The final rounds

The prep wrestling season has come down to its final stretch. Local grapplers will compete in the final regular season event of the season, the Region III tournament in Kodiak. With success in this weekend's two-day tourney on Kodiak Island, and a top-six finish in their weight class, wrestlers will advance to next week's state tournament at Chugiak High School.

Each of the three local Region III programs -- Palmer, Wasilla and Colony -- should have at least one wrestler holding a first-place medal after the conclusion of the Region III awards ceremony on Saturday. One team, Wasilla, may be in possession of the team title once it is all said and done.

The Warriors, who also have their eye on the state crown, will field one of the deepest teams in the region tournament. In order to vie for a team title at the state meet, Wasilla must have a large chunk of its wrestlers finish in the top-six.

"Twenty to 24 is our average," Wasilla head coach Shawn Hayes said. "The region is tougher than the last couple of years. Our goal is 16-24, it is hard to tell."

Wasilla's top grappler is senior Jed Wade, who is not only looking to become a four-time Region III champion, but only the third four-time state title winner in the state's history.

Wade should receive little competition in the region tourney with his main foe being Skyview's Zach Rohr.

Also strong will be Wade's younger brother, Jake. The sophomore is the second-ranked grappler at the 171-pound class.

"Jake should be ranked one or two," Hayes said. "He has one loss to the Kodiak kid (Steve O'Brien), but will be tough."

Senior Jeremie Miesler, ranked second in the heavyweight division, is also favored to win a region title. Miesler is 20-1 in the state of Alaska, with a good portion of his victories by pin. The senior's lone loss in the state came to Ketchikan's Jon Hamilton, the top-ranked grappler in the state at 275.

Wasilla junior Chris Odom is also at the top of his weight class. At 130, Odom is ranked above Monte Garroutte of Homer and Zach Tomco of Palmer, making it one of the toughest classes Region III has to offer.

Odom, who missed part of the season due to a bout of mononucleosis, scored a very important 12-10 win over Tomco in the Valley Tri-Meet last week at Colony.

"He's wrestling better all the time," Hayes said. "Was nice to have him wrestle tough."

In order for Wasilla to take home the team titles, the squad will need good weekends from a group of wrestlers that includes John Olson, Duane Carpenter and Allen Bartelli.

Olson missed time due to injury earlier this season, but has been coming on in the final stretch.

"John has been improving," Hayes said. "The win over (Domminick) Bellotte, John needed."

Olson defeated Bellotte 5-2 at Colony. Bellotte had beaten Olson earlier this season.

Carpenter and Bartelli each have very tough Region III foes in their weight class, but should garner the second-seed in the tourney.

The region crown may come down to Carpenter and returning state champion Sean Costello (Kodiak) at 125, and Bartelli and his primary rival Simeon Daigle (Homer) at 103.

Hayes is also looking for Mike Miller (140), Chuck Carpenter (152) and Roland Warrior (160) to score points.

Colony has a small group of wrestlers that should contend for region titles.

The Knights' best bet is freshman Hollan Gravely, who has taken the state by storm. Gravely is undefeated in the state of Alaska, a national champion in the 13-14-year-old bracket in both Greco-Roman and freestyle and ranked at the top of the 112-pound class.

Gravely is also the only Region III wrestler ranked in the top six in the state at 112.

"(Hollan) has beaten up everybody," Colony head coach Tim Lussow said. "He doesn't look past anybody. He is up for every match."

The Knights also have Dustin Killion at 119, the runner-up in both the region and state tournaments last season. The only thing separating Killion from a title has been Skyview's Eli Hutchison, the top-ranked grappler at 119.

A rematch between the duo would surprise nobody.

"He has to be aggressive," Lussow said.

Lussow said that an aggressive style has helped Killion when facing his arch-rival. In the finals of the Dimond Tournament, Killion nearly scored a last-second move that would have forced overtime.

Kyle Newman is in the hunt for a region title in a very open 160-pound class. Newman, ranked sixth, took sixth place last season at the state tournament.

Also in the hunt for a region title is Bellotte. The 215-pound strongman has the likes of Olson, Kodiak's Dennis Bryant and Palmer's Jake Heun to contend with.

"Domminick has been in the finals of most of the tournaments and should be in the finals of this one," Lussow said. "The 215-class is extremely tough. Four of the top six guys are in Region III and (Heun) is really tough."

Palmer's best bet for a region crown is sophomore Trevor Pempek, but Huen is a wild card.

The Moose sophomore has already broken the Palmer school record for pins, with each of his 27 wins coming by fall. Despite the fact Huen is unranked in the 215-class, he is in position to tie the state record for pins in a season. The current mark is 34.

Pempek is the state's top-ranked grappler at the 145-pound class.