Redington sweeps Kachemak Conference wrestling titles

The Redington girls won a fifth straight title, while the Huskies boys won for the fourth time in five years, Saturday at the Kachemak Conference wrestling tournament in Seward.

The Redington girls scored 166 points for the victory, while Homer was the runner-up at 104. Also, Nikiski was third with 69, Seward was fourth with 68, Houston was fifth with 62 and Kenai Central was sixth with 57.5 points.

The Huskies boys won with 240.5 points, while Kenai Central, which won the conference in 2023, was the runner-up at 198.

Homer was third at 190.5, Grace Christian was fourth at 188.5, Seward was fifth at 138.5, Nikiski was sixth at 126, Houston was seventh with 75, Cordova was eighth with 59 and Mountain City Christian Academy was ninth with 34.

On the girls side, the Huskies won titles in two of the 12 weight classes. Ashlynn Akers at 100 pounds and Nikayla Miller at 185 got the titles for Redington, then the Huskies depth took care of the rest.

The Homer girls notched three titles in finishing second.

Homer head coach Bubba Wells, who was named the conference Coach of the Year, was just happy to be at the tournament.

The tournament was originally supposed to be Friday and Saturday, but with a big snowstorm in Homer, there was no way the Mariners were going to make it on Friday.

Seward head coach Brian Mullaly said he was actually out in the field for his job Friday and out of cellphone range, but his phone was buzzing once he got back in range.

He gave credit to assistant Nate Smith and Seward athletic director Ronn Hemstock putting in the work to change the event to one day so Homer could wrestle.

If that had not happened, no Homer wrestlers would have qualified automatically. All would have had to get in with at-large berths.

“I think everybody would have done that,” Mullaly said. “It makes it better for them not to have to beg for positions.

“These kids have been working all season.”

At 132 pounds, Saoirse Cook won the conference title for a third time and was named girls Most Outstanding Wrestler for the second straight year.

Christabelle Minke won at 114, beating teammate Storey Cook in the finals.

Jessie Adcox also won at 126. Wells said Adcox was injured in volleyball season and was able to win the title despite wrestling only three weeks.

Only the girls champions earned an automatic berth to state, but there are three at-large berths available.

Also for the Homer girls, Heather Shae was second at 107, Ryan Alcorta was sixth at 138 and Araya Andres was second at 185.

Shae and Storey Cook made state as at-large selections.

Nikiski had two girls champs in finishing third.

“Our girls wrestled their butts off in the finals,” Nikiski head coach Kaden Spurgeon said.

At 165, Elliana Isabell beat two state placers to take the title and lock up her first state berth.

“We’ve got team leaders, and she’s one of them,” Spurgeon said. “She exemplifies that in the practice room every day she’s there. I think she missed one practice all year.”

At 145, Addison Perkins was able to come out of volleyball and win a title.

At 132, Braylynn Young was able to stick with Saoirse Cook until Cook ran away in the third period for a 14-3 major decision.

Young made state as an at-large selection.

“Saoirse is a returning state champ and she was right there with her,” Spurgeon said.

Also for the Bulldogs, Jade Hemphill was fifth at 120 and Willow Lahndt was fifth at 126.

The Seward girls had two champs in finishing fourth.

“We had five girls coming in through the season,” Mullaly said. “For us, that’s the largest girls team we know of at Seward.”

Both champs are freshmen. Olive Jordan won at 107 and Alta Liljemark won at 152. Also, Kat Noll was second at 120 and Isabel Jones was fourth at 120.

Rylee Trent led the Kenai girls by winning at 138.

“She has a really good attitude, and she never makes excuses,” Kenai head coach Jason Chavarria said of Trent. “Every time she loses, she get really pissed off.

“She’s thrown her headgear twice throughout the season, so today that was the first thing we addressed. Do not throw your headgear.”

Also for the Kards, Jedeyn Jacko was third at 126, Layla Anderson was fourth at 132 and Jenna Yeoman was third at 165. Yeoman, who earned an at-large berth to state, won conference last season, but battled injury this season.

On the boys side, the Huskies also used depth to win, getting a single championship. Nicholas Marchione got that win at 125.

The Kenai boys had four champs in coming up short of defending the conference crown.

Chavarria said his team learned a good lesson during the meet. He said the Kards were not finishing their matches.

“It’s either a cardio thing or a mental thing,” he said. “It’s something I want them to know. They can win. They just need to finish whistle to whistle.”

Daniel Steffensen, at 152, won a conference title for the second straight year. Chavarria said Steffensen tuned up to get ready to win another state title.

Gunnar Stanley, at 140, also won a conference crown for the second straight year. Chavarria said Stanley’s title was impressive, because Stanley has had health struggles due to illness.

Thaddeus Lingenfelter, at 189, and Lochlyn Roney, at 285, won conference titles for the first time.

Chavarria also said Conner Cook taking second at 145 was a highlight.

