Valley Grown: Colony grads make college debut

PALMER — A trio of Colony High School graduates suited for their first college football game last week.

Parker Kizer, Jarrett Villastrigo and Kaleb Reeves each donned the Luther College blue and black during a 52-21 loss to Wisconsin-La Crosse in Decorah, Idaho, Sept. 1.

Kizer, Villastrigo and Reeves are all freshmen and members of Colony High’s class of 2018. The game also marked the debut of Luther defensive backs coach Ray Kizer, a longtime assistant coach at Colony High.

Parker Kizer and Villastrigo both appeared in the game. Kizer, a backup quarterback, ran the ball twice for two yards, and Villastrigo, a defensive lineman, assisted on two tackles. Reeves is a reserve offensive lineman on the team.

Luther is an NCAA Division III program. The school is also the alma mater of Colony High boys basketball head coach Tom Berg and Matt Jaronik, the offensive coordinator in Colony’s football program.

Kizer, Villastrigo and Reeves each earned All-Railbelt Conference honors during their senior year, and the trio helped lead the Knights to the Division I playoffs.

Luther is at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, Saturday.

Former Palmer standout makes 39th straight start

University of Mary offensive lineman Nick Benshetler made his 30th straight start in a 14-13 loss to St. Cloud State Sept. 1.

Benshetler, a 2014 graduate of Mat-Su Central School and a former all-state lineman with the Palmer Moose, has been a fixture on the Mary offensive line since he started the final seven games of his freshman season. He started every game as a sophomore and junior. Last season Benshetler started four games at tackle and seven at center.

Mary plays at Bemidji State in Bemidji, Minnesota, Saturday. Mary is a Division II program in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.

Palmer graduate makes college debut

Jared Oviok, a 2018 graduate of Palmer High School, made his collegiate debut for Minnesota-Morris during a 41-0 loss to Wisconsin-River Falls Sept. 1. Oviok, a defensive back, made three tackles.

Oviok helped Palmer advance to Alaska’s Division II state title game as a junior and senior.

Noah Plumb, a 2018 graduate of Houston High is a freshman tight end on the Minnesota-Morris roster. Minnesota-Morris plays Valley City State Saturday.

Senior linebacker Riley Fredrickson (Colony), senior offensive lineman Dahlton Wasankari (Wasilla), sophomore offensive lineman Ryan Wharry (Colony), freshman defensive back Martin Jones (Colony) and freshmen defensive lineman Reed Graham (Houston) and Cooper Sant (Colony).

Valley City opened the season with a 28-26 loss to rival Jamestown College. Fredrickson recorded one tackle in the loss.

Wasilla grad makes college debut

Thomas Rivera, a 2018 graduate of Wasilla High and a freshman defensive lineman at Trinity College in North Dakota, made his college debut during a 35-0 loss to Culver-Stockton (Missouri). Rivera’s high school teammate Sean McDermott is a freshman running back at Culver-Stockton.

** Editor’s note: Valley Grown is a regular feature highlighting the work of Valley athletes on the next level.