The Soldotna boys finished second, while the Soldotna girls finished third, Saturday at the Northern Lights Conference tournament at Palmer High School in Palmer.
The Knights boys won their second straight conference title by scoring 469.5 points, while the Stars were second with 353.5, Wasilla was third at 344, Palmer was fourth at 206 and Kodiak was fifth at 63.
The Stars boys were still able to claim seven individual champions and the boys Most Outstanding Wrestler in Carson Cobb.
Cobb, wrestling at 130 pounds, won the conference title for the second straight year.
Jacob Strausbaugh, wrestling at 135, kept his undefeated season alive by winning his third conference title. Michael Dickinson, at 152, also is still undefeated after winning his second conference crown.
Titus Watts (125) and Trevor Michael (160) won conference for a second time.
Also taking first for the Stars were Sam Henry at 103 and Ryan Buchanan at 119.
Boys finishing in the top five at conference earned automatic Division I state berths.
In the top five for the Stars were Tanner Hough in fourth at 103, Aaron Granados in fifth at 112, Jaden Yeager in fifth at 119, Jace Gilliam in fifth at 130, Mason Bock in second at 135, Ryatt Weed in third at 152, Jackson Anding in fourth at 152, Hunter Bras in second at 160, Anthony Payne in fourth at 171 and Rodney McNeel at 189.
Bras had won two previous conference title for the Stars, but lost by 8-3 decision in the final to Michael.
Eli Richards (145) and Blake Cecil (285) also finished sixth for Soldotna.
Additional boys can qualify for state with the one Division I at-large berth.
In the girls tourney, Colony broke up SoHi’s two-year run at the top.
The Knights scored 269 points, while Wasilla was next with 216, the Stars were third with 191, Palmer was fourth with 140.5 and Kodiak was fifth at 36.
The Stars, the defending Division I state champs, took home three individual titles.
Mia Hannevold took home Most Outstanding Wrestling by taking the title at 114.
Valarie McAnelly wore the crown for the second-straight year at 107, while Infinity-Ann Asiata-Haga (165) also won for the second straight year.
The top two automatically qualified for state. Naomi Keller (100), Daisy Hannevold (145) and Bella Byrd were second for SoHi. Daisy Hannevold was chasing a fourth conference crown.
There also are three at-large berths to the girls state tournament. Also placing for the Stars were Jessica LeClair in sixth at 100, Chevelle Lamb in third at 107, Rowan Peck in third at 126 and Carrisa Heistuman in third at 145.
LeClair, chasing a third conference title, notched a pin in her first match, but then was injured in her next match. She earned an at-large berth to state and a chance to win another state title.
Lamb, Peck and Heistuman also earned at-large berths. Peck won a state title last season.
The Division I, Division II and girls state wrestling meets will be Friday and Saturday, Dec. 20 and 21, at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage.
Wrestling begins at 9 a.m. both days. The state championship matches for all three divisions start at 4 p.m. Saturday.
Soldotna’s Michael Dickinson controls the leg of Colony’s Tristen Mayer during the 152-pound final of the Northern Lights Conference Championships on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024, at Palmer High School in Palmer, Alaska. (Photo by Jeremiah Bartz/Frontiersman)
Soldotna’s Michael Dickinson controls the leg of Colony’s Tristen Mayer during the 152-pound final of the Northern Lights Conference Championships on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024, at Palmer High School in Palmer, Alaska. (Photo by Jeremiah Bartz/Frontiersman)
Soldotna’s Ryan Buchanan works to pin Kodiak’s Luke Lester during the boys 119-pound final of the Northern Lights Conference Championships Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024, at Palmer High School in Palmer, Alaska. (Photo by Jeremiah Bartz/Frontiersman)
