Valley grapplers earn state titles

Valley wrestlers faced a slew of tough opponents at the ASAA/First National Bank Alaska Wrestling State Championships hosted in the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage.

Redington’s Eben Caulkins, wrestling at 140, Colony’s Braelyn Troxell, wrestling at 120, and Wasilla’s defending state champion Brynlee Lutz, wrestling at 138, all brought home state titles to the Mat-Su from this weekend’s tournament.

Redington

The Division II, 140-pound weight class match came down to the final second of the third period, when Eben Caulkins made a takedown as the referee’s whistle blew. The entire floor held their breath as the referee called a three point takedown, pushing Caulkins one point over Unalaska’s Cache Henning and winning by decision 11-10.

Caulkins scored a single reversal in the first period and entered the second trailing Henning 2-7. He would trail 2-8 by the end of period two. Caulkins would make three takedowns in the last minute and a half of the third period, his last coming at the whistle, beating the number two seed Henning who had dominated the first two periods, and earning Caulkins his state title.

“I was down, I couldn’t breathe at all when he had me in that headlock,” Caulkins said. “I just fought until the end anyway. It just goes down to who wants it more.”

Coming in at a number five seed, Caulkins upset the number one seed Alejandro Sanchez from Seward by decision 13-12 in the semi finals with three takedowns and a nearfall 3 in the final period, with one takedown in the final two seconds of that match. Caulkins beat the odds at the tournament and wrestled every match down to the wire. That grit, determination and a never-quit attitude is what earned him his state title this year.

“It’s all I ever worked for,” Caulkins said. “You can do anything you put your mind to.”

Redington Head Coach Caleb Deemer was proud of Caulkins’ performance at the tournament and how he stayed in his matches while keeping a good head and pushing the pace to see it all the way through.

“I know he’s got heart, he’s always going to fight til the very end. And he took it to the very end,” Deemer laughed.

Caulkins has another year to come back and defend his title. He will continue to lead his team of up-and-coming wrestlers and push them to be better, on and off of the mat. The boys team took 13th place this year with 81.5 points.

“We have a lot coming back next year and it’ll be a lot of fun,” Deemer said. “I’m really excited.”

Triston Charley placed third at 189. Ashlynn Akers was also fifth at 100 for the girls.

Colony

Braelyn Troxell, wrestling at 120, won the state championship coming in as the number three seed and upsetting number one seed Valeria McAnnally from Soldotna. She won by technical fall in the third quarter, dominating the match with 22 points over McAnnally’s six. Despite several stoppages for a bloody nose, Troxell put in the work to bring the title home to Colony and the celebratory dance moves to the mat.

“I feel so amazing. I've been wanting this for so long,” Troxell said. “It just feels like all this work I've put towards wrestling has finally paid off.”

Despite facing a higher seeded opponent, Troxell said she continued to keep a cool head throughout the weekend that helped her to win the championship.

“My strategy was just to stay out of my head and wrestle like I know how I know, how I can wrestle and be strong and competitive and never give up,” Troxell said.

Troxell has been wrestling for 11 years. All of her efforts have brought her to this point and become a state champion. She looks forward to club wrestling and taking a triple crown. She recognizes her coaches and her support, including her sister, that got her to this point.

“I’m so thankful for all of my coaches who’ve helped me get here,” Troxell said.

Grace Loutzenhiser, a defending state champion wrestling at 100, lost her match against Naomi Keller from Soldotna by pin at 3:06. Isaiah Schultz, wrestling at 135, lost his match to Mason Bock from Soldotna by a pin in the first quarter at 1:12. Thor Nelson, wrestling at 189, lost his match to an undefeated Zane Gerlach from South Anchorage by technical fall in period three with a score of 19-3.

Head coach for Colony Todd Hopkins applauded his wrestlers for their hard work this weekend. The team brought 31 boys and nine girls to the tournament, both record highs for Colony. The boys team placed six with 136.5 points and the girls team placed third with 108.5 points.

“I think we wrestled well,” Hopkins said. “We had more placers than the seeds anticipated. We wrestled above our seeds, which is always good to do.”

The team is still young with lots of potential ahead, Hopkins said. Many competitors will be returning next year, hungry for the state title.

“We just need to continue to get better at wrestling and come back next year,” Hopkins said.

Hayden Vanderpool placed third for the girls at 114 and Tanelleice Trebizo was fourth. Cailynn Belgarde was sixth at 138.

Tristen Mayer was third at 145 for the boys, while Addyxus Echak (130) placed fifth and Gabriel Crockett (119) finished sixth.

Wasilla

An undefeated 43-0 Brynlee Lutz, wrestling at 138, defended her state title against Jane Douglas from Delta with a pin near the end of the first period. She made quick work of her opponent, looking cool and confident during the championship match.

“I always dreamed of being a state champ right after I figured out that I love this sport. And now that I’m doing it two years in a row, it’s great,” Lutz said.

Not only protecting her title, but also her undefeated season, played into Lutz’s strategy this season. Knowing she was undefeated helped to hype herself up and create a confidence boost. But it also weighed on every match and she had to push the doubts aside to stay in her head.

“You always think each match, is it going to be the match that you aren’t undefeated anymore,” Lutz said. “But every match you keep going. I just pushed through every match.”

Lutz’s continued success is the result of hard work and commitment for the sport. As a junior, she has another year left to wrestle for Wasilla and has her eyes on one more state championship.

“I plan on defending my title,” Lutz said.

Max Moat, wrestling at 215, lost his match to an undefeated Gage Runnels from SWDP by pin near the end of the third period. Layla Taysom, wrestling at 145, lost to Malia Miller from Service by a pin halfway through the second period. McKinley Hafen, wrestling at 165, lost to Kenya-Marie Bruno from East Anchorage by pin at 4:35.

Head coach for Wasilla Ryan Moat said that the team performed solid overall and kept their heads about them. They experienced some great wins and tough losses, but capped off one of Moat’s best seasons as head coach. The Wasilla girls team took second place at 115.5 points and the boys team took 31st with 37 points.

“I’m very proud of my team, proud of the hard work they did and everything stood out and paid out in the end,” Moat said.

A huge part of the team’s success is how well they work together and the dedication they show in the room every day, Moat said. The team is young with lots of potential and Moat will continue to push his wrestlers to keep competing and growing in the offseason to be the best wrestlers they can be.

Moat said it was especially tough to watch his son Max Moat, one of two graduating seniors that made it to finals from Wasilla, wrestle his last match of his high school career. Max has been wrestling since he was four, and despite injuries this season, took second place in state.

“It was tough seeing his last match,” Moat said. “Very proud of that young man.”

When speaking on Brynleee Lutz and her undefeated season and back-to-back state titles, Moat referenced her humbleness, her eagerness to learn and watching her grow into a great wrestler… even if her competition is intimidated to wrestle her.

“Brynlee’s a beast… A lot of girls run away from her,” Moat said. “She is so coachable, everything we bring to her, she adapts, she changes, she goes and destroys everything in front of her and she has a blast.”

Moat said he looks forward to next year and bringing another strong team to state.

“They worked hard, burned everything and I look forward to the next season with them,” Moat said.

The Wasila girls had Taylor Cooley place third at 100 and Danielle Steiner fifth at 120.

Palmer and Houston

Lillie Vansiegman led Palmer with a third-place finish at 138 in the girls tourney. Abigail Paddock (132) and Linsey Flores-Romo (185) were both fourth. Johnny Martinez was fifth at 135 for the Palmer boys. Wyatt Wilson (130), William Lindsey (145) and Nolan Deemer (152) were all sixth.

Corwein Rein placed sixth at 215 to lead Houston.