Warriors walk through Rumble

JEREMIAH BARTZ

Frontiersman sports editor

ANCHORAGE - As South Anchorage hoisted the team title of the Palmer Invitational following the first tournament of the season, Wasilla head wrestling coach Shawn Hayes said the Wolverines would certainly be the stiffest competition throughout the season for his two-time state champion Warriors.

&#8220It's going to be a dogfight,” Hayes said.

Well, Hayes was right.

In about part 12 of a season-long series depicting the battle of Wasilla versus South, the Warriors notched another win against their big city rivals, topping the Wolverines 39-29 in the championship dual of the Alaskan Rumble team tournament hosted by South High.

South and Wasilla each won seven matches in the dual. But five Warriors won by pin, and another notched a major decision to give Wasilla the 10-point win.

Cesear Barrera (130 pounds), Mike Trudeau (152), Chuck Carpenter (160), Allen Bartelli (112) and Sam Miller (119) each pinned their opponents.

Trudeau stuck South's Nick Bollerud in just 42 seconds.

Duane Carpenter (140) won by major decision.

Off South's seven wins, one was because of a Wasilla forfeit in the 189-pound class. Jake Wade, normally the Warriors' 189-pounder, made a rare appearance at 215, and suffered a tough 5-3 decision to Mike Petrovich.

Petrovich scored a takedown at the final buzzer to give Wade his first loss of the season.

Wasilla walked through the preliminary matches in the first edition of the recently formed Rumble tourney. The Warriors scored a 14-match sweep in a 78-0 win over Service. They also earned a 62-14 win over West Valley, and beat Lathrop 61-15.

Showing their depth, Wasilla also took a second team to the tourney. The Wasilla &#8220B” team defeated the top teams from Soldotna and North Pole.