Solid finish: Houston seniors cap careers with top-four finishes at state wrestling meet

Dec. 10, 2006

By MATT TUNSETH/ Frontiersman

WASILLA - Houston seniors Blake Elder and Matt Gardner finished their high school wrestling careers on a solid note Saturday at the Wasilla Multi-Use Sports Complex.

Elder placed third and Gardner finished fourth at the ASAA 1-2-3A State Wrestling Championships.

Elder defeated season-long rival Dylan Beck, of Seward, in overtime to claim third place at 152 pounds, while Gardner lost a close consolation final match to D.J. Lindstrom, of Hoonah, the top-seeded wrestler in the 160-pound division.

Elder's match wasn't short on drama or controversy. The Houston wrestler was called for stalling twice, late in the third period. Elder was whistled after tossing Beck off the mat and into the crowd, and again with just one second remaining. The second point awarded to Beck tied the match and sent it into the extra session, much to the chagrin of the Houston fans. Elder, however, didn't let the referee's decision get to him.

&#8220I had no idea what was going to happen (in overtime),” Elder said following the match. &#8220I just knew I needed to get it done.”

He did that indeed, taking Beck down in the final seconds of the first overtime to secure an 8-6 win.

Elder said the win was particularly gratifying because it came against Beck.

&#8220Me and him have been big rivals all season long,” he said. &#8220I knew it was going to come down to a couple of points.”

Following his win, Elder immediately returned to the mat to cheer on Gardner in the 160-pound third-place match. Despite his teammate's constant encouragement, Gardner could not quite get the upper hand against Lindstrom. He did, however, manage to make the match quite close after falling behind 5-0 in the first period. With a large contingent of Houston faithful cheering him on, Gardner fought his way off his back early when Lindstrom nearly scored the first-period pin.

Gardner cut the lead to 5-4 in the second period with a reversal and stalling call against Lindstrom. In the third period, with Linstrom leading 7-5, Gardner needed a reversal to tie the score. However, the Hoonah wrestler had other ideas. Linstrom picked up two back exposure points to push the lead to 9-5. A late reversal by Gardner wasn't enough to cut the deficit, and he left the mat for the final time in his high school career on the wrong end of a 9-7 decision.

Despite the loss, Gardner said he felt like he left everything on the mat and wasn't a bit ashamed to lose to Lindstrom, who pinned him earlier in the season.

&#8220It doesn't bother me that much,” said Gardner, who also placed fourth in state last season. &#8220I pushed myself as hard as I could out there.”

Houston coach Chris Roggie said Gardner had nothing to be ashamed of following his strong showing against the state's top-ranked 160-pounder.

&#8220It wasn't for lack of effort,” Roggie said of Gardner's performance.

Elder had a relatively easy time getting into the third-place match, dominating Akiachak's Ryan Chingliak 5-1 in the consolation semifinals.

Gardner, meanwhile, had his hands full with Wrangell's Eric Crayne in the consolation semifinals. The match was scoreless until the second period, when Gardner got the upper hand by reversing Crayne from the down position. Crayne then turned the tables on Gardner, getting a reverse of his own to tie the score after two periods.

The match remained that way until just under a minute to go in the third, when a reversal by Crayne gave the Wolverine wrestler a 4-2 lead in the waning seconds. Gardner, however, wasn't about to be denied.

&#8220I just said, ‘oh man, I gotta get out,'” Gardner said following the match.

The Houston senior pulled out a thrilling reversal with just seconds left to send the match into an extra period.

With the momentum in his favor, Gardner took Crayne down with 16 seconds left in the first overtime to secure the win and a trip to the consolation finals.

&#8220I just went all out because it's my last year,” Gardner said.

Although both Houston wrestlers had dreams of taking state in their final year of high school, Gardner said it was still a big thrill to make it as far as he and Elder did. The two are good friends off the mat, and have spent countless hours in the wrestling room sparring and working on technique.

&#8220We're both seniors, and it's nice having someone in my same grade and one of my best buddies in there with me,” he said.

Elder echoed those sentiments.

&#8220We've been wrestling together since the seventh grade,” he said. &#8220It was good for both of us to get as far as we did.”

Roggie said it's going to be tough to lose a duo like his senior place-winners to graduation.

&#8220They've been our leaders all season long,” Roggie said.

Gardner and Elder were the lone bright spots for the young Hawks. As of press time, the Hawks stood in 17th place with 35.5 total points. Roggie hoped his team would finish a bit higher in the standings.

&#8220I'm a littler disappointed with how we finished overall,” he said. &#8220I was hoping for a top-10 finish.”

Despite the overall result, Roggie said he's proud of how his team worked hard and fought all season long.

The guy that are still standing have worked hard and done a great job all year,” he said. &#8220I'm proud of them.”

Contact Matt Tunseth at 352-2265 or matt.tunseth@frontiersman.com.