Sports

South still unsatisfied after winning big at CIC wrestling tourney

South opened and closed the finals of the Cook Inlet Conference wrestling tournament in victorious fashion Saturday at Chugiak High.

The Wolverines got a win in the opening match when Greg Shack earned an individual title. The Wolverines got a win in the final match to walk away with seven individual champions, an overall team title — and a mission.

"The kids are excited but the state tournament is the most important one," said South coach Tom Ritchie, whose team racked up 403.5 team points to best second-place Service by more than 150 points.

Shack outlasted East's Brenan Powell in the 126-pound finals. A two-time state champion, Shack said he's hoping to get a top seed at state – and to eventually reach the top of the podium.

"Hopefully I'll be ranked No. 1 and I'm hoping for the same outcome as this tournament," he said.

Teammate Noah Ottum, who won a title at 138 pounds, said South must be on its game to have a chance to earn a team title at the Class 4A state meet, where teams like Northern Lights Conference champion Colony may be standing in the Wolverines' way.

"We all have to wrestle as a unit if we want to win state," he said.

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Colony won the NLC title by racking up 387 team points on Saturday, edging Wasilla by 15.5 points. In Fairbanks, North Pole won the Mid Alaska championship, piling up 286 points to defeat Lathrop (225.3) and West Valley (167).

Ritchie said he thinks his team is deep enough to challenge the Mat-Su powers for the overall championship next weekend at Chugiak.

"We've got a good front line and if we wrestle to our capability we'll be in the hunt," Ritchie said.

East had three individual champions, the only team besides South with multiple champs. West, Eagle River, Chugiak, Bartlett and Service each had one.

Eagle River's Marcus Amico upset top-seeded Rami Pellumbi of South at 152 pounds to earn the Most Outstanding Wrestler award. Service's Alex Jefferies was named the CIC's Coach of the Year.

While the Wolverines left with the big trophy, others celebrated smaller — but arguably just as important — victories.

Bartlett senior Jared Braudis earned his first CIC title with a 3-2 win over Service's Mario Herrera. The victory was the first individual title for the Golden Bears since Herrera's freshman season.

"It's my first accomplishment in wrestling," Braudis said.

Bartlett coach Brian Foss said he has had to work to convince athletes why they should come out for wrestling.

"Wrestling is not an easy sport," Foss said. "It's not something you play."

But it can be extremely rewarding, Braudis said.

"It makes me feel like all the hard work has paid off," he said. "... I want to make sure I work hard this whole next week," he said.

East's Andrew Gold echoed those sentiments. After winning his match at 195 pounds, the T-birds wrestler emphatically yelled "East side!" — and immediately got a loud "T-birds!" reply.

"Tons of East side pride," Gold said.

Gold fought through a shoulder injury this season, and said he couldn't have done it without the support of his teammates.

"We're a family," he said.

West sophomore Valeriy Shuman celebrated his win at 98 pounds in unusual fashion — he went into the hallway and ran sprints. The second-year wrestler and first-time CIC champion pinned Service's Kobe Blackwell in 1 minute, 43 second, but said extra work is needed if he wants to continue to improve.

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"I just hate to lose," Shuman said.

Here's how the CIC's finals matches played out:

125 — South's Shack took East's Powell down once in the first period and allowed an escape in the second to take a 2-1 lead into the final period. Then he got a reversal and a near-fall to earn a 6-1 victory.

132 — South won its second finals match when Gavin Alvarado won a narrow decision over Service's Josh Fetko. Alvarado led 6-2 in the third period before a late Fetko escape cut the lead to 6-4, the final score.

138 — South's Ottum caught East's Aric Kennedy with a cross arm tilt and got a mat slap just 1:25 into their match for his first CIC title. "You don't usually get a pin out of that, but this time I did," he said.

145 — Eagle River's Amico got a takedown with eight seconds left to pull out an 8-6 win over South's Pellumbi. Pellumbi's only previous losses came to Class 3A champion Emory Booshu of Nome, who became a four-time state champ earlier this season.

152 — South took its third win in four matches when Zachary Ritchie held off Bartlett's Jordan Pace for a tight 3-2 win. Pace tried to earn a winning takedown several times, but Ritchie was able to hold off his frantic advances as time expired.

160 — Chugiak's Brandon Lowe gave the home fans something to cheer when he used a vice-like head-and-arm to cinch a win over West's Chardo Elliott. Lowe rode Elliott the entire second period, leaving the match scoreless going into the third. Lowe started in the down position and immediately got away for the escape and a 1-0 lead. He then took down Elliott down and kept him on his back for much of the final minute. Elliott showed some serious gumption by keeping his right shoulder off the mat to avoid the pin

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170 — A first-period takedown by Bartlett's Braudis was the difference in the 3-2 win over Service's Herrera. Each wrestler earned an escape in the match, making Braudis' early points stand up.

182 — Top-ranked Abraham Correra-Medina gave South its fourth individual champion when he earned a 15-4 major decision over Service's Emetrius McLeod.

195 — East junior Andrew Gold led throughout against top-seeded Jesse Nelson of Chugiak. Gold took a 5-3 lead into the final round, then rode Nelson out for his first CIC championship.

