Retiring teacher, coach urges Colony grads to ‘find their 68’
By Jeremiah Bartz Frontiersman.com A football coach using a hockey reference as the centerpiece for his keynote address may
Brynlee Lutz entered the 2025 season as Alaska’s girls defending state champion at 138 pounds. After arguably the toughest regular season prep wrestling event in the Last Frontier, the Wasilla grappler remains at the top of her class.
Lutz pinned Delta’s Jane Douglas of Delta at the 2-minute, 39-second mark of the girls 138-pound final of the Lancer Smith Memorial Nov. 15 at the Menard Arena in Wasilla.
With the win, Lutz improved to 31-0 on the season. The junior won her first high school state title as a sophomore and placed third at state as a freshman.
Lutz stuck all four of her opponents en route to her Lancer Smith crown. She pinned Redington’s Jayli Jones (2:13), Kenai’s Layla Berg (1:31) and Colony’s Cailynn Belgarde (1:32) before the final.
Lutz was also the Valley’s lone champion in the girls and varsity boys fields combined.
Colony’s Grace Loutzenhiser, another defending state champion, advanced to the girls finals at 100 pounds, and placed second.
Colony’s Thor Nelson was the lone Mat-Su athlete in the varsity boys finals, and was second at 189 pounds.
The Colony girls placed five in the top five. Hayden Vanderpool (114) and Braelyn Troxell (120) were second, Cailynn Belgrade (138) placed fourth, and Tanelleice Trebizo (114) finished fifth.
Palmer had three girls in the top six. Linsey Flores-Romo (185) was fourth, Abigail Paddock (132) placed sixth and Autumn Wright (152) was sixth.
Wasilla also had three in the top six. Taylor Cooley (100) was fourth and Danielle Steiner (120) finished sixth.
Josephine Granger was third at 145 to lead Redington.
In the boys varsity tournament, Luke Roderick (171) and Jackson Weller (285) were both fifth for the Knights. Wasilla’s Corbin Lutz placed fourth for Wasilla at 145, and Palmer’s Johnny Martinez was sixth for Palmer at 135.
The Wasilla girls led Valley teams with a second-place finish overall. Colony was third in the girls team standings and fourth in the varsity boys.
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