Prep wrestling: Hawks advance 7 to state

Dec. 5, 2006

By Jeremiah Bartz/ Frontiersman

HOUSTON - Prior to the Kachemak Conference wrestling tournament, Chris Roggie hoped Houston could pass five to nine grapplers through the regional tournament to the state meet.

The number fell right in the middle.

Now Roggie, the head coach of the Houston High School wrestling program, will be taking seven athletes to the ASAA 1-2-3A state wrestling championships, slated for Friday and Saturday at the Wasilla Multi-Use Sports Complex.

Roggie said there were surprises, both good and bad, at the two-day meet held at Seward High School over the weekend.

Starting with the good - freshman Rachel Shannon and junior Garrett Mooney each scored third-place finishes and a free trip to the state meet. Shannon is advancing to state on her first try, but the third time proved to be the charm for Mooney.

&#8220We're pretty excited for him,” Roggie said of Mooney.

Sophomore Jon Stinson and senior Blake Elder each advanced to the finals. Stinson won his first region title by upsetting top-seed Ryan Wirick of Grace Christian in the final match of the 135-pound bracket.

Elder finished second at 152 pounds.

Wirick had Stinson on his back twice during the match, but the Houston grappler was able to prevail.

&#8220(Jon) kept fighting the whole match to get the win,” Roggie said. &#8220That's what won the match for him.”

Cass Melin defeated Anchorage Christian School's Ryken Wernofsky twice en route to finishing third at 140.

Melin pinned Wernofsky in the quarterfinals, and then beat him again in the consolation finals.

At 160, Roggie thought he would see two of his wrestlers, Matt Gardner and Justin Crowley, in the finals. Instead, Gardner and Crowley met in the consolation finals, with the winner of the match earning the final state tournament berth.

&#8220I was surprised,” Roggie said. &#8220I was hoping they'd get through to the finals.”

Gardner beat Crowley in the third-place match, and scored the automatic berth. But Houston learned after the tournament that both will wrestle at the state meet.

Seward's Mitch Harris, the 160-pound champion, will not be able to wrestle in the final meet, Roggie said, and Crowley will go as an alternate.

The state meet starts Friday at the Wasilla Multi-Use Sports Complex at 9 a.m. The semifinals are slated for

5:15 p.m.

On Saturday, wrestling starts at 9 a.m., and the championship round begins at 7:30 p.m.

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