Wolverines edge Knights in Dimond tournament

ANCHORAGE —If the Glenn Vandergaw Tournament was any indication, the upcoming 4A state championships shouldn’t lack excitement.

South Anchorage edged Colony by a mere 1.5 points to win the final major regular-season tournament of the year. The Wolverines finished with 143.5 total points, just ahead of Colony’s 142. Defending state champion Wasilla was third with 128 points.

South used a pair of individual titles to stay just ahead of the Knights, and escaped with the team title in a tournament that featured a Valley-heavy final round. Colony, Wasilla and Palmer combined to win seven of the 15 weight classes.

Robert Zimmerman, Caleb Hopkins and Kamber Lucas each won their weight class for the Knights. Zimmerman pinned teammate Gabe Whisman in the all-Colony 98-pound final. In another all-Knights final, Hopkins edged Colony’s Chace Booth 4-3 in overtime in the 126-pound final. Colony’s Kamber Lucas defeated West Anchorage’s Chardo Elliott 10-4 to win the 160-puns bracket.

Wasilla also had three individual champs. Micah Mathis earned a win by medical default over Wasilla teammate Dillon Simpson. Berit Sturgeon edged Kodiak’s Joel Valdez at 120 pounds. D.J. Morrow pinned Colony’s Dawson Nash in the 170-pound final.

In his first major tournament after missing much of the season due to an injury sustained during the prep football season, Palmer’s Ben Button, a defending state champion, beat East Anchorage’s Keaji Queja in the 220-pound final.

Button and Hopkins each earned Most Outstanding Wrestler honors for the tournament.

Next up for Palmer, Wasilla and Colony is the Northern Lights Conference Championships, which start Jan. 31 in Soldotna. The 4A state championships is slated for Feb. 6-7 at Chugiak High Schools. For Glen Vandergaw results, see frontiersman.com/sports.

Glenn Vandergaw Tournament

Saturday, Dimond High

Team scores:

1. South 143.5, 2. Colony 142, 3. Wasilla 128, 4. Service 90.5, 5. Kodiak 84.5, 6. North Pole 77, 7. Chugiak 66, 8. Soldotna 63, 9. Palmer 62.5, 10. Kenai 58, 11. East 57, 12. Lathrop 35, 13. West 21, 14. West Valley 19, 15. Bartlett 16, 16. Dimond 12, 17. Eagle River 0.

Championship finals:

98 pounds — R. Zimmerman, Col p. G. Whisman, Col 1:41; 106 — M. Mathis, Was won by ftt D. Simpson, Was; 113 — A. Craig, Sol d. S. Harris, Sou 6-3; 120 — B. Sturgeon, Was d. J. Valdez, Kod 11-9; 126 — C. Hopkins, Col d. C. Booth, Col 4-3 OT; 132 — L. Fried, Kod d. G. Alvardo, Sou 9-2; 138 — D. Rogers, NP won by inj def W. McGann, Pal 5:44; 145 — R. Pellumbi, Sou d. A. Kennedy, East 6-2; 152 — E. Steffensen, Ken p. Z. Ritchie, Sou 1:53; 160 — K. Lucas, d. C. Elliott, West 10-4; 170 — D. Morrow, Was p. D. Nash, Col 5:07; 182 — A. Correa-Medina, Sou d. J. Waller, Chu 3-2; 195 — J. Nelson, Chu d. A. Farris, Pal 6-4; 220 — B. Button, Pal d. K. Queja, East 13-6; 285 — N. Stevens, Ser d. K. King, East 4-1.

Third-place:

98 — K. Blackwell, Ser m.d. B. Rogers, Dim 20-7; 106 — S. Sisco, Col d. D. Lincoln, Sou 6-1; 113 — J. Opp, WV d. C. Vinton, NP 12-10; 120 — Q. Lema, Ser d. W. Bockert, Lat 17-9; 126 — J. Small, Kod d. S. Hoffman, Ser; 132 — R. Winter, Sol d. T. Newland, Was 14-11; 138 — N. Ottum, Sou m.d. S. Wolff, Was 16-3; 145 — T. Loutzenhiser, Col p. L. Nerland, Sou 4:16; 152 — E. Schumaker, NP d. S. Adams, Col 5-2; 160 — B. Blumentritt, Sol d. B. Lowe, Chu 3-2; 170 D. Carter, Ken d. J. Braudis, Bar 3-1; 182 — J. Dickinson, Lat d. E. McLeod, Ser 5-0; 195 — H. Fanning, Ser d. C. Minnick, Was 7-0; 220 — N. Wandersee, Kod d. D. Walker, NP 7-2; 285 — Z. Rockstad, Was d. Z. Koziczkowski, Ken 6-0.