Wasilla twins help Team Alaska win wrestling gold

WASILLA — Brynlee and Corbin Lutz started their high school careers with top-3 finishes in the Northern Lights Conference Championships. Now the twins, and Wasilla High School freshmen, can add a gold medal to their wrestling resumes.

The Lutz twins helped Team Alaska earn wrestling gold in the mixed team event during the 2024 Arctic Winter Games Tuesday evening at Teeland Middle School in Wasilla.

“It’s pretty up there,” Brynlee said after Team Alaska cemented its gold medal with a 45-28 dual win over Team Yukon. “It’s pretty cool to wrestle different people, and winning first is pretty cool too.”

Both siblings finished 4-0 in the duals, and helped Team Alaska also finish undefeated in the team event. Brynlee pinned Yukon’s Lia Hinchey at the 1:47 mark of the girls’ 60 kilogram match Tuesday. She also scored a 12-2 win by technical fall over Northwest Territories’ Emma Perderson, and had two wins by forfeit.

Corbin won his match by forfeit on Tuesday. He also edged Team Nunavut’s Jusipi Dimitruk 4-2, pinned North Alberta’s Nathan Kendall at the 1:08 mark, and scored a 10-0 victory by technical fall over Northwest Territories’ Damian Kaodloak.

As a freshman with the Warriors, Brynlee placed second in the NLC Championships and was third in the ASAA girls state tournament. Corbin was third in regions and competed at state.

Brynlee said this is their third year wrestling.

Team Alaska head coach David Lorring, a Kenai Peninsula resident, is coaching at the Arctic Winter Games for the fourth time.

“It’s been really fun,” Lorring said. “Every team is different. It’s really cool to see the kids learning and the camaraderie.”

Team Alaska currently features 11 athletes from across the state.

“It was cool to wrestle for Team Alaska, have all of Alaska come together,” Brynlee said.

Team Alaska beat Yukon 45-28, Nunavut 47-19 and Northwest Territories 48-11. The best duals match was against North Alberta 37-37. The final score was tied, but Team Alaska had more individual wins and won the dual.

“It was a good battle with Alberta. All of the games I’ve gone to, this is the closest overall skill level,” Lorring said. “I’ve got to give Canada a lot of credit. They’ve put a lot of effort into their programs and gotten them up to par.”

Contact Frontiersman managing editor Jeremiah Bartz at editor@frontiersman.com.