Six Warrior grapplers win titles

WASILLA -- The Wasilla Warriors hosted the annual Region III wrestling championships over the weekend, and the final round had quite the hometown flavor.

Eight Wasilla wrestlers advanced to the final round, and 12 of the 14 championship matches featured wrestlers from the Valley.

Six Warriors won their respective weight classes in the tourney. Bo Kittley (103 pounds), Cory Crane (152), Abe Salmon (160), Jake Wade (171), Jed Wade (189) and Jeremie Meisler (275) each took home the gold medal.

Palmer and Colony each placed two wrestlers in the finals. Jonah Stewart (140) and Trevor Pempeck (145) both placed first for the Moose.

Colony's Shawn Olivera won the 135-pound class and was named the tournament's most outstanding wrestler.

Wasilla's Chris Odem (125) and John Olsen (215) and Colony's Dustin Killian (112) each placed second.

A trio of Wasilla's championships came in thrilling fashion. The Warrior wrestlers kept their fans on the edge of their seats, and the excitement started early.

In the first match of the championship round, Kittley trailed Homer's Cameron Haggard 4-1 midway through the third period. With 1:46 remaining in regulation Kittley put Haggard in a head-and-arm and threw the Mariner wrestler to the mat. Kittley was credited with a takedown and cut the lead to 4-3.

With just more than a minute remaining, Kittley turned his opponent and was awarded three near fall points to take the 6-4 lead.

After a Haggard escape, the Homer grappler tried to throw Kittley at the end of the match, but the Wasilla wrestler held on for the win.

It was only the second time that Haggard, the top seed at 103, lost this season.

In the most thrilling match of the event, Salmon needed overtime to defeat Soldotna's Colton Goracke.

The match remained deadlocked at 0-0 through the first period. Salmon scored the first point of the match, taking a 1-0 lead with an escape early in the second.

Goracke registered a takedown with 25 seconds left in the second period, and Salmon recorded his second escape shortly thereafter.

Salmon tied the score at 4-4 in the third with a takedown. The Wasilla senior immediately let Goracke up and opted to wrestle in the neutral position.

"I am not the best on top and didn't want to take the chance of letting him get a reversal," Salmon said.

With 49 seconds left in regulation, Salmon again recorded a takedown and took a 6-5 lead. Salmon stayed with his strategy and again let Goracke up. The free pass gave Goracke a point and tied the match at 6-6.

The tied score would result in the wrestlers going into overtime. The foes remained tied for much of the overtime period. With just a few ticks left on the clock, Salmon shot in and grabbed a hold of Goracke's right leg. The Soldotna wrestler tried to squirm and back away out of Salmon's grasp, but Salmon was able to muscle Goracke to the mat and record the two-point takedown at the buzzer.

"It was pretty aggressive," Salmon said of the match. "When we locked up, he backed up. That was pretty annoying."

In the final match of the championship round, Meisler met up with Soldona's Josh Brantley.

Meisler led Brantley 7-4 at the end of two periods, but Brantley closed the gap with a reversal in the third period. Meisler recorded an escape with 43 seconds. The Wasilla heavyweight recorded a takedown with a single leg snatch with 10 seconds left in the match to seal the win.

Despite sending eight wrestlers to the finals, Wasilla was edged out for the team title. Skyview dominated the consolation end of the bracket to help claim first place in the tourney.

Eli Hutchison was Skyview's individual champion, with a win in the 122-pound class.

Skyview finished with 316 points, while Wasilla totaled 301.5. Colony (91 points) and Palmer (81.5) finished sixth and seventh respectively.

Wasilla qualified a region-high 18 wrestlers for the 2003 state tournament, held in Ketchikan Feb. 6-7. Colony and Palmer will each send five wrestlers to Ketchikan.

Region III Wrestling Championships

At Wasilla High

Saturday's Final Results

Team scores — 1) Skyview 316.5 points; 2) Wasilla 301.5; 3) Soldotna 187; 4) Kodiak 173; 5) Homer 113; 6) Colony 92; 7) Palmer 81.5; 8) Kenai 20.

