Colony wrestling coach Fred McKenney only wears his Scottish kilt on special occasions, like weddings.
"This was a special occasion," McKenney said Saturday.
It was indeed. Colony won its first state wrestling title in dominating fashion at Chugiak High, outdistancing second-place Chugiak by nearly 60 points.
And Colony senior Hollan Gravley joined an elite club, pinning South's Chris Brewster in the 135-pound match to become just the sixth Alaska wrestler to win four state titles.
The Knights were so dominant that they had the title effectively wrapped up after the morning consolation rounds. The points scored "on the backside" proved crucial, McKenney said, because he figured Chugiak, South and Wasilla, the teams most likely to catch the Knights, would win two titles.
They did. He also figured Colony to win two, which it did -- Gravley and Kyle Wilson at 112 in an all-Colony final against Aaron Boss.
"Those were the kids that won it," he said. "The kids that you don't see. They're not getting their hands raised in the center mat."
Teams with depth usually win state tournaments. Depth helped Wasilla win the past three state titles.
But when McKenney took over the Colony program in 2003, he had just eight wrestlers to coach.
At the start of this season, 80 packed the room.
Strength in the low weight classes powered Colony -- four of its six finalists were in weights lower than 135 pounds.
James Savage was a finalist at heavyweight.
Gravley, who will wrestle for Division II Western State College of Colorado next season, joined Chugiak's Gary Steeby, West Valley's Matt Mattson and David Wiese, Wasilla's Jed Wade and Skyview's Eli Hutchison in winning four state titles. He previously won at 130, 125 and 112 pounds.
"I always had a goal to win four, even as a freshman," Gravley said on Friday after his semifinal match.
Prior to the finals, Colony assistant coach Tony Olivera began to contemplate life without the long, braided ponytail he's worn for the past 12 years. Last season, after Colony finished seventh at state, he made a promise to his wrestlers to clip it off should Colony win a state championship.
Olivera glanced at the team scores and sighed.
"Well, it looks like I'm going to lose it," he said.
Saturday's finals
• 103 pounds -- East's Nathan Hoffer capped off a strong freshman season by pinning Colony's Chase Montgomery at 1:53. Hoffer, the Cook Inlet Conference titlist, finished the season 35-4. Montgomery, also a freshman and the Northern Lights Conference champion, finished 23-2.
• 112 pounds -- In an all-Colony final, Kyle Wilson prevented Aaron Boss from escaping in double overtime to win a 4-3 decision. Boss led 3-2, but was called for stalling with less than five seconds remaining, giving a point to Wilson and sending the match to overtime. Wilson, a sophomore and the Northern Lights Conference champion, finished 39-4. Boss, a junior, finished 21-3.
• 119 pounds -- With a big Wasilla contingent waving signs like "Italian Stallion" and cheering him on, Alan Bartelli defeated Colony's Josh West 5-0 to win his third state title. Bartelli, a senior, won titles at 112 last year and 103 as a sophomore. He finished his high school career with a 170-11 record. West finished 27-5.
• 125 pounds -- Kodiak's Jimmy Eggemeyer squashed the Cinderalla story of the tournament, defeating unseeded Mike Chafin of Wasilla 5-0. Chafin, who finished fifth at state last season and has never won a conference title, upset second-seeded Dante Santos of Juneau-Douglas in the first round. Eggemeyer, a runner-up at 112 last season, finished 40-0 for his junior year.
• 130 pounds -- Dimond's Frank Holdburg pulled off a big upset in the match of the evening, throwing Homer's Simeon Daigle for a takedown and nearfall with four seconds left to win 8-4. Holdburg, the Cook Inlet Conference champion, finished 34-8. Daigle, a senior and champion last season at 125, finished 41-4.
• 135 pounds -- Colony's Hollan Gravley won his fourth state title quickly, pinning South's Chris Brewster at 1:19. Gravley, a senior who will attend Division II Western State College of Colorado, finished his high school career 153-9. Brewster, a senior and two-time CIC champ, finished 37-6.
• 140 pounds -- Wasilla's Duane Carpenter finally won a state title after finishing second last season and third the year prior. Carpenter, a senior, pinned North Pole's Josh Witcher at 1:03. He ended his high school career with a 153-31 record. Witcher, the Mid-Alaska Conference champion, finished his senior year 28-5.
• 145 pounds -- In a rematch of the CIC final, West's Max Rosefigura scored a 9-4 decision over Chugiak's Quincy Voris to win his second state title. Rosefigura, a senior, won last season at 140. He finished this season 55-3 with 43 pins. Voris ended his junior year 32-7.
