Prep wrestling: Hawks ready for region meet

Dec. 1, 2006

By Jeremiah Bartz/ Frontiersman

HOUSTON - It's tough for Chris Roggie to predict how many of his Houston High School wrestlers will earn spots in the upcoming small-schools state tournament.

For the most part, the HHS head coach has a group of young wrestlers. But as Roggie said, &#8220if they have a really good day on Saturday, you never know.”

The Houston wrestlers will compete for a spot in the state tournament at the Kachemak Conference championships. The tournament starts today at Seward High School.

In addition to his younger wrestlers, Roggie has a few experienced athletes who are expected to be in the hunt for the region titles. Among them is senior Matt Gardner who is looking for his second-straight Kachemak Conference championships.

Last season, Gardner defeated Anchorage Christian School's Nolan Willis to win the 145-pound weight class. This year, Gardner's toughest competition in the 160-pound class may hail from his own school. Roggie said Gardner and Justin Crowley should both be ranked in the top three of the class. Gardner is expected to be the top seed, while Crowley could be at two or three.

&#8220Hopefully those guys see each other in the finals,” Roggie said.

Senior Blake Elder could be seeded second in the 152-pound class. Roggie said John Stinson (135), Cas Meline (140) and Lucas Castle (285) should also be seeded.

Houston had four individual champions at the 2006 Kachemak Conference tournament, and placed 10 grapplers in the state tourney last season.

Roggie said those numbers could be down this season. Part of the reason is because new rules have made it more difficult to advance to the state tourney. Only the top three wrestlers in each class qualify. Until now, the top four would move on to the state

meet.

&#8220It got a little tougher, but that's ok,” Roggie said. &#8220We know what we have to do.”

Roggie said he has about five or six wrestlers who are, &#8220right on the fringe.”

Among those are Jeff Croener (171) and Garrett Mooney (285).

&#8220Some of these guys just need to beat some of the guys they aren't expected to beat,” Roggie said. &#8220They just need a really good day.”

The Houston grappler also have the added incentive of working for the chance to wrestle in front of a home crowd. Houston High School will host the state championships at the Wasilla Multi-Use Sports Complex next Friday and Saturday.

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