Kotzebue finally broke Bethel's stranglehold on the Class 1-2-3A state wrestling title Saturday night at Bartlett.
"When this team is clicking they're hard to beat," said Kotzebue head coach Mark Lane.
The Huskies broke a four-year run of dominance by second-place Bethel after finishing second the past two seasons.
Lane said this was the year his team finally came together. But after finally leading his team to the top spot, Lane said he's not ready to let the team rest. He's bringing nine wrestlers to next week's Reno Tournament of Champions, and said he's already thinking ahead.
"It's great, but at the same time you're already thinking about next year," he said.
The Huskies opened the finals with perfection when 113-pounder Gavin Maslen improved to 25-0 with a 7-3 win over Houston's Jacob McAnulty. The win was the second state title for Maslen, who won at 98 pounds last season for Glennallen.
"This year was pretty special," Maslen said of his undefeated championship run and team state championship.
Kotzebue continued its dominance throughout the night, earning four individual championships to pull away from the Warriors in the team competition.
Kotzebue senior Zach Haviland won the championship by pinning Thorne Bay's Luther Jenson at 170 pounds.
After the match Haviland said having returning state champions Josh Roetman and Gary Eakin in the wrestling room helped build the team's confidence this season.
"That really helped," he said.
The championship was Kotzebue's second and the school's first since the 1994-95 season.
Kotzebue came together this year because of hard work, Haviland said.
"This year was finally our year," he said, licking the blood from a broken front tooth.
Haviland said he missed last year's state tournament due to an off-the-mat issue. This year he straightened up.
"It paid off," he said.
Haviland – who plans to wrestle at the Reno Tournament of Champions – said the victory will only propel him to bigger and better things.
"I don't think of this as an ending," he said. "It's a new beginning."
Lane said wrestling is huge in Kotzebue, and thanked the town for supporting his championship program.
"It's really fun, especially in a small community," he said. "It's getting really big. When we have a tournament it's the best crowd I see all year. Kotzebue is very supportive of this team."
There was no team title awarded on the girls side, but Mt. Edgecumbe left no doubt who would have won it. The Braves brought a tournament best 11 girls to the tourney and won four of the eight finals matches.
Mt. Edgecumbe head coach Mike Kimber said wrestling is huge at the Southeast boarding school, where he had 40 girls out for the program this season.
"I go to every kid before the season starts and ask them," to wrestle, Kimber said.
Kimber was one of the driving forces behind establishing a girls state tournament, which debuted this weekend at Bartlett. He said it's an idea whose time has come and believes girls wrestling will only continue to grow in Alaska.
"This is the tournament I've been waiting for all year," he said.
Here's how the rest of the finals matches went down:
120 – Bethel's Gage Hoffman used an emphatic double-leg takedown of Nikiski's T.J. Hoffman to earn a dramatic 3-1 win. Hoffman lifted Cox high into the air before slamming him to the mat, leaping to his feat after the referee blew the whistle to end the sudden-death overtime period.
120 (girls) – Kelly O'Brien continued a family tradition by winning a state championship. The Bethel freshman joined brothers Pat and Drew as individual state champions by leading wire-to-wire over Kotzebue's Madison Hadley.
126 – Glennallen's Kenny Savo had been to three previous state tournaments and never placed. He made up for that lack of success by winning the whole enchilada in thrilling fashion, coming from behind to stun Bethel's Brandon Evans in the closing seconds.
Savo took Evans down with 30 seconds left to tie the match at 4-4, then put the Bethel wrestler on his back to earn three near-fall points just as the buzzer sounded.
"All the work I put in this season was for those 10 seconds," Savo said.
Savo's surprising win earned recognition from the tournament's coaches, who named him the Most Outstanding Wrestler.
Savo thanked his coaches – Willam Savo, Jared Miller and Wes Richards – for helping him go from an also-ran to state champion.
"Coaching," he said. "That's what made the difference."
132 – Holy Rosary Academy's foray into prep wrestling proved divine when freshman Michael Lucas won a state title with an 8-2 decision over Cody Greene of Valdez.
Holy Rosary – a Catholic school in Anchorage with only about 100 students in kindergarten through 12th grade – only started wrestling this season. Lucas was one of three boys on the team and the only state qualifier.
He said his goal all season was to win state.
"I always try to think positive," he said.
Now that he's got the school's first state championship under his belt, Lucas said he's got evevn loftier aspirations.
"My goal is four titles," he said.
132 (girls) – Brittany Woods Orri gave Mt. Edgecumbe the first of its four individual titles when she rolled over teammate Pamela Beans with a 17-0 technical fall.
138 – Another Kotzebue finalist, another champion. Marcus Martin completed an undefeated season when he pulled away from Nome's Leif Erikson in the final period. The two were tied heading into the third before Martin put Erikson on his back to earn the winning points.