“I’m really proud of Conner for learning from his losses and going back to the room and training,” Chavarria said.

The top three boys at conference get automatic state berths, with four at-large Division II berths also available.

Keagan Stanley, at 160, and Cecil Newcomb-Hammer, at 285, placed third to get automatic berths.

Also placing for Kenai were Chase Johnson in sixth at 119, Kaiser DesOrmeaux in fourth at 125, Schlyer Johnson in fourth at 152, Atlas Ruark in sixth at 171, Bryce Jolicoeur in sixth at 215 and Brandon Blake in fifth at 215.

Schyler Johnson, Ruark and Jolicoeur earned at-large berths to state.

The Mariners had three boys titles in continuing to build to what Wells hopes are a string of team titles. He said he has four seniors and three juniors on a boys roster of 38.

“I think we’re going to be on top the next three years,” he said.

Brayden Woods, at 160, won conference for the second straight season. Paul Minke won at 145, while Wells also said Justus Grimes, third at 145, is having a phenomenal season. Luca Fitzpatrick took the final title at 112.

Wells said another big highlight was freshman Isaiah Mann taking second at 189. Homer had three wrestlers at 171, so Mann was bumped up a weight class and still came through. Landyn Woods also qualified by taking second at 152.

Also placing for Homer were Lucien Faucher in sixth at 112, Daniel Kulikov in fourth at 135, Alexsander Kulikov in fifth at 135, Abram Donham in fourth at 171, Gaius Taylor in fourth at 189, Adgel Chandler in fourth at 215 and Shea Yatchmeneff in fourth at 285.

Daniel Kulikov, Alexsander Kulikov, Donham, Taylor, Chandler and Yatchmenoff earned at-large berths to state.

Seward had three champs in finishing fifth. Seahawks senior Hunter Forshee-Kurtz (135) had a big day in his final time out on the home mat, winning a third conference title and also the boys Most Outstanding Wrestler.

“His composure is starting to show and he’s wanting to go to college and wrestle,” Mullaly said of Forshee-Kurtz. “He’s definitely evolved into that and he’s ready to do that. He’s just a different wrestler.”

Senior Tommy Jarnig (103) won a conference crown for the second straight season. Like Forshee-Kurtz, Jarnig will look to win a state title again next week.

So will sophomore Ridge Conant (119), who won a second straight conference title.

Quinn Humbert also qualified by finishing third.

Also placing for the Seahawks were Emery Kirchner in fifth at 125, Janniel Peraza in sixth at 125 and Anthony Smith in fourth at 145. Kirchner and Smith earned at-large berths to state.

Seward will look to defend the Division II state title with small numbers. Then again, the Seahawks didn’t need numbers last season.

“We had such a great thing last year, to go in with seven or eight kids and score that many points,” Mullaly said. “I was in awe of that.

“We’ll have to see. It’s going to be a tough road. We’ll put our heads down and wrestle and see where we come out.”

Nikiski’s lone champ was Rex Wittmer at 215.

“Rex was doing great, just dominating everybody,” Spurgeon said.

Jaxson Young (135), Wyatt Maguire (140) and Breaker Schmit (285) all got to the finals and lost.

Young, looking for a second conference title, ran into Forshee-Kurtz in the final in a matchup of state champs. Spurgeon said Young did beat Redington’s Eben Caulkins in the semis.

“Beating Eben — we needed that match,” Spurgeon said. “He didn’t beat Hunter in the finals, but we get another chance, and I’d rather to it there than there.”

Maguire had won a conference title as a freshman. Spurgeon said it was great to see Maguire back in the finals as a senior.

Sloan Wittmer also qualified by taking third at 152.

Also placing were Merrick Roofe in sixth at 135 and Brody Nelson in sixth at 160. Nelson earned an at-large berth to state.

Spurgeon said he has a young team that wrestled like it belonged. He said it was nice to see Darren Powell get on the Good Sport team.

“He doesn’t shy from a challenge or let anything get to him,” Spurgeon said. “He’s going to be somebody to look out for in the next couple of years.”

The Division I, Division II and girls state tournaments are Friday and Saturday, Dec. 20 and 21, at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage. Wrestling starts at 9 a.m. both days, with the finals at 4 p.m. Saturday.

Kachemak Conference awards

Girls Most Outstanding Wrestler: Saoirse Cook, Homer.

Boys Most Outstanding Wrestler: Hunter Forshee-Kurtz, Seward.

Coach of the Year: Bubba Wells, Homer.

Assistant Coach of the Year: Luke Merriner, Grace Christian.

Good sport team

Michael Harris, Cordova; Keagan Stanley, Kenai Central; Alexander Van Meter, Homer; Kaysan Mccormack, Houston; Darren Powell, Nikiski; Alta Liljemark, Seward; Maximus Estallila, Grace; Caydence Nunley, Redington; Colten Bitz, MCCA.