Wasilla's Wade breaks career mark

Going into his senior season Jed Wade had two major accomplishments in his sights -- the Alaska state record for wrestling wins in a career and the fourth state championship of his high school career.

Last weekend during the Region III duals in Soldotna, the Wasilla High School grappler notched one of those remarkable achievements. With six wins in the two-day event, Wade improved his prep record to 144-11, eclipsing Eric Toney's mark.

Toney, a former West Valley High School great, finished with a 140-14 record after four years with the Wolfpack. His record stood since 1991.

According to Wade his focus during the first half of the season has not been on breaking the Alaska prep record or winning his fourth state title, but on the Reno Tournament of Champions, an event he will wrestle in this weekend.

The Reno Tournament of Champions is regarded as one of the premier prep wrestling tournaments in the nation. Last year Wade placed third, losing just one match, in the tournament semifinals.

"From the beginning of the season and preseason most of my thought process has been on the Reno tournament," Wade said. "I got third last year and am looking to do better. After Reno, all the focus is on the state tournament."

Wade's loss in the Reno Tournament was his only of the 2002-03 season. He finished 51-0 against Alaska competition. With the 51 wins during his junior year, Wade shattered the mark for wins in a season.

Wade said that early in his career the thought of reaching these tremendous accomplishments crossed his mind, but he did not consider them as a realistic possibility until later in his career. In fact, it was not Wade who first saw himself as a four-time champion.

"The coaches were talking about it before I was," Wade said.

"He came in already as an experienced wrestler," Wasilla head coach Shawn Hayes said of Wade as a freshman.

Hayes said that Wade possessed much greater technique than the average freshman and had a good work ethic.

Wade had just six losses during his freshman year and won the 2001 state crown at the 171-pound class. Wade followed with just four losses during his sophomore season. Two of those losses came to West Valley's Ward Dobbs.

Wade and Dobbs had arguably the state's best wrestling rivalry during the 2002 season.

Dobbs defeated Wade at the North South Tournament at Wasilla High School and in front of his home crowd at West Valley High. Wade was able to overcome and defeated Dobbs to win the 2002 state crown at the 189-pound class.

Wade notched a pin and three straight major decisions en route to winning his third state title last spring.

And once Wade returns from Reno, he will be on the trek toward his fourth straight state title -- a feat about as uncommon in Alaska as 140 wins in his career.

West Valley's Matt Matson was the last to win four titles. It actually took five years for Matson. He won titles in 1990, 1991 and 1992, but missed his senior season after a horific car accident. Mattson returned for a fifth year in 1993 to win his fourth title. Prior to that, Gary Steeby was the last to win four titles, but only his final three came when wrestling was officially a sanctioned sport by the state of Alaska.