145 – Nome's Emery Booshu capped a legendary high school career when he defeated Kotzebue's Gary Eakin 11-4 to claim a fourth state title.
"It's one of the biggest goals I've ever set for myself," he said.
Booshu had some sage advice for any wrestlers hoping to follow in his footsteps.
"You've gotta take every practice seriously," he said.
Booshu said it's also important for wrestlers to keep their priorities in line. When asked if winning four titles had been his main focus in high school, Booshu shook his head.
"School first," he said.
145 (girls) – Mt. Edgecumbe freshman Sydnee Kimber won a state title by pinning Kotzebue's Angela Peacock with 37 seconds left in the third period, then raced off the mat and leaped into the arms of her dad – and coach – Mike Kimber.
"He's like my good luck charm," Sydnee said. "He's always been there for me."
Kimber said the win was hard to put into words.
"It feels so amazing," she said. "I can't describe it."
Sydnee's grandfather – Mike Sr. – was on hand to see the victory. Mike Kimber Jr. said his dad was also his coach at Mt. Edgecumbe growing up.
"It's a family tradition," he said.
152 – Kotzebue went 3-for-4 in the finals when Spencer Woods outlasted Nikiski's Tylor Hundley. Woods, a junior, finished the season 34-2 and allowed just four points against him in the state tournament.
160 – Nikiski's Nathan Carstens said he retreated deep inside his mind to win one of the night's most exciting matches, a 9-8 decision over T. McBurnette of Ketchikan.
"You've gotta make yourself think you're not tired to win," Carstens said after he came from behind to defeat McBurnette in the closing seconds.
The Ketchikan wrestler was leading 8-7 with 30 seconds to go when Carstens earned the go-ahead takedown. He then had to ride out McBurnette, twice stifling his foe by holding on from the set position.
"I knew I just had to fight," he said.
160 (girls) – Kanesha Lie completed a clean sweep at 160, pinning her third opponent of the tournament to take the title. Lie finished off Selawik's Shaylynn Ticket in just 1:03, her quickest match of the tourney.
182 – Kotzebue won its fourth and final boys championship of the evening when Josh Roeteman completed a suffocating undefeated season with a pin of Nome's Oliver Hoogendom. Roeteman finished 38-0 and pinned every wrestler he faced at Bartlett, with none of his opponents getting out of the first round. Roetman's coach said the senior was the embodiment of leadership for his program.
"He's just a horse," Lane said.
182 (girls) – There was no doubt about Mt. Edgecumbe's dominance in this one, as the Braves' Lyric Wiggins pinned teammate Agatha Andrews in the second period.
195 – Top seed Nate Fousel of Ketchikan defeated Kotzebue's Drew Nanouk with a 9-3 decision. Fousel dominated the match, much like he did the rest of the bracket. He pinned two of his four opponents and beat the other two by six points each.
220 – Give Kotzebue's Stephen Hyatt credit for giving top seed Luke Johnson everything he had. Johnson entered the finals undefeated and having pinned his way into the championship. But Hyatt kept things close throughout, losing 9-1 to the big Bulldog despite wrestling from the bottom basically the entire match.
220 (girls) – Homer's Heather Harrington had no trouble with Buckland's Gillian Foxglove, earning a pin just one second before the end of the first period to give the Mariners their only individual title.
285 – Mt. Edgecumbe won its first boys championship when Paul Johanson pinned Susitna Valley's Marshall Pinard midway through the second period to cap an undefeated 22-0 season.
98 – Bethel's Thomas Dyment outlasted Curt Bartlett of Sitka for the title. The match was tied 4-4 heading into the third period, but Dyment's reversal was the difference as he won 6-4.
98 (girls) – Scammon Bay's Johanna Bell left no doubt she was the top 98-pound girl in the tournament, pinning Homer's Alex Mosely in just 1:05 to win the tournament. Bell pinned all three of her opponents in the tournament.
106 – Tristen Evan gave Bethel a reason to leave on a high note, backing Dyment's title with one of his own by dominating the third period against Ketchikan's Sean Tavares. Evan led 5-4 heading into the third period, but put Tavares on his back twice during the final period to rack up an 11-4.
106 (girls) – Kotzebue's final finals wrestler ended the night on a high note for the Huskies, as Moira Sheldon dominated all the way to earn an 8-2 win over Alisa Heller. The victory gave Ketchikan its fifth individual champion out of 10 finals appearances.
