Warriors win state title

The Wasilla Warriors defended their 2004 state title by winning another, as the Warrior grapplers held off South to take the team title at last weekend's state wrestling tournament.

The Warriors' depth was just too much for other teams to counter. They were led by two state champions - Alan Bartelli at 103 and Jake Wade at 171 - but a strong contingent of Wasilla wrestlers racked up important points coming through the consolation draws.

The Warriors finished with 179 points, well ahead of South, which finished with 149 points. West Valley was third with 113.5 pounds, following by Skyview. Colony, which sent a school-record 13 wrestlers to the state tournament, finished seventh with 96 points.

At 103 pounds, Bartelli pinned Michaela Hutchison of Skyview, who was bidding to become the first female state champion in Alaska history. Bartelli was the runner-up at 103 last year, and he wasted no time in making sure he was the champ this year - he pinned Hutchison at the 1:58 mark.

The Valley enjoyed another state title at 119, and it came after some dedication. After three years of finishing second at the state tournament, Dustin Killian finally came out on top. The Colony senior had to come from behind to beat Wasilla's Clayton Schmidling, 7-5. Killian finished 30-0 this year, but not until he scored a reversal and three-point nearfall to win.

Hollan Gravley scored Colony's second state title in as many weight classes, as he took a 6-3 decision over Matt Blakeslee of South in the 125-pound final. It was Gravley's second state title in as many years, as he won last year's 112-pound title.

Duane Carpenter of Wasilla fell just short of a bid to win the 130-pound weight class. West's Ira Carson, who was the outstanding wrestler of the tournament, beat Carpenter 12-3 for the title.

Trevor Pempek was upset in the 152-pound weight class. The top-ranked Wasilla Warrior fell 5-2 to Dustin Baxter of West Valley. After scoring a nearfall, Baxter was able to control Pempek for much of the match. Pempek transferred from Palmer to Wasilla prior to this school year, and was a state runner-up a season ago.

At 171 pounds, Jake Wade of Wasilla continued his domination with a state title. Since 1996, there has only been one year in which a Wade hasn't won a state title. Wade finished the year undefeated against Alaska competition to capture his second consecutive state title at 171 pounds. He beat Marcus Lopez of South 7-2.

Carson and West Valley's David Weise were named the meet's co-Most Outstanding Wrestler winners.

In the consolation bracket, Ceasar Barrera took third place with a 12-9 victory. Mike Trudeau of Wasilla fell to Clark Buffington in the consolation finals, and Colony's Dominick Bellotte fell to Josiah Bush of North Pole in the third-place match as well.

In the fifth-place matches, Valley winners included Andrew Van Asdoll of Colony and Chuck Carpenter of Wasilla.