PINNING THE WIN

PALMER — Collin Bendixen had a feeling everything might come down to him — and it did.

The Palmer sophomore pinned Colony’s Kody Nash to provide the go-ahead points and seal a 36-33 come-from-behind win over the Knights at Palmer High School on Tuesday.

“That’s what made me nervous,” Bendixen said after the win. “I really wanted to go out there and do a good job.”

Nathan Pempek and Bendixen recorded back-to-back pins during the final two matches to help the Moose erase a late nine-point Colony lead and come away with the victory.

“Those are two tough kids and they both stepped up,” Palmer head coach Dale Ewart said.

After Spencer Adams edged Palmer’s Aaron Molesky 3-2 in the 126-pound match, Colony held a 33-24 lead heading into the final two matches of the varsity dual. Ewart and the Moose knew they needed the pins, worth six team points each, to beat arguably their biggest rival.

“I felt pretty good, but it’s hard to say (I felt) confident,” Ewart said. “It’s wrestling, anything can happen. You just don’t know. It’s day-to-day, match-to-match.”

Pempek was able to get his job done. He led Colony’s Brook Simmons 5-3 after the first period of the 132-pound match, and pinned Simmons in the second period.

“He’s been the quiet dark horse,” Ewart said.

Pempek’s pin cut Colony’s lead to 33-30. Even though the Moose trailed by only three, Bendixen had only one thing in mind — a win by pin.

“That’s what I had to do. I had to do it for my team,” Bendixen said.

Bendixen wrestled to an early 2-0 lead and nearly turned Nash in the first period. The Palmer sophomore earned his pin in the second.

“He’s really aggressive,” Ewart said of Bendixen. “He’s tenacious on top. He’s really good with those arm bars, turning people.”

Five of Palmer’s seven wins in the dual came by fall.

“Definitely those pins helped,” Ewart said.

Daniel Medina, one of only two seniors on the Moose squad, opened the dual by pinning his opponent. Brian Thompson (285) and Baille Clifford (120) also scored pins.

The Palmer pins helped the Moose overcome a pair of forfeits. Colony won by forfeit at both 106 and 113. Those free points broke an 18-18 tie, and gave Colony the 30-18 lead.

Palmer jumped out to a 12-0 lead in the dual. Medina earned a pin at 145, and fellow senior AJ Gentz upset Colony’s Sawyer Root, the state’s fifth-ranked wrestler at 152, 8-5. Palmer’s Kenai Sparkman followed with a 10-5 win over Robert Pritchett.

The Knights stuck around in the match with consecutive pints.

Colony’s Zach Doan recorded a big pin of Palmer’s Slade Storud at 170. Doan held a slim 7-6 lead over Storud late, but was able to give his team extra points, pinning the Palmer wrestler with only 14 seconds left in the match.

The win was one of four straight for the Knights in the dual. Colony’s Simon Root, the top-ranked grappler at 170, wrestled up in the dual and recorded a first-round pin of Palmer’s Caleb Nielson at 182.

Sixth-ranked Josh Meno beat Ben Button 7-3 at 195, and in one of the biggest matches of the night, Colony’s Ian MacKenzie upset sixth-ranked Cole Frohling of Palmer.

MacKenzie used near-fall points in the second period to build a 5-2 lead, and held on in the third for an 8-6 win.

Palmer’s dual win over Colony was the second in four days against the Knights. The Moose beat Colony during the second day of the Alaska State Duals Championships at South Anchorage High last Saturday. That victory marked Palmer’s first dual win over Colony since 2002.

“It’s a big deal. We haven’t beat Colony in a while. It’s a great feeling,” Medina said.

Colony and Wasilla have dominated wrestling in the Valley, and in Alaska, during the last decade, combining to win the last nine 4A state championships. Ewart said Palmer, which became the first Valley school to win a state wrestling title in 1996, is hungry to be recognized among the top programs again.

“Our big goal was, no excuses, let’s gain some respect,” Ewart said. “Our team goal was to beat Colony in a dual and finish in the top 5 at state. We’ve reached one of those goals. Now we’ve got some more work to do.”

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

Palmer 36, Colony 33

Tuesday, Palmer High School

145 pounds — D. Medina, Pal p. R. Fredrickson, Col; 152 — A. Gentz, Pal d. Sa. Root, Col 8-5; 160 — K. Sparkman, Pal d. R. Pritchett, Col 10-5; 170 — Zach Doan, Col p. S. Storud, Pal; 182 — Si. Root, Col p. C. Nielson, Pal; 195 — J. Meno, Col d. B. Button, Pal 7-3; 220 — I. MacKenzie, Col d. C. Frohling, Pal 8-6; 285 — B. Thompson, Pal p. J. Booth, Col; 106 — Vandermartin, Col wb fft; 113 — Bracker, Col wb fft; 120 — Clifford, Pal p. Ellibee; 126 — S. Adams, Col d. A. Molesky, Pal 3-2; 132 — N. Pempeck, Pal p. B. Simmons, Col; 138 — C. Bendixen, Pal p. K. Nash, Col.

Palmer sophomore Brian Thompson records a first-period pin of Colony’s Justin Booth in the 285-pound class Tuesday. Thompson posted one of Palmer’s six pins in the dual.

JEREMIAH BARTZ/Frontiersman