Alan Bartelli stepped onto the mat Saturday night with the crowd against him. He was wrestling Michaela Hutchison of Skyview, the first girl in Alaska history to make it to the championship round.
Amid shouts of "Go, Michaela!" heard from the packed bleachers, Bartelli admitted that the pressure was intense. Not only was he trying to get himself a win, but he was trying to help Wasilla win its second straight team title.
"I was a little nervous going out," he said. "You got to get it started off."
What a way for Bartelli to start it off. He pinned Hutchison in 1:58, and the Warriors soon wrapped up their second consecutive Class 4A state wrestling championship, which ended late Saturday night at Chugiak High.
"It was a good boost for our team," Bartelli said of his victory, the first of two for Wasilla in the championship round.
Though she lost, Hutchison gave girls wrestling a boost. With her runner-up finish, she placed higher than any girl at an Alaska state tournament, and she left the gym Saturday night resolved to win a state title next season.
The Wasilla wrestlers spent all day -- through the consolation rounds and into the championship finals -- resolved to make it two straight.
Though the Warriors would win just one more individual title -- Jake Wade at 171 -- the Warriors simply had too much depth and too much experience for their nearest competitor, the South Wolverines.
Wasilla compiled 179 points, followed by South with 149. West Valley, with a tournament-high three champions, was third with 113.5, and Skyview was fourth with 107.5.
"It's pretty sweet," Bartelli.
What's also sweet for Wasilla coach Shawn Hayes is knowing that most of his wrestlers are back next season.
"We got our whole crew back," he said.
Wasilla's repeat was one of many major feats. Five wrestlers won their third state title -- Skyview's Eli Hutchison (135), West Valley's Kaylen Baxter (145), West Valley's David Wiese (160), Bartlett's Bobby Dunbar (215) and Ketchikan's Jon Hamilton (heavyweight).
Dunbar won his first two while wrestling at Anchorage Christian School, and he took his third in convincing fashion with a major decision over Jake Ritter of Juneau.
Eli Hutchison and Wiese, meanwhile, also won big, and they're both back next season with a chance to win four. They would join the list of just three wrestlers to have four-peated.
Here's what happened in the championship round:
103 pounds -- Alan Bartelli of Wasilla ended Michaela Hutchison's bid to become the first girls state champion in Alaska when he pinned the Skyview freshman at 1:58. Bartelli, the runner-up last year at this weight, was ranked No. 1 this season, and he earned the first set of championship points for Wasilla.
112 -- Juneau's Sungie Musarra overcame a quick takedown and rallied for a 6-2 decision against Theron Apodaca of Bartlett. Musarra, who didn't allow Apodaca to score after the opening seconds, was ranked No. 2 at season's end. Apodaca was ranked No. 3.
119 -- Colony's Dusty Killian, last year's runner-up at 119, met Wasilla's Clayton Schmidling in this all-Valley final. And Killian, ranked No. 1 in the state, prevailed with a 7-5 come-from-behind decision. Down 2-0 midway through first period, Killian scored a huge reversal and three-point near-fall to take command. He finished 30-0 in Alaska this season.
125 -- Top-ranked Hollan Gravley gave Colony its second championship victory in as many tries with his 6-3 decision over third-ranked Matt Blakeslee of South. Gravley, ranked No. 1 and the defending state champ at 112, finished the season 42-3 and improved to 80-4 in his career.
130 -- West's Ira Carson posted the Cook Inlet Conference's first win of the night with his 12-3 major decision over Wasilla's Duane Carpenter. Carson, ranked No. 3 in the state, controlled the match from the opening seconds to the final seconds, when he notched a three-point near fall as time expired. Carson had already beaten this class' No. 1-ranked wrestler, Clifton Ivanoff of Kodiak, in the semifinals.
135 -- Eli Hutchison did it again. With two titles to his credit -- at 112 as a freshman and 119 as a sophomore -- the Skyview junior, ranked No. 1 in the state, pinned second-ranked Max Rosefigura of West at 4:58. Hutchison held a slight lead most of the match then took over midway through the final period with a lightning-quick pin.
140 -- Bartlett's Shane Manuel put last season's disappointing runner-up finish at 130 behind him with a 9-8 decision over Soldotna's Brandy Goracke. Manuel, ranked No. 1, scored a takedown with less than 10 seconds remaining for the one-point win. He finished the season 39-3 overall and 33-0 in Alaska. Goracke was third last year at 140
145 -- Kaylen Baxter of West Valley made it three titles out of four tries with his 15-4 major decision over Jordan Dubuisson of South. Baxter, the defending champion at 140 who also won at 103 as a freshman, proved worthy of his No. 1 ranking with a convincing win over the third-ranked Dubuisson. Baxter wrapped up a standout wrestling career with a 137-7 all-time record. Dubuisson finished the season 40-6.
152 -- Dustin Baxter, Kaylen's younger brother, earned the second title of the night for the Baxter family and for West Valley with his 5-2 decision over top-ranked Trevor Pempek of Wasilla. Baxter, ranked No. 3 in the state, beat second-ranked Eddie Buffington of Skyview in the semis. Baxter registered a crowd-pleasing takedown midway through the second period and held Pempek on the mat for the remainder, notching a three-point near fall that gave Baxter a 5-1 lead. Pempek last year wrestled for Palmer and was runner-up at 145.
