Valley grapplers dominate NLC semifinals

WASILLA — It’s probably a good thing a Valley school is hosting the Northern Lights Conference Championships. It’s going to be a Valley-heavy final round.

Colony, Palmer and host Wasilla combined to move 25 grapplers into the championship round, scheduled for Saturday at 3 p.m. at Wasilla High. Valley wrestlers won 25 of the 30 semifinal matches Friday afternoon, leaving Soldotna, Kenai and Kodiak with a combined five wrestlers in the finals.

Fourteen of the 15 matches in the finals will feature a wrestler from Colony, Palmer or Wasilla. Only the 285-pound match won’t include a Valley grappler. There will also be 11 all-Valley matches in the finals, and one match with two Colony athletes and one match with two Wasilla athletes.

Wasilla leads the conference with 10 grapplers in the finals. Kayden Wall (106 pounds), Micah Mathis (113), Levi Schumacher (113), Isaiah Elvsaas (126), Berit Sturgeon (132), Samuel Wolff (138), Andrue Shepersky (152), Cablin Wilson (182), Jonathon Inch (195) and Chase Minnick (220) will represent the Warriors in the finals.

Colony placed nine grapplers in the finals, with Rush Fannon (98), Levi Hopkins (120), Eric Christy (132), Caleb Hopkins (138), Chace Booth (145), Chase Fannon (160), Robert Haan (170), Jordan Nero (170) and Isaiah Christy (220) each winning semifinal matches.

Odin Anderson (98), Levi Farris (145), Jeff Glynn (152), Christian Kurka (160), Kendal Peratrovich-Brown (182) and Austin Farris (195) make up the six Palmer Moose in the finals.

Colony held the lead in the team standings after the first day with 274.5 total points.

Wrestling continues Saturday at 11 a.m. at Wasilla High.

Northern Lights Conference Championships

Friday, Wasilla High School

Day 1 team scores:

1. Colony 274.5; 2. Wasilla 259; 3. Palmer 242; 4. Soldotna 125.5; 5. Kodiak 80; 6. Kenai 48.

Championship semifinals:

98 pounds — R. Fannon, Col p. A. Edwards, Col 2:32; O. Andersen, Pal p. L. Craig, Sol 1:00; 106 — G. Hutchison, Sol p. B. Gonzalez, Kod 5:20; K. Wall, Was d. T. Severson, Col 3-0; 113 — M. Mathis, Was m.d. K. Torres, Col 10-0; L. Schumacher, Was d. G. Whisman, Col 10-6; 120 — R. Delacruz, Kod p. Wa. McGann, Pal 3:14; L. Hopkins, Col m.d. A. Torres, Col 15-1; 126 — S. Hutchison, Sol t.f. S. Walton, Kod 16-0; I. Elvsaas, Was d. D. Simpson, Was 5-4; 132 — B. Sturgeon, Was p. N. Reeves, Pal 3:47; E. Christy, Col d. J. Nummer, Kod 6-3; 138 — C. Hopkins, Col p. S. Larionoff, Kod 2:37; S. Wolff, Was won by inj Wy. McGann, Pal; 145 — C. Booth, Col p. B. Metcalf, Sol 1:35; L. Farris, Pal d. A. Newland, Was 3-2; 152 — J. Glynn, Pal m.d. A. VanHout, Sol 12-1; A. Shepersky, Was d. K. McEnerny, Ken 7-2; 160 — C. Fannon, Col p. B. Dyer, Pal 1:05; C. Kurka, Pal p. B. Dunham, Ken 0:53; 170 — R. Haan, Col p. J. Davis, Pal 0:25; J. Nero, Col p. A. Schrader, Sol 5:22; 182 — K. Peratrovich-Brown, Pal won by fft; C. Wilson, Was d. C. Eby, Col 11-5; 195 — A. Farris, Pal p. P. Wilcox, Sol 0:27; J. Inch, Was won by inj T. Wheeler, Pal; 220 — C. Minnick, Was p. L. Santana, Pal 1:36; I. Christy, Col m.d. H. Bigley, Kod 15-6; 285 — Z. Koziczkowski, Ken p. K. Anderson, Pal 1:09; D. Best, Sol d. A. Kollander, Pal 8-3.