220 — The T-birds took back-to-back titles when top seed Keahi Queja outlasted Chugiak's Blake Johnson for a 4-2 win. Queja had the match's only takedown, although he cost his team a point when he was nicked for unsportsmanlike conduct after the match.

285 — Service's Nicholas Stevens got a third-period escape and takedown to outlast East's Keanu King. Trailing 1-0, King took the initiative to shoot and it cost him when Stevens side-stepped and fell on top. That score was the slow match's lone highlight until King earned a last-second reversal that made it 3-2.

98 — Shuman's pin of Service's Blackwell in 103 seconds gave the West wrestler his biggest career win. Shuman, who finished fourth at state in 2014, said he has high hopes for the future. "You have to work hard, and my coaches are helping me out all the time to get better," he said.

106 — East's William Todd put West's Jaidyn Bianchi on his back with 59 seconds left and didn't let go, earning the pin and East's third individual championship.

113 — South sophomore Scott Harris dominated Eagle River's William Salter, repeatedly taking down Salter in a 17-4 major decision.

120 — South's Glover broke a 4-4 third-period tie with Service's Quest Lema by earning a takedown with just more than a minute to go. Lema earned two points for a reversal, sending Glover limping on a gimpy left knee. Lema let Glover up, and Glover earned another takedown to make it 9-6. Lema earned an escape and a stalling point against Glover, but it wasn't enough. Glover came away with a 9-8 win.

Contact reporter Matt Tunseth at 257-4335 or mtunseth@alaskadispatch.com

Team scores

1) South 403.5; 2) Service, 249.5; 3) East, 218.5; 4) Chugiak 212; 5) West, 193; 6) Bartlett, 169; 7) Eagle River, 126; 8) Dimond, 99.5.

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Placewinners (advance to state meet)

98 – 1) Valeriy Shuman, W; 2) Kobe Blackwell, Ser; 3) Alecsander Wolfert, ER; 4) Brenden Rogers, D; 5) Anthony Gabriel, B; 6) Thomas Fitzgerald, West

106 – 1) William Todd, E; 2) Jaidyn Bianchi, W; 3) Jeremy Briones, W; 4) David Lincoln, Sou; 5) Oscar Garcia, B; 6) Joe Fetko, D

113 – 1) Scott Harris, Sou; 2) William Salter, ER; 3) Rafael Rivera, W; 4) Riley Demboski, C; 5) Victoria Treader, W; 6) Joe Tung, D

120 – 1) Matt Glover, Sou; 2) Quest Lema, Ser; 3) Jack Divelbiss, D; 4) Grant Barkhurst, ER; 5) Lane Varnadoe, ER; 6) Azariah Sims, W

126 – 1) Greg Shack, Sou; 2) Brenan Powell, E; 3) riley Stewman, Sou; 4) Auston Vreeland, D; 5) Slava Hoffman, Ser; 6) Justin Toth, ER

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132 – 1) Gavin Alvarado, Sou; 2) Josh Fetko, Ser; 3) Andrew Concepcion, Sou; 4) Mason Xiong, E; 5) Kyle Madrid, B; 6) Jason Wilcoxen, B

138 – 1) Noah Ottum, Sou; 2) Aric Kennedy, E; 3) Slade Lindsoe, Ser; 4) Ryan Stewman, Sou; 5) Edgar Villasenor, D; 6) TJ Limbo, W

145 – 1) Marcus Amico, ER; 2) Rami Pellumbi, Sou; 3) Alex Kennedy, E; 4) Jesse Sanders, Sou; 5) Eric Larionoff, C; 6) Dustin Holta, C

152 – 1) Zach Ritchie, Sou; 2) Jordan Pace, B; 3) Jon Todd, E; 4) Nick Mayser, W; 5) Jacob Butler, C; 6) Logan Nerland, Sou

160 – 1) Brandon Lowe, Chu; 2) Chardo Elliott, W; 3) Chris Weidner, W; 4) Hunter Myers, B; 5) Dawson Budke, C; 6) Kaden Caldarera, Ser

170 – 1) Jared Braudis, B; 2) Mario Herrera, Ser; 3) Colt Jury, C; 4) Joshua King, E; 5) Gabe McSharry, Sou; 6) Toren Cheely, C

182 – 1) Abraham Correa-Medina, Sou; 2) Emetrius McLeod, Ser; 3) Joseph Waller, C; 4) Ryan Bankston, Sou; 5) Cole Phelps, Ser; 6) Oscar Lugo, B

195 – 1) Andrew Gold, E; 2) Jesse Nelson, C; 3) Hunter Fanning, Ser; 4) Michael Martinez, Ser; 5) Jovoni Martinez, W; 6) Tyler Cross, Sou

220 – 1) Keahi Queja, E; 2) Blake Johnston, C; 3) Elisha Wright, Sou; 4) Matt Keogh, Sou; 5) Evan Bruso, B; 6) Monty Vaaia, Ser

285 – 1) Nichoals Stevens, Ser; 2) Keanu King, East; 3) Wyatt Bruso, B; 4) Shawn Street, Sou; 5) Brandon Pili, D; 6) Hekili Fomai, Ser

Matt Tunseth

Matt Tunseth is a former reporter for the Anchorage Daily News and former editor of the Alaska Star.

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