Soldotna High School wrestlers continued their winning streak at the Lancer Smith Memorial wrestling tournament in Wasilla last weekend. All schools from all divisions in Alaska were invited, making the tournament the largest in the state. Over 1,100 wrestlers participated in the two-day event, which is named after who SoHi head coach Pete Dickinson referred to as “the godfather of Alaska wrestling.”
SoHi girls and boys took first and second place as teams, respectively. Three girls and three boys won their weight classes, claiming six of only 24 available championship titles. Naomi Keller won the 100 pound weight class, Mia Hannevold won 114 and Valarie McAnelly claimed the 120 pound championship. Titus Watts won the 130 pound weight class, Sam Henry swept 135 and Michael Dickinson, Pete’s son, won 152.
“They’ve got a great work ethic,” Pete Dickinson said of this year’s team. He said several wrestlers put in time over the summer, traveling to tournaments all over the country through the Roughnecks wrestling club. The All American Elite club, which Dickinson described as “a club within the Roughnecks club,” offered even more training opportunities.
“The kids that decided to join All American Elite are the ones we’re seeing success with here lately, because they trained all summer long and really got ready for the season,” he said. All six wrestlers who placed at the Lancer Smith tournament were in the All American Elite club.
For the past 23 years, the tournament held in the Menard Center has paid homage to Lancer Smith, the driving force behind the promotion and development of wrestling in Alaska. He touched the lives of countless athletes in Alaska, including Coach Dickinson himself, before passing away in 2002. The tournament — which has over 60 individuals in some brackets — honors Smith’s legacy and has a reputation for being the toughest in the state.
“That’s the way Lancer would’ve loved it,” Dickinson said. “He coached anybody and everybody. It didn’t matter where you were from, what school you went to, where you were or anything. He coached anybody that wanted to listen.”
Dickinson, who was born and raised in Anchorage, started wrestling in sixth grade. Smith was his high school wrestling coach, and Dickinson said Smith helped him through some rough patches, even allowing Dickinson to live with him for a couple of summers.
“He saved my life, really,” Dickinson said. “He kind of got me focused in life to do the things I wanted to do, including wrestling in college and high school. I owe him a lot.”
Dickinson was a two-time NCAA All-American at Minnesota State University, and he’s been coaching “off and on” since 2011. Last season was his first as head coach.
With regionals less than a month away, Dickinson said the Stars are prioritizing individual work and maintaining their conditioning. The girls team is gunning for their third state title in a row. The boys team hasn’t won a state title yet, but Dickinson hopes that’ll change this year.
In a statement reminiscent of SoHi volleyball coach Luke Baumer’s apprehension about facing South Anchorage, Dickinson said they’re the main team the Stars will have to look out for.
“South has really put together a very, very tough team,” he said. “They were able to get some transfers in their lineup from other parts of the state. They’re gonna be a tough team to beat, but we’re coming for them. That’s our goal — to be state champs by late December.”
The team, which consists of 10 girls and 36 boys, has a competition every weekend besides Thanksgiving until the regional tournament in Wasilla on Dec. 13. The state tournament will be held at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage over the weekend of Dec. 19-20.
To view SoHi’s upcoming duals and tournaments, visit the wrestling team’s schedule on the SoHi athletics webpage.
