Valley grapplers aim for top spots in tourney

WASILLA — The Colony Knights will walk into Wasilla High School in search of its fourth straight Northern Lights Conference title today.

But that’s not all the Knights are trying to do.

Colony is looking to load its arsenal to shoot for the 4A four-peat next weekend.

“We just want to get as many kids into state as we possibly can. The state tournament is going to be tough this year,” Colony head coach Dave Booth said. “The more kids we have, the more kids we have to win matches and score points.”

The top six grapplers from each weight class of the one-day NLC Championships tournament will advance to the state tourney, which starts next Friday at Chugiak High School. The three-time defending state champion Knights moved 21 wrestlers into the state tourney last year, and Booth is hoping his team can stay right in that ballpark.

And considering Colony’s depth, the Knights should be able to once again hit the 20-mark.

“We’re strong throughout the lineup,” Booth said. “That’s why we’ve done so well at the Alaska State Duals Championships. We don’t have any holes.”

Four of those 21 Knights are back to defend their 2008 conference titles. Isaac Wilson and Sam Loggins are in search of their second straight conference titles. Charles Coisman and Eric Fan are in search of their third individual crown.

Fan (215) and fellow senior Kenny Boykin (171) are also ranked first in the state in their weight class according to the latest akmat.org poll.

Wilson (112), Coisman (119), Luke Faulkner (125), Loggins (130), Chad Lowery (135), Chase Montgomery (140), Ryan Knutson (160) and Renn Wright (285) are also the top ranked wrestlers in the NLC, according to akmat.org.

Host Wasilla, which has finished second to Colony in each of the last three NLC championships after putting together its string of conference titles, pushed 18 wrestlers into the state meet last year.

Wasilla head coach Shawn Hayes would also like to see similar results.

“If we could get 18 in, it’d be really nice, 18-20,” Hayes said.

Abe Fox, the defending conference champion at 103, is among Wasilla’s leaders heading into the tourney. Fox and fellow sophomore Caleb Pempek (152) are both ranked No. 1 in the state in their weight classes.

Wasilla’s Cole Miller (112), Josh Brown (130), Jacob Marshall (160) and Jeremy White (189) are all ranked second in the NLC, according to akmat.org.

Palmer head coach Dale Ewart is hoping to pass at least a handful of wrestlers from his young Moose team to the state tourney.

Senior Jered Kemp is one of five Moose who advanced to the state tourney last year. Kemp finished fifth in the NLC at 125 in 2008. This season, Kemp is ranked third in the NLC and sixth in the state at 130.

Tourney organizers opted for a one-day tournament this season. The meet will start at 9 a.m. and continue throughout the day at Wasilla High, with championship finals slated for 8:30 p.m.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.

Northern Lights Conference ranked wrestlers

(according to akmat.org)

103 pounds — 1. Abe Fox, Wasilla; 3. Hope Steffenson, Kenai; 4. Eli Garvey, Homer 5. Noah Roetman, Colony.

112 — 4. Isaac Wilson, Colony; 5. Cole Miller, Wasilla.

119 — 2. Charles Coisman, Colony; 4. Bryce Wilson, Skyview; 5. Tyler Adams, Wasilla.

125 — 3. Luke Faulkner, Colony.

130 — 2. Sam Loggins, Colony; 4. Josh Brown, Wasilla; 6. Jared Kemp, Palmer.

135 — 3. Chad Lowery, Colony; 5. Cody Carroll, Soldotna.

140 — 2. Chase Montgomery, Colony; 3. Austin Tennis, Skyview; 6. Derek Johnsen, Wasilla.

145 — 4. Derrick Burlison, Soldotna.

152 — 1. Caleb Pempek, Wasilla; 3. Mitch Wyatt, Homer; 4. Jared Thomas, Skyview.

160 — 2. Fred Pollard, Skyview; 3. Ryan Knutson, Colony; 4. Jacob Marshall, Wasilla.

171 — 1. Kenny Boykin, Colony; 4. Steve Lawson, Skyview; 5. Tanner Link, Soldotna.

189 — 4. Nick VanBruggen, Skyview; 5. Jeremy White, Wasilla.

215 — 1. Eric Fan, Colony; 4. Donny Dormady, Kenai; 6. Mike Eyre, Skyview.

285 — 1. Nathan Strieby, Soldotna; 3. Anthony Antonio, Kodiak; 4. Renn Wright, Colony.