Six Valley wrestlers advance to state finals

ANCHORAGE — The 220-pound weight class will feature an all-Valley final as anticipated.

Wasilla’s Quace Wright and Palmer’s Ben Button earned semifinal wins and advanced to the championship finals during the first day of the ASAA/First National Bank 4A State Wrestling Championships at Bartlett High School on Friday.

Wright and Button are among a half-dozen Valley wrestlers who scored spots in the final round. Wasilla’s Brandon Abbott (106 pounds) and Nate McKimson (152), Colony’s Bryce Adams (98) and Palmer’s Caleb Deemer (195) also advanced to the finals. Both Wright and McKimson are defending state champions.

The Valley boasted 20 wrestlers in the semifinals, but 14 suffered losses.

Led by its three finalists, Wasilla finished the first day in second place of the team standings with 128 total points. Colony was in fourth with 104 points, and Palmer stood in sixth with 87 points.

Wasilla and Colony were tied at the top of the standings with 93 points heading into the semifinals, but four Wolverines earned semifinal wins to allow South to jump the Valley schools in the standings.

Wright and Button will meet for the fifth time in the finals, which are scheduled to start Saturday at 5:15 p.m. at Bartlett High. Wright edged Button in overtime in the Northern Lights Conference Championships finals last week at Colony High.

Wright also needed overtime to move into the 2014 state finals. The senior edged teammate Zech Rockstad 3-1 in extra time. He pinned his first two opponents of the tournament.

Button, the No. 2 seed in the weight class, beat Chugiak’s Richard Burroughs 10-3 in the semifinals. Button pinned his first opponent in just 53 seconds and scored a win by major decision in the quarterfinals.

McKimson, in pursuit of his second straight state title, beat Colony’s Wade Booth 12-5 in the 152-pound semifinals. He pinned his first two opponents of the tournament. McKimson was a state champion at 145 pounds last year.

Abbott, who placed fifth at 113 last year, also needed a win over a teammate to advance to the finals. Abbott pinned Wasilla freshman Berit Sturgeon during the first round. He also scored a first-round pin during the quarterfinals.

Abbott will wrestle defending state champion Greg Shack of South in the finals.

Deemer, a Palmer senior, is making his first trip to the state finals. He pinned West Anchorage’s Josh Miller in 53 seconds in the semifinals. Deemer will face Kodiak’s Kerry Powers in the finals. It’s a rematch of an NLC final, won by Deemer in overtime last week.

Adams is Colony’s lone wrestler in Saturday’s finals. Adams, who finished fifth at 98 pounds as a freshman last season, beat Wasilla freshman Dillon Simpson 7-0 in the semifinals.

The first day of the tournament featured a handful of upsets. A pair of defending state champions (South’s Gavin Alvardo at 120 and Palmer’s Mason Cochran at 132) suffered losses in the semifinals.

East’s Josh Malnoske, the top seed at 132, was beat in overtime during the quarterfinals. Lathrop’s Andrew Hendrix, the No. 1 seed at 120, was beat in the semifinals.

Team scores:

1. South 137.5, 2. Wasilla 128, 3. Kodiak 121, 4. Colony 104, 5. East 97, 6. Palmer 87, 7. North Pole 86.5, 8. Lathrop 74, 9. Kenai 69.5, 10. Service 68, 11. West 61, 12. Eagle River 59, 13. Chugiak 42, 14. Dimond 35, 15. Ketchikan 21.5, 16. West Valley 17, 17. Juneau 8, 17. (tie) Thunder Mountain 8, 19. Bartlett 6, 20. Soldotna 4.

Championship semifinals:

98 pounds — B. Adams, Col d. D. Simpson, Was 7-0; S. Harris, Dim m.d. V. Shuman, West 12-0.

106 — G. Shack, Sou p. S. Simpson, Col 5:11; B. Abbott, Was p. B. Sturgeon, Was 0:51.

113 — M. Glover, Sou d. W. Martin, Sou 6-4 OT; J. Valdez, Kod d. C. Booth, Col 9-8.

120 — A. Caballa, Kod d. A. Hendrix, Lat 7-2; B. Girard, East m.d. M. Martin, Ket 16-7.

126 — P. Steffensen, Ken p. A. Molesky, Pal 1:50; J. Small, Kod d. G. Alvardo, Sou 2-1.

132 — J. Fetko, Ser d. D. Rogers, NP 3-1; R. Pellumbi, Sou d. M. Cochran, Pal 1-0.

138 — K. Hammond, Sou m.d. R. Haan, Col 24-11; G. Arnold, ER m.d. C. Eager, Lat 19-8.

145 — A. Sierra, East m.d. C. Eide, NP 120; E. Steffensen, Ken p. N. Ottum, Sou 1:30.

152 — N. McKimson, Was d. W. Booth, Col 12-5; R. Huffer, Chu d. K. Lucas, Col 4-3.

160 — J. Dickinson, Lat t.f. D. Best, NP 18-2; T. Thammavong, Ser d. H. Molesky, Pal 7-3.

170 — X. Horton, ER m.d. E. McLeod, Ser 11-2; C. Guzman, East d. C. Boatman, Was 2-1.

182 — J. Wharton, Lat d. A. Falegoatai, West 3-2 OT; L. Elliot, West d. R. Fredrickson, Col 4-2.

195 — K. Powers, Kod m.d. E. Hall, ER 9-0; C. Deemer, Pal p. J. Miller, West 0:53.

220 — Q. Wright, Was d. Z. Rockstad, Was 3-1 OT; B. Button, Pal d. R. Burroughs, Chu 10-3.

285 — L. Sega, Kod d. B. Thompson, Pal 6-3; B. Davis, NP t.f. K. King, East 18-3.