Championship matches

103 pounds — Bo Kittley, Was, d. Camron Hagen, Hom, 6-5. 112 — Eli Hutchison, Sky, d. Dustin Killian, Col, 5-2. 119 — Sean Costello, Kod, t.f. Clark Buffington, Sky, 4:19. 125 — Clifton Ivanoff, Kod, d. Chris Odom, Was, 7-2. 130 — Monte Garroutte, Hom, d. Dallas Seavey, Sky, 8-3. 135 — Shawn Oliver, Col, d. Cody Phipps, Sky, 7-4. 140 — Jonah Stewart, Pal, d. Brandon Cleveland, Sky, 12-7. 145 — Trevor Pempek, Pal, d. Shane Michael, Sky, 5-2. 152 — Cory Crane, Was, p. T.J. Stone, Sol, 2:23. 160 — Abe Salmon, Was, d. Colten Goracke, Sol, 8-6. 171 — Jake Wade, Was, d. Justin Rainwater, Sky, 8-3. 189 — Jed Wade, Was, m.d. Jim Pollack, Hom, 14-4. 215 — Dennis Bryant, Kod, m.d. John Olsen, Was, 8-0. HWT — Jeramiee Meisler, Was, d. Josh Brantley, Sol, 10-6.

Third place

103 pounds — Steven Gauna, Kod, p. Elliot Gauthier, Sky, 2:45. 112 — Louden Grenier, Hom, p. Shane Strausbaugh, Sky, 4:48. 119 — Steel McNeil, Kod, p. Jeramy Seteroff, Was, 1:41. 125 — Sam Loeb, Was, p. Scott Foster, Sol, 1:45. 130 — Brandy Goracke, Sol, d. Zach Tomco, Pal, 9-5. 135 — Maston Thompson, Was, d. Jeremy Kauffman, Sol, 5-0. 140 — Mike Miller, Was, won by forfeit over Casey Bowen, Was. 145 — Ben Breakfield, Sol, d. Jimmie Miller, Sky, 7-4. 152 — Cameron Gardner, Sky, m.d. Cody Russell, Pal, 9-1. 160 — Sam Denison, Sky, d. Johnny Howarth, Sol, 6-3. 171 — Zach Rohr, Sky, d. Adam Hediger, Hom 5-2. 189 — Antonio Silva, Sky, d. Chris Walsh, Col, 8-6. 215 — Dominick Bellotte, Col, d. Nick Pyfer, Sky, 3-2. HWT — Seth Letzring, Sol, p. Jared Weaver, Hom, 2:07.

Fifth place

103 pounds — Jerad Ison, Sol, d. Ashlee Park, Was, 10-3. 112 — Jared Sundberg, Kod, d. Jake Torwick, Sol, 6-3. 119 — Steven Fisher, Ken, p. Archie Thompson, Sky, 2:10. 125 — Paul McFarland, Kod, p. Therin Crautners, Hom, :44. 130 — Billy Loosli, Ken, d. Aaron Olsen, Kod, 7-3. 135 — Zach Aragon, Sky, p. Ammon Pettijohn, Was, :17. 140 — Jake Howarth, Sol, p. Thomas Hickey, Sky, 4:10. 145 — Jordan Cubbedge, Kod, p. Brandon Wright, Was, 1:59. 152 — Roland Warrior, Was, d. Ty Schweigert, Sol, 5-2. 160 — Kyle Newman, Col, p. Bryce Lund, Kod, 4:20. 171 — Mike Nelson, Kod, t.f. Mike Vasile, Sol, 6:00. 189 — Chris Lawrence, Sky, d. Nick Watkins, Kod, 6-0. 215 — Jake Heun, Pal, won by default over Shawn Weigle, Sol. HWT — Donald Salmon, Was, won by forfeit.