Prep wrestling: Three-peat!\\

DARRELL L. BREESE/ Frontiersman reporter

CHUGIAK - Wasilla High School's Sam Miller felt the intensity before his 119-pound match Saturday against Dante Santos of Juneau.

It was understandable.

Before a standing-room only crowd in the Chugiak High School gym in Eagle River, Miller, wrestling the biggest match of his high school career, came through with a dominant 5-0 victory against Santos to secure the 4A state championship, and help the Warriors secure their third-straight team title.

It was a night when top-seeded wrestlers in 11 of the 14 weight classes in the championship finals triumphed. And the Warriors, who were ranked No. 1 all season by the coaches in the weekly poll on akmat.org, were so dominate that they wrapped up the title before the finals even began. WHS eventually won with a comfortable 241.5-177.5 advantage over runner-up South Anchorage.

Miller was relatively calm as the wrestlers in the championship final were introduced, but that quickly changed.

&#8220Once I heard the crowd cheering for Michaela (Hutchinson, the winnner of the 103-pound title) it sunk in that I was in the championship match,” Miller said. &#8220I started getting nervous.”

Once he stepped onto the mat for his match, he settled down.

&#8220It was like all the nerves went away,” Miller said. &#8220Once I was on the mat I was full of confidence and things just flowed for me.”

Miller countered a deep shot from Santos on the opening whistle, converting it into an early takedown. In the second he fashioned an escape to take a 3-0 lead and added a late takedown to go up 5-0.

That was all Miller needed as the senior wrapped up his career with a state title.

&#8220It's a great way to go out,” Miller said. &#8220Winning an individual state title and the third-straight team title, I couldn't think of a better way to go out.”

Alan Bartelli was the only other of the six Wasilla wrestlers in the finals to win a state championship.

In a rematch of the Northern Lights Conference 112-pound championship match, Bartelli held off a third-period scramble from Jimmy Eggemeyer, of Kodiak, to win a 3-2 decision. It was the second straight year the Wasilla junior has won a state title, having won the 103-pound division last year.

The Warriors' team victory puts them elite company as they join West Valley, Service, Kenai and Skyview as three-time champions in the large-school division. It's a feat not lost in the celebration by Wasilla coach Shawn Hayes.

&#8220The pressure's finally off,” Hayes said. &#8220All season we've had teams gunning for us and wanting to see us stumble. All that is gone now.”

&#8220It is great to have been the favorite all season and see the kids rise to that stress,”he added. &#8220The first time we won the title we were underdogs. This year we were favorites, and that motivated everyone to work hard to stay there. It is really a testament to the character of the

team.”

In addition to the two individual champions and the team title, the Warriors coaching staff was honored to their ability as Hayes was named coach of the year and assistant coach Nick Dougherty also garnered top assistant honors.

Contact Darrell L. Breese at 352-2267 or at darrell.breese@

frontiersman.com.

Valley wrestlers

in the finals

103 - Aaron Boss of Colony couldn't keep Skyview's Michaela Hutch-inson under his control, giving up an escape with less than 18 seconds left, losing a hard fought 1-0 decision. Despite the loss, the Colony grappler will forever be a part of wrestling history. Hutchinson became the first girl in the country to win the state championship of a boys' state wrestling meet.

112 - Wasilla's Alan Bartelli held off a third-period scramble, giving up a stalling point instead of a takedown to win his second state title. He scored a 3-2 decision over Jimmy Eggemeyer of Kodiak.

119 - Sam Miller of Wasilla countered a deep shot by Dante Santos of Juneau to score the opening takedown of the title match. He added an escape and takedown in the second, that was all he needed for a 5-0 victory.

130 - Colony junior Hollan Gravely used West High's Ted Nelvis like a wrestling dummy as he cruised to a 15-5 victory, becoming the first Knight wrestler to win three-straight state championships.

140 - Wasilla sophomore Duane Carpenter lost an action packed 15-8 decision to West High's Max Rosefigura. It was the second-straight year that Carpenter finished second, losing to a West High wrestler each time.

145 - Trevor Pempek's quest for the elusive state champions came to an unfortunate end. After scoring an escape in the final 30 seconds to force overtime, he came within 13 seconds of victory. An escape by Clark Buffington, of Skyview, in the second overtime period cost him the match, 2-1.

152 - David Weise of West Valley controlled the action from the beginning, scoring an ankle pick takedown in the first 25 seconds. He eventually defeated Mike Trudeau, of Wasilla, 14-5, and became one of two wrestlers in the finals to win his fourth-straight state wrestling title. Skyview's Eli Hutchinson also accomplished that

at 135.

189 - Wasilla senior Jake Wade couldn't avenge a loss to Scott Lucas, of South Anchorage, at the Glenn Vandergaw Invite. Lucas escaped Wade's hold to start the third period. He then caught him in a near-side cradle, and pinned the two-time state champion 21 seconds into the final

period.