The Soldotna and Kenai Central wrestling squads racked up top-10 finishes at the 2015 Glenn Vandergaw Invitational tournament in Anchorage.
Soldotna took home eighth place in the 17-team tournament with 63 points, while Kenai placed 10th overall with 58 points.
Austin Craig led the Stars with a championship victory in the 113-pound title bout, winning an 8-3 decision over South’s Scott Harris.
Ryan Winter claimed the third-place match in the 132-pound division, claiming a 14-11 decision over Troy Newland of Wasilla. Bailey Blumentritt also took home a bronze in the 160-pound third-place bout, winning a 3-2 decision over Chugiak’s Brandon Lowe.
Kenai’s lone champion was Ellery Steffensen at 152 pounds. Steffensen pinned South’s Zach Ritchie with seven seconds left in the first round.
Dylan Carter won the 170-pound third-place bout with a 3-1 decision over Bartlett’s Jared Braudis.
South Anchorage barely won the team title with a total of 143.5 points, while runner-up Colony came home with 142.
Team scores
1. South, 143.5; 2. Colony, 142; 3. Wasilla, 128; 4. Service, 90.5; 5. Kodiak, 84.5; 6. North Pole, 77; 7. Chugiak, 66; 8. Soldotna, 63; 9. Palmer, 62.5; 10. Kenai, 58; 11. East, 57; 12. Lathrop, 35; 13. West, 21; 14. West Valley, 19; 15. Bartlett, 16; 16. Dimond, 12; 17. Eagle River, 0.
Championship matches
98 — Robert Zimmerman, Col, pinned Gabe Whisman, Col, 1:41; 106 — Micah Mathis, Was, MFF over Dillon Simpson, Was; 113 — Austin Craig, Sol, dec. Scott Harris, Sou, 8-3; 120 — Berit Sturgeon, Was, dec. Joel Valdez, Kod, 11-9; 126 — Caleb Hopkins, Col, TB over Chace Booth, Col, 4-3; 132 — Levi Fried, Kod, dec. Gavin Alvarado, Sou, 9-2; 138 — Dew Rogers, NP, Inj. Wyatt McGann, Pal, 5:44; 145 — Rami Pellumbi, Sou, pinned Alex Kennedy, Eas, 6-2; 152 — Ellery Steffensen, Ken, pinned Zach Ritchie, Sou, 1:53; 160 — Kamber Lucas, Col, dec. Chardo Elliott, Wes, 10-4; 170 — DJ Morrow, Was, pinned Dawson Nash, Col, 5:07; 182 — Abraham Correa-Medina, Sou, dec. Austin Farris, Pal, 3-2; 195 — Jesse Nelson, Chu, dec. Austin Farris, Pal, 6-4; 220 — Ben Button, Pal, dec. Keahi Queja, Eas, 13-6; 285 — Nicholas Stevens, Ser, dec. Keanu King, Eas, 4-1.
