Prep wrestling preview

JEREMIAH BARTZ/ Frontiersman sports editor

Things have been going pretty good for the Wasilla Warrior wrestling program in the last few years. The squad has won back-to-back 4A state championships, and as the Warriors venture toward a three-peat, Wasilla has the luxury of one of the deepest teams in the state.

Wasilla started the season with more than 120 grapplers, and the Warriors return some of the best wrestlers in the state.

If Wasilla has been faced with any problem in the first two weeks of the season, it may be to many wrestlers. But that's a problem coaches don't mind dealing with.

&#8220A lot of our second lineup should be wrestling in varsity tournaments,” Wasilla head coach Shawn Hayes said. &#8220We've got over a hundred wrestlers, but there's only 14 spots on a varsity team.”

Wasilla could legitimately field a pair of varsity teams, a junior varsity squad and a C-team this season.

The Warriors not only have numbers, but a number of wrestlers with significant experience in big matches. A pair of state champions return - Jake Wade and Alan Bartelli - and a host of other grapplers who have already notched high finishes in region and state competitions.

Wade has won two straight state titles at 171-pounds, and will move to the 189-pound class this year. Bartelli won the crown at 103 last year, and will compete for the 112-pound title this season.

A trio of state-runner ups also return. Trevor Pempek (152) and Duane Carpenter (130) finished second last year, while Chuck Carpenter (160) finished fifth last season and second in the 2004 state tourney.

Cesar Barerra and Mike Trudeau return for their senior seasons after third-place finishes in the state tourney last season.

Eight Wasilla wrestlers advanced to the finals of the Palmer Invitational, the first major wrestling tournament of the season, last weekend.

Bartelli (112), Duane Carpenter (140), Trudeau (160) and Wade (189) each won titles. Barerra (135), Sam Miller (125), Nick Perkins (130) and Donnie Salmon (275) each finished second.

The Warriors were not at full strength for the first tourney of the season. Pempek and Chuck Carpenter were among wrestlers who were unable to compete.

&#8220Once we all get together in the next couple of weeks, it will be interesting,” Hayes said.

Wasilla's depth this season was epitomized in the 125-pound class of the Palmer Invite. Three of the top four in the class wore Warrior uniforms. Miller finished second, Mike Chaffin was third and Danny Lyles finished fourth.

While Wasilla has already built a state championship squad, the Colony Knights and Palmer Moose are busy constructing their teams.

After the Knights consistently struggled with lack of participation for several years, second-year head coach Fred McKinney is building a program at CHS.

The Knights scored a pair of individual state championships last season, and one of those winners returns as one of the top wrestlers in the state at any weight class. Hollan Gravely enters his junior season in pursuit of a third-straight state title. Gravely won the 112-pound class as a freshman, at 125 last year and is now in the 130-pound bracket.

Gravely was won of three Knights to advance to the finals of the Palmer Invite. Aaron Boss (103) and Zach Beauchamp (119) won individual titles, and the Knights finished third in the team standings.

Palmer only has about 20 wrestlers, head coach Dale Ewart said, but is building for the future with a quality corps of young wrestlers.

&#8220We have a lot of freshman and sophomores - a lot at the smaller weights,” Ewart said. &#8220We're hoping to keep that group wrestling - keep them motivated, and let them win some matches.”

Leading the Moose veterans is junior captain Tom Eller, who finished third in the Palmer Invite. Eller could wrestle at either 130 or 135, Ewart said.

Joining Eller as key pieces to the Moose puzzle are Tremaine Benton, at either 160 or 171, and Wes Mills at 125. Mills was Palmer's rookie of the year last year at 119.

Ewart said as many as eight athletes could be coming out for the team late. He hopes to see Jake Heun, Steel Tubbs and Shannon Sawyer, each members of the Moose football squad who wrestled last year, at practice soon. After helping lead the Moose football squad to the 4A state championship players, he said the Palmer wrestlers who dual as football players wanted to take a break between the seasons.

Ewart also said the school hosting the Palmer Invite may be bringing more athletes into the wrestling room. On the first day of the tourney, early action was held during school hours. Ewart was approached by several wrestlers eager to give the sport a try.