Next year Palmer should be in the running once again, Malone said.

“We’re pretty fortunate. The vast majority of this team is seventh-graders,” Malone said.

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

Tanana Invitational

Friday-Saturday, Fairbanks

Team scores (top 15):

1. Palmer Junior MS 279; 2. North Pole MS 274; 3. Bethel MS 228; 4. Teeland MS 228.5; 5. Colony MS 226; 6. Tanana MS 207.5; 7. Wasilla MS 148.5; 8. Randy Smith MS 137.5; 9. Glennallen Junior 121; 10. Ryan MS 117; 11. Homer MS 70.5; 12. Gilson MS 68.5; 13. Houston MS 65; 14. Kotzebue MS 62; 15. Eielson Junior 62.

Championship finals:

70 pounds — M. Rodriguez, Ket won by inj def T. Dyment, Bet; 77 — R. Fannon, Tee t.f. D. Lincoln, Tan 24-8; 84 — M. Ee, Tan d. J. Virgin, Glen 4-3 OT; 91 — L. Hopkins, Col t.f. G. Karsten, AWC 20-4; 98 ¬— C. Gerlach, Glen d. B. Sturgeon, Tee 6-0; 105 — W. Martin, AWC p. W. Adiar, Eie 1:45; 110 — B. Powell, Pal d. C. Hopkins, Col 3-0; 114 — P. Steffensen, Ken p. M. Lucas, AWC 3:42; 118 — B. Evans, Bet m.d. D. Nash, Col 12-4; 122 — J. Bartlet, NP m.d. C. Charlie, Bet 13-2; 126 — R. Haan, Tee p. C. Reed, Col 0:47; 132 — A. Rogers, NP m.d. J. Bartlett, Was 14-3; 140 — J. Malnoske, AWC d. J. Porritt, Gil 14-7; 148 — J. Ruffing, Col d. B. Antesberg, NP 8-3; 160 — J. Jenkins, NP p. A. Farris, Pal 3:54; 174 — J. White, Glen p. G. Cole, Tee 3:18; 210 — G. Cole, Ryan d. K. Gillian, Bet 6-1; 275 — F. Bizzaro, Jun p. C. Minnick, Was 0:54.

Third-place match:

70 — A. Edwards, Col p. O. Anderson, Pal 2:01; 77 — B. Linne, Ket d. B. Todd, AWC 4-3; 84 — S. Martin, AWC p. D. Gentz, Pal 4:59; 91 — J. Shack, AWC d. N. Bryant, Tan 8-2; 98 — E. Christy, Col p. L. Farris, Pal 3:52; 105 — T. Croft, Hom p. J. Hunt, Tee 4:44; 110 — T. Rodriguez, Ket p. C. Suarez, BM; 114 — T. Tripple, TB d. W. Story, RS 7-3; 118 — J. Perkins, Gra p. S. Larionoff, Kod 1:42; 122 — S. Wolff, Hou p. Z. Rogers, Pal 2:27; 126 — D. Knoblock, AWC p. T. Cook Hom 1:43; 132 — A. Olsen, Bet d. A. Lowery-Sims, Tan 9-3; 140 — Z. Howard, Gil p. M. Omnik, RS 0:36; 148 — D. Miller, WS m.d. J. Seims, Was 10-1; 160 ¬— C. Bancroft, Glen p. C. Wilson, Tee 1:41; 174 — A. Gaines, NP d. J. Goeden, Ryan 4-3; 210 — M. Johnson, AWC d. M. Grothe, Pal 9-3; 275 — M. Bialy, Bet p. A. Boytik, Pal 1:59.

Fifth-place match:

70 — M. Reidlinger, Gil t.f. M. Hatch, Glen 15-0; 77 — W. McGann, Pal d. G. Emerson, NP 4-0; 84 — N. Evans, Bet d. T. Wyman, NP 7-3 OT; 91 — D. Dykes, NP p. A. Laliberte, Pal 1:51; 98 — J. Brant, Hom d. E. Lincoln, Una 3-0; 105 — T. Hickerson, Kot p. E. Agnew, Ryan 0:23; 110 — E. Bockman, GC d. Z. Tuttle, Ken 6-1; 114 — A. Newland, Tee p. J. Williams, Bet 1:19; 118 — B. Antesberger NP d. M. Allen, Was 6-4 OT; 122 — H. Steiner, Was p. T. Nicholson, NP 2:57; 126 — A. Ticket, RS won by inj def S. Piscoya, AWC; 132 — J. Glynn, Pal p. Z. Jeffries, Tan 0:42; 140 — J. Kindred, AWC d. I. Kolendo, Col 1-0; 148 — H. Fanning, AWC d. C. Kurka, Pal 7-2; 160 — T. Hicks, AWC p. C. Barron, RS 0:40; 174 — C. Schill-Zonts, Tan m.d. L. Edenshaw, Kotz 12-1; 210 — T. Wheeler, Hou won by fft J. Osborn, Ryan; 275 — J. Smith, Tan p. D. Baker, Ken 1:37.

Seventh-place match:

70 — A. Tabar, FG d. J. Simpson, RS 12-7; 77 — A. Propes, Ryan d. K. Fowlkes, NP 5-4; 84 — M. Mathis, Was d. D. Harris, Tee 0:24; 91 — T. Park, AWC won by fft D. Simpson, Tee; 98 — J. Opp, Tan d. M. Stebbins, NP 6-4; 105 — C. Morgan, AWC d. C. Suarez, BM 7-5 OT; 110 — Z. Jackson, RS d. I. Nickoli, Tan 4-2 OT;

114 — B. Phillips, Eie p. K. Kokrine, NP 1:38; 118 — A. Binder, Gra d. T. Montini, NP 4-3; 122 — M. Hoppe, Kla p. T. Johnson, Cha 1:58; 126 — D. Hargis, Teel p. J. Tidwell, Eie 2:59; 132 — J. Miranda, Kod d. T. Allen, Ryan 9-8; 140 — L. Stockton, EP d. J. Roe, RS 4-0; 148 — K. Milburn, Tan d. V. Fontana, NP 5-3; 160 — J. Stutz, WS p. A. Acosta, Tan 2:21; 174 — D. Rosa, NP d. L. Santana, Pal 9-7; 210 — S. Stanley, RS d. J. Mills, Tee 3-0; 275 — M. Barrett, Hou p. R. Ellis, FG 0:52.