• 152 pounds -- Dimond's Zach Shelley became the rare wrestler to win titles in two classifications, and did it in dramatic fashion in defeating Juneau's Matt Barry 7-5. Shelley, who won state titles at 140 and 135 for Anchorage Christian School, muscled Barry to the mat for a takedown and nearfall with 35 seconds remaining. Shelley finished his senior year 15-2. Barry, a senior and two-time Southeast Conference champ, ended up 25-3.
• 160 pounds -- As the home crowd counted off the final seconds, Chugiak sophomore Nolan McBryde held on to defeat South senior Mike Hunsicker 10-6 for the Mustangs' first title of the evening. McBryde finished 32-7. Hunsicker, who missed much of this season with injuries, finished 13-2.
• 171 pounds -- Jessy Amos won South's only title, scoring a 9-4 decision against Dimond's Danny Kuhn. Amos, a junior and the CIC champ, finished 43-2. Kuhn finished his senior year 43-10.
• 189 pounds -- In a tense and tight contest between two state champions, Chugiak's Cayle Byers scored a takedown with 43 seconds remaining in overtime to defeat West Valley's Jeremy Fulk 3-1. Byers, a senior who won at 171 last season, ended the year 36-1. Fulk, the winner at 160 last season, finished 30-3.
• 215 pounds -- West Valley's Dustin Baxter earned his second state title, winning a tough 5-4 decision over East's Andrew Wilson. Baxter, a senior, was a runner up at 171 last season and won the 152-pound title as a sophomore. He ended his senior year 34-0. Wilson, a junior, finished 25-3.
• Heavyweight -- North Pole's Max Collins won one of the closest matches of the evening, taking down Colony's James Savage with 17 seconds left in sudden-death overtime to win 5-3. Savage, a senior, trailed 3-2 in regulation and desperately tried for the winning takedown. Collins was docked one point for stalling at the buzzer, tying the match. Savage, a senior, finished 24-4, while Collins, also a senior, finished 36-2.
Daily News reporter Ron Wilmot can be reached at rwilmot@adn.com or 1-907-352-6712.
ASAA/First National Bank
Class 4A State Wrestling Meet
At Chugiak High
Saturday's results
Team scores -- 1) Colony, 229.5; 2) Chugiak, 170; 3) South, 128; 4) Wasilla, 116; 5) Juneau-Douglas and Dimond (tie), 102; 7) Palmer, 93; 8) East, 88; 9) Lathrop, 87; 10) North Pole, 85.5; 11) West Valley, 80; 12) Kodiak, 77.5; 13) Soldotna, 57.5; 14) West, 48; 15) Homer and Kenai (tie) 36; 17) Service, 22.5; 18) Ketchikan, 21; 19) Eagle River, 18; 20) Skyview, 17.5; 21) Bartlett, 5; 22) Sitka, 0.
Third-place matches
103 pounds -- Romero, P, d. Coisman, Co., 4-2 3OT.
112 -- Ricketts, Ser., d. Hutchison, Sky., 11-6.
119 -- Sullivan, Ch., d. L. Shelley, D, 4-2.
125 -- Santos, JD, d. Thirakul, E, 8-6.
130 -- Carlyle, P, m.d. Mills, P, 9-0.
135 -- Fried, Kod., d. Baldwin, Chu., 6-0.
140 -- Stahler, P, d. Martel, Col., 9-7.
145 -- L. Jutila, NP, d. Kruger, Col., 3-2.
152 -- Tol, Chu., d. B. Hunsicker, So., 3-2.
160 -- Williamson, So., m.d. Savland, JD, 9-1.
171 -- Benton, Pal., d. Cratty, Kod., 5-4.
189 -- Dormandy, Ken., p. Osborn, L, 4:43.
215 -- R. McBryde, Chu., p. Fan, Col., 4:13.
HWT -- Baker, Sol., d. Mason, JD, 5-4.
Fifth-place matches
103 -- Moore, Sky., d. Tupper, L, 7-6; 112 -- B. Daigle, H, d. Martin, Ket., 2-1; 119 -- Hughes, L, d. Maxwell, E, 12-5; 125 -- Beauchamp, Col., d. Kichura, Chu., 3-2; 130 -- Hicks, L, d. Lyles, Was., 7-2; 135 -- Demientieff, L, m.d. S. Jutila, NP, 9-1; 140 -- Williams, ER, p. Eller, P, 5:00; 145 -- Roberts, Wes., p. Jensen, Was., 1:57; 152 -- Morris, Sol., d. Pestrikoff, D, 3-0; 160 -- Gagnon, Was., d. Anthony, Kod., 4-2; 171 -- Japhet, Sol., d. Keerey, JD, 4-3; 189 -- Zimmerman, JD, d. Bressler, NP, 3-2; 215 -- Phillips, WV, m.d. Strieby, Sol., 16-7; HWT -- Kir, So., d. Lorens, WV, 7-3.