Team scores – 1) Kotzebue, 224.5; 2) Bethel, 190; 3) Houston, 132.5; 4) Nikiski, 121.5; 5) Dillingham, 119.5; 6) Nome, 84.5; 7) Wrangell, 71; 8) Homer, 69; 9) Craig, 48; 10) New Stuyahok, 42; 11) Valdez, 41; 12) ACS, 40.5; 13) Mt. Edgecumbe, 36; 14) Petersburg, 35.5; 15) Sitka, 35; 16) Hoonah, 34; 17) Thorne Bay, 33; 18) Holy Rosary, 26; 19) Su Valley, 24; 20) Glennallen, 23.5; 21) Barrow, 21; 22) Metlakatla, 17; 23) (tie) Grace Christian and Hydaburg, 16; 25) Voznesenka, 15; 26) (tie) Hutchison, Napaskiak, Unalaska, 12; 29) Cordova, 11.5; 30) (tie) Galena, Shaktoolik, 10; 32) (tie) Haines and Pilot Station, 9; 34) Seward, 7; 35) Quinahagak, 6; 36) Unalakleet, 5; 37) (tie) Chevak, Eielson; 39) Newhalen, 2; 40) (tie) Akiachak, Monroe, Sand Point, Scammon Bay, 1
GIRLS
Finals (includes wrestler's record
98 pounds – Johanna Bell (Scammon Bay High School) 2-0 won by fall over Alex Moseley (Homer) 1-1 (Fall 1:05)
106 – Moira Sheldon (Kotzebue High School) 3-0 won by decision over Alisa Heller (Wrangle Wolves) 2-1 (Dec 8-2)
120 – Kelly O`Brien (Bethel High School) 3-0 won by decision over Madison Hadley (Kotzebue High School) 2-1 (Dec 8-3)
132 – Brittany Woods-Orrison (Mt. Edgecumbe High School) 3-0 won by tech fall over Pamela Beans (Mt. Edgecumbe High School) 2-1 (TF-1.5 4:48 (17-0))
145 – Sydnee Kimber (Mt. Edgecumbe High School) 3-0 won by fall over Angela Peacock (Kotzebue High School) 2-1 (Fall 3:24)
160 – Nathan Carstens (Nikiski High School) 32-3 won by decision over T McBurnette (Ketchikan High School) 22-4 (Dec 9-8)
182 – Lyric Wiggins (Mt. Edgecumbe High School) 2-0 won by fall over Agatha Andrews (Mt. Edgecumbe High School) 1-1 (Fall 3:54)
220 – Luke Johnson (Nikiski High School) 27-0 won by major decision over Stephen Hyatt (Kotzebue High School) 22-7 (MD 9-1)
Third place matches
98 – (semifinal) Alex Moseley (Homer) 1-0 won by fall over Royale Lowe (Mt. Edgecumbe) 1-1 (Fall 1:17)
106 –Temyka Ayuluk (Chefornak) 3-1 won by decision over Shyan Horner (Houston High School) 2-2 (Dec 4-0)
120 – Hayley Akerelrea (Scammon Bay) 3-1 won by fall over Caitlin Konahok (Mt. Edgecumbe) 1-2 (Fall 1:54)
126 – Cynthia Kruger (Galena Hawks) 3-1 won by fall over Amber Wade (Bethel) 2-2 (Fall 4:05)
145 – Britnee Mills (Noatak) 3-1 won by fall over Elishah Naneng (Bethel High School) 2-2 (Fall 2:38)
160 – Melaine Chapman (Mt. Edgecumbe) 3-1 won by fall over Laura Ramoth (Selawik) 2-2 (Fall 1:00)
182 – (semifinal) Agatha Andrews (Mt. Edgecumbe) 1-0 won by forfeit over Rachel Phillip (Emmonak) 1-1 (For.)
