Wasilla lineman to play for Valley City State

WASILLA — Growing up in Glennallen where hockey and basketball were king, football was the furthest thing from Dahlton Wasankari’s mind. But after moving with his family to Wasilla just before ninth grade, Wasankari’s father urged him to join the Wasilla High football program.

Initially it was a struggle. But Wasankari would eventually become one of the state’s best. Now, Wasankari is headed to the next level. Wasankari, a Wasilla High School senior, has signed a National Letter of Intent to attend Valley City State University in North Dakota and play football for the NAIA Vikings.

The opportunity comes on the heels of four years worth of work, which included a greater learning curve than the average player.

“There was no exposure out there to it,” Wasankari said of football and growing up in Glennallen. “My dad said I might as well try it out. The first two to three weeks I hated it. I didn’t get the concepts.”

But Wasankari stuck with it.

“Wasilla was real welcoming. They took time after practice showing me what (football) was about,” Wasankari said. “Toward the end of the year I was loving it.”

Wasankari is a two-year starter on the offensive line, starting every game as a senior at right tackle. He was named first-team all-state following his senior season. Wasankari is expected to play guard for the Vikings, a team coming off its fourth straight North Star Athletic Association championship. Wasilla head coach Kent Rilatos said the position and the school are both a good fit for the 6-foot, 300-pound lineman.

“In college, he’ll be the prototypical guard,” Rilatos said. “He’s a little bit shorter than the tackle, but he’s able to move people, pull and trap.”

Rilatos said strength and work ethic separates Wasankari from the pack.

“He’s one of the strongest guys we’ve had come through here,” Rilatos said of Wasankari. “His bench and squat is comparable to juniors and seniors that are already there. He loves lifting weights. He loves the game of football. He’s a guy who wants to lift weights, a guy who wants to go to camps, a guy who wants to work hard at camps.”

Wasankari currently benches 345 pounds, squats 490 pounds and has a 245-pound power clean. Before the end of the school year, Wasankari said he hopes to join the 900-pound club, which includes five reps of 300 pounds on the bench press, five reps of a 400-pound squat and five reps of a 200-pound power clean. He’s already hit the mark on bench press.

During the past few decades, Valley City State has become a popular landing spot for Alaska football players. The 2015 roster currently includes three Alaskans returning to the team, including sophomore linebacker Riley Fredrickson, a Colony High graduate. Wasankari is also one of three Alaskans who have signed with VSC during this offseason. That list also includes Bartlett’s Archie Lemana, the 2014 Alaska Defensive Player of the Year, and wide receiver Isaiah Dawkins, a 2014 graduate of Wasilla High, and former teammate of Wasankari’s.

“There will be some familiar faces for him down there,” Rilatos said.

Despite struggling to learn the game early as a freshman, Wasankari said he grew to love football.

“I love everything about it,” Wasankari said. “I love the contact. I really like the team part of it, building friendships, learning life lessons.”

Wasankari said his desire to go farther in football also fueled his drive to improve in other areas of his life.

“It made me step up my game in the classroom,” Wasankari said.

Wasankari said he also drew interest from Division III schools. He explored options at North Central College in Illinois and Washington-Jefferson University in Pennsylvania. Ultimately, Valley City State stood out. Valley City State also offered Wasankari a scholarship, which helped seal the deal, he said.