160 -- How about 3 for 3? In two different ways. David Wiese completed a trifecta of West Valley wins in the championship round with a 28-13 technical fall against Wade Wilson of South. Wiese also captured his third straight individual title in three years. He won at 145 last year. Wiese finished the season 35-0 and improved to 98-7 for his career with one season left to wrestle. As a wrestler at Service last season, Wilson was runner-up at 152.
171 -- Wasilla's Jake Wade scored a 7-2 decision over Marcus Lopez of South. Wade, ranked No. 1 in the state all season, had little trouble with Lopez. "I was just trying to pick away at him a little bit at a time," Wade said. It was Wade's second straight title at 171.
189 -- Chugiak's Steve Willburn had the home crowd on his side when he took the mat. Soon he had South's Scott Lucas on his back. Willburn pinned South's Scott Lucas at 3:24 to the delight of the Mustang faithful. Willburn was ranked No. 1 in the state all season and pinned Lucas in last weekend's CIC meet.
215 -- Bartlett's Bobby Dunbar, who won back-to-back 215-pound titles at ACS as a sophomore and junior, had no trouble winning his first 4A title. He posted a 14-3 major decision over Juneau's Jake Ritter.
HWT -- Ketchikan's Jon Hamilton, the two-time defending heavyweight champion and the No. 1 ranked wrestler in his class, needed sudden death to edge South's Mike Petrovich. Hamilton won a 4-3 decision when he scored an escape near the end of the second overtime.
Daily News reporter Eric Smith can be reached at esmith@adn.com or 257-4335.
ASAA/First National Bank Alaska
Class 4A State Wrestling Championships
At Chugiak High
Saturday's Results
Final Team Scores -- 1) Wasilla 179; 2) South 149; 3) West Valley 113.5; 4) Skyview 107.5; 5) Juneau 104; 6) Chugiak 100; 7) Colony 96; 8) Lathrop 77; 9) West 74.5; 10) Kodiak 73.5; 11) Sitka 73; 12) Bartlett 68; 13) Ketchikan 52; 14) Soldotna 43; 15) Homer 36.5; 16) North Pole 24; 17) Dimond 15; 18) Palmer 11; 19) East 8; 20) Service 1.
Most Outstanding Wrestlers -- Ira Carson, West; David Wiese, West Valley.
Third-place matches
103 pounds -- Dante Santos, Jun, d. Jimmy Eggemeyer, Kod, 5-2.
112 -- Gerry Carrillo, Jun, d. Simeon Daigle, Hom, 3-1.
119 -- Jordan Saceda, Jun, d. Jim Jurczak, Sit, 4-2.
125 -- Ted Nelvis, West, d. Sam Carlson, Chu, 3-1.
130 -- Clifton Ivanoff, Kod, d. George Wathen, Sit, 4-2.
135 -- Ceasar Barrera, Was, d. Camron Hagen, Hom, 12-9.
140 -- Brandon Stoner, Lat, d. Cayle Byers, Chu, 3-2.
145 -- Clark Buffington, Sky, p. Mike Trudeau, Was, 3:26.
152 -- Dylan Bergman, Sit, d. Eddie Buffington, Sky, 8-6.
160 -- Iain Brown, Ket, d. James Geffe, Chu, 9-3.
171 -- Steve O'Brien, Kod, d. Tyler Wehrli, Sky, 6-5.
189 -- Dan Neetz, WV, d. Jake LaDuke, Sit, 7-2.
215 -- Josiah Bush, NP, d. Dominick Bellotte, Col, 3-1.
HWT -- Tyler Holmlund, Sit, d. Jaryd Anderson, South, 7-1.
Fifth-place matches
103 -- Andrew Van Asdoll, Col, p. Chris Brewster, South, :09.
112 -- Lucas Fried, Kod, won by forfeit over Sam Miller, Was.
119 -- Steven Guana, Kod, d. Brian Dennehy, South, 8-7.
125 -- Cody Wolf, Jun, d. Lucas Chambers, Sit, 9-2.
130 -- Daniel Tol, Chu, d. Dennis Achman, Lat, 6-0.
135 -- Kenneth Hockmuth, Kod, d. Nathan Williamson, South, 5-4.
140 -- Matt Barry, Jun, d. James Hughes, Lat, 5-2.
145 -- Scott Curry, Lat, m.d. Jason Koeling, Sit, 12-3.
152 -- Brad Jorgensen, Chu, d. Jeremy Fulk, WV, 5-0.
160 -- Chuck Carpenter, Was, p. Andrew Brown, Lat, 4:41.
171 -- Chris Pannone, Chu, p. Josh Carlon, Sky, 2:08.
189 -- Justin Zellweger, West, won by forfeit over Donald Morris, WV.
215 -- Nathan Graetz, Lat, d. Bo Dinstel, WV, 8-6.
HWT -- Sean Whitmore, Sol, won by forfeit over James Savage, Col.
