State wrestling tournament update: 5 Valley wrestlers advance to state final

ANCHORAGE - The Wasilla Warriors moved three into the final round, but the Service Cougars took a significant lead in the team standings during first-day action of the ASAA/First National Bank 4A State Wrestling Championships at Bartlett High School on Friday.

Wasilla's Abe Fox, Nate McKimson and Tyler Adams will each wrestle for individual state titles Saturday evening. Colony's Simon Root and Ty Farber also advanced to the finals.

Service placed nine wrestlers in the final round. The Cougars, who entered the meet with 15 athletes, led after the first day with 223.5 total points. Wasilla stood at second with 148.5.

Fox and Adams will wrestle for their second straight state title Saturday. Fox defeated teammate Shannon Carpenter 7-4 in the 120-pound semifinals, and will meet Northern Lights Conference rival Francie Llorente in the final round. Fox defeated Llorente to win the NLC crown.

Adams scored an 8-3 win over Lathrop's Sam Zimmerman 145, which sets up a rematch with Soldotna's Auston Tennis, who pinned Eagle River's Dommic Taus in the semis. Adams also beat Tennis to win the NLC crown.

McKimson will battle for his first state title, thanks to a 1-0 win over Lathrop's Tommy Gillen. The Wasilla grappler will face top-seeded Jacob Lunsford of Service who edged Wasilla's Bryce Serna 3-1.

Root scored a convincing win over South's Jacob Shangin at 160 pounds. Root advanced to the finals in his first season as a varsity wrestler. Farber upset Wasilla's Adam Akelkok, the top seed at 220, winning 4-2.

Wasilla and Service were tied with 115.5 points in the team standings after the third round, but the Cougars were 9-1 in the semifinals. The Warriors advanced nine to the semis, but were 3-6 in the round.

Led by Root and Farber, Colony finished the first day seventh in the team standings. Palmer is eighth. The Moose had two in the semis, Nate Pempek at 126 and Cole Frohling at 220, but both suffered losses. Palmer held a lead at one point late in the first round, but finished the first day in eight with 63 points.

Action continues Saturday morning at Bartlett. The final round is slated for 5:15 p.m.

Team scores (through semifinals):

1. Service 223.5; 2. Wasilla 148.5; 3. Kodiak 118; 4. East Anchorage 92; 5. Lathrop 90.5; 6. South Anchorage 81.5; 7. Colony 67.5; 8. Palmer 63; 9. West Anchorage 62; 10. Chugiak 58.5.

Championship semifinals:

106 - A. Caballa, Kod d. B. Girard, East 5-4; K. Willard, East d. J. Fetko, Ser 11-6.

113 - A. Hendrix, Lat m.d. A. Shannon, Was 11-0; A. Nanez, Ser t.f. N. Ottum, South 16-1.

120 - A. Fox, Was d. S. Carpenter, Was 7-4; F. Llorente, Kod d. K. Hammond, South 5-3 OT.

126 - J. Pounds, Ser d. N. Pempek, Pal 7-3; C. Decker, NP d. D. Agnew, WV 6-2.

132 - D. Achman, Lat d. J. Hogenson, South 12-6; C. White, Kod d. E. Steffenson, Ken 7-1.

138 - J. Lunsford, Ser d. B. Serna, Was 3-1; N. McKimson, Was d. T. Gillen, Lat 1-0.

145 - T. Adams, Was d. S. Zimmerman, 8-3; A. Tennis, Sol p. D. Taus, ER 4:29.

152 - R. Skieens, Ser t.f. D. Corbett, East 15-0; P. Pena, West p. K. Hamilton, Ket 3:02.

160 - D. Murakami, Ser d. M. Rogers, NP 7-3; S. Root, Col d. J. Shangin, South 7-1.

170 - J. Wiggins, East p. L. Sheets, ER 3:12; F. Dunbar, Ser d. S. Cheney, Lat 7-2.

182 - G. Morrison, Chu d. A. Fuller, 11-7; C. Johnson, Kod p. R. Lopez, South 1:02.

195 - S. Ellis, Ser p. A. Medeiros, Chu 1:06; J. Crews, West d. A. Gonzalez, Was 6-5.

220 - T. Farber, Col p. A. Akelkok, Was 4-2; D. Zorea, Ser p. C. Frohling, Pal.

285 - C. Green, Bar p. K. Trombley, Chu 1:40; E. Pilli, Ser p. D. Jones, East 4:13.