Nathan Hoffer and 29 other Alaska wrestlers almost didn't make it to the high school wrestling national tournament in Virginia Beach, thanks to last week's ash fall from Mount Redoubt.
And Hoffer almost didn't win in the 140-pound championship round.
But after a late arrival to the East Coast, the junior pulled out a come-from-behind victory and claimed the National High School Wrestling Championship for prep juniors.
Winning isn't new to the East High wrestler, who is Alaska's three-time state champion and a third-year returner to the national competition.
But the prestigious victory still hadn't sunk in a few hours after he came off the mat at the Virginia Beach Convention Center.
"I'm in shock," said Hoffer, who won five matches before the championship match against Missouri's Drake Houdashelt.
After the first period against Houdashelt, the Alaskan was down 4-1.
"I was really scared (after the first period)," said Hoffer, who managed to narrow the gap to 5-4 by the end of the second period.
Nathan's father and coach Mark Hoffer didn't get to watch the first two periods of the match because another Alaskan wrestler needed a coach for a coinciding match.
"I felt so conflicted, I thought I was going to cry," said Mark, who made it back in time to watch his son's dramatic finish.
Down with 35 seconds left in the third and final period, Hoffer caught Houdashelt in a headlock and held him, boosting his score by five points.
Houdashelt wriggled free, earning another point, but Hoffer prevailed 10-7.
In his second match of the tournament, Hoffer faced New York's Division I high school state champion, Andy Rodriguez, and won 6-5.
Hoffer said he was happy his didn't know his opponent's credentials until after the match.
The new champ isn't the only Alaskan to come home with All-American honors.
In the freshman competition, 130-pound Chugiak Ben Sullivan finished third; Wasilla's Caleb Pempek, 145 pounds, finished fourth; and Valdez's Justin Allen, 160 pounds, finished fifth.
Quace Wright, a 165-pound seventh-grader from Wasilla's Teeland Middle School took second place in his division.
Considering the trip's rocky start, those high finishes were even more remarkable.
The Virginia-bound bunch was originally booked on a 9:30 p.m. flight out of Anchorage on Thursday, but couldn't make it out because of the ash fall.
So the group made the most of their extra time and squeezed in an extra practice at East High. Then they crashed at their coach's home.
Mark Hoffer went on a food run.
"I had to go to Costco and bought 30 pounds of chicken," said Hoffer, who fed and housed 18 wrestlers plus three extra adults in his Anchorage home.
"I had to be creative. You can only cook chicken breasts so many ways," he said.
To fuel the weight and strength-conscious athletes, Hoffer invested in "enormous cans of tuna, plus salads, plus tons of water," he said.
After four more days of wondering if they'd get to compete, the boys were booked on a Monday night flight to Washington, D.C., where they arrived around noon on Tuesday.
Once in vans, the Alaskans drove to Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, where they took a bathroom break, changed into workout clothes, and began a two-hour practice.
"They're tough kids," said Mark Hoffer, who hopes for a smoother return.
Daily News Reporter Heather March can be reached at hmarch@adn.com or call her at 257-4335.
By HEATHER MARCH
hmarch@adn.com