220 – Ariel Akerlund (Mt. Edgecumbe) 2-1 won by decision over Evelyn Evans (Mt. Edgecumbe) 0-2 (Dec 10-5)
BOYS
Finals
98 – Thomas Dyment (Bethel) 35-4 won by decision over Curt Bartlett (Sitka) 22-2 (Dec 6-4)
106 – Tristen Evan (Bethel High School) 31-3 won by decision over Sean Tavares (Ketchikan High School) 19-2 (Dec 11-4)
113 – Gavin Maslen (Kotzebue High School) 25-0 won by decision over Jacob McAnulty (Houston High School) 28-7 (Dec 7-3)
120 – Gage Hoffman (Bethel High School) 39-4 won in sudden victory - 1 over TJ Cox (Nikiski High School) 32-10 (SV-1 3-1)
126 – Kenneth Savo (Dillingham High School) 21-9 won by decision over Brandon Evans (Bethel High School) 39-9 (Dec 7-4)
132 – Michael Lucas (Holy Rosary Academy) 35-3 won by decision over Cody Greene (Valdez High School) 29-5 (Dec 8-2)
138 – Marcus Martin (Ketchikan High School) 32-0 won by decision over Leif Erikson (Nome High School) 33-2 (Dec 6-3)
145 – Emery Booshu (Nome High School) 34-0 won by decision over Gary Eakin (Kotzebue High School) 28-4 (Dec 11-4)
152 – Spencer Woods (Kotzebue High School) 30-2 won by decision over Tylor Handley (Nikiski High School) 28-8 (Dec 4-1)
160 – Nathan Carstens (Nikiski High School) 32-3 won by decision over T McBurnette (Ketchikan High School) 22-4 (Dec 9-8)
170 – Zach Haviland (Kotzebue High School) 35-0 won by fall over Luther Jenson (Thorne Bay High School) 28-5 (Fall 5:21)
182 – Josh Roetman (Kotzebue High School) 34-0 won by fall over Oliver Hoogendorn (Nome High School) 18-11 (Fall 1:11)
195 – Nate Fousel (Ketchikan High School) 25-1 won by decision over Drew Nanouk (Kotzebue High School) 22-6 (Dec 9-3)
220 – Luke Johnson (Nikiski High School) 27-0 won by major decision over Stephen Hyatt (Kotzebue High School) 22-7 (MD 9-1)
285 – Paul Johanson (Mt. Edgecumbe High School) 22-0 won by fall over Marshall Pinard (Susitna Valley High School) 13-4 (Fall 3:07)
Third place matches
98 – Orion Heller (Wrangell) 16-5 won by fall over Mathew Hunter (Bethel) 23-9 (Fall 4:34)
106 – Jared Virgin (Glennallen) 31-3 won by major decision over Kavan Weinberger (Houston) 19-8 (MD 9-0)
113 – Buddy Stalmach (Petersburg) 31-3 won by decision over Ian Jenson (Wrangell) 19-11 (Dec 8-5)
120 – Shannon LeMay (Anchorage Christian School) 29-4 won by decision over Jared Brant (Homer) 24-13 (Dec 5-0)
126 – Manny Budke (Hoonah) 34-4 won by fall over Aaron Drake (Houston) 39-2 (Fall 2:41)
132 – Aaron Olsen (Bethel) 36-12 won in sudden victory - 1 over Colton Sieh (Kotzebue) 29-9 (SV-1 3-1)
138 – Timmy Woo (Homer) 29-7 won by decision over Scott Williams (Napaskiak) 14-4 (Dec 7-2)
145 – Hunter Boyer (Thunder Mountain) 32-8 won in tie breaker - 1 over Gavril Kalugin (Voznesenka) 25-7 (TB-1 5-1)
152 – Wyatt Patten (Craig) 20-9 won in tie breaker - 1 over William Ware (Petersburg) 23-6 (TB-1 8-5)
160 –Cole Schlagel (Dillingham) 15-3 won by decision over Tristen Cook (Homer) 23-12 (Dec 5-3)
170 – Patrick Francisco (Bethel) 30-5 won by major decision over Arrin Paul (Houston) 26-9 (MD 14-2)
182 – Jeffrey Rooney Jr. (Wrangell) 22-4 won by major decision over Cody Weldon (Juneau-Douglas) 14-7 (MD 9-0)
195 – Caleb Nay (Dillingham) 34-6 won by medical forfeit over John McCormick (Nikiski) 22-10 (M. For.)
220 – Kendel Beasley (Houston) 25-10 won in sudden victory - 1 over Tua Mila (Barrow) 22-4 (SV-1 5-3)
285 – Rick Johnson (Thunder Mountain) 19-6 won by decision over Tyler Scott (Anchorage Christian School) 26-10 (Dec 5-1)
Past State Champions
YearClass 1-2-3A
2013-14 Bethel
2012-13 Bethel
2011-12 Bethel
2010-11 Bethel
2009-10 Dillingham
2008-09 Petersburg
2007-08 ACS
2006-07 Dillingham
2005-06 Dillingham
2004-05 ACS
2003-04 ACS
2002-03 Bethel
2001-02 Skyview
2000-01 Skyview
1999-2000 Seward
1998-99 Nikiski
1997-98 Nikiski
1996-97 Nikiski
1995-96 Nikiski
1994-95 Kotzebue
1993-94 ACS
1992-93 Bethel
1991-92 Eielson
1990-91 Eielson
1989-90 Eielson
1988-89 Eielson
1987-88 Eielson
1986-87 Valdez
1985-86 Homer
1984-85 North Pole (Division I); Homer (Division II)
1983-84 Glennallen (Division I); Service (Division II)
1982-83 Glennallen (Division I); Service (Division II)
1981-82 Homer (Division I); Service (Division II)
1980-81 Eielson (Division I); West (Division II)
1979-80 Petersburg (Division I); Kenai (Division II)
1978-79 Kenai Central (one classification)
1977-78 West Valley (one classification)
1976-77 West Valley (one classification)
1975-76 Service (one classification)
1974-75 Service (one classification)
1973-74 Chugiak & Lathrop (one classification)