Bethel Warriors back on top of Class 1-2-3A wrestling

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Thomas Dyment, of Bethel, and Wayne Newman, of Homer, compete in the 106 lb. class in the 1-2-3A Class in the Alaska State Wrestling Championships at the UAA Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage, Alaska, on Saturday, December 17, 2016. Dyment won the match 12-0. (Bob Hallinen / Alaska Dispatch News)

The Bethel Warriors are back, and in record-setting fashion.

After settling for second place the last two seasons, the Warriors returned to the top of Alaska's Class 1-2-3A wrestling world Saturday night at the Alaska Airlines Center.

Bethel outscored defending state champion Homer by 18.5 points to claim an unprecedented seventh small-school state championship. The team title is the Warriors' fifth in seven seasons.

Three wrestlers won individual champions for Bethel, including 106-pound Thomas Dyment, who capped an undefeated season with a 12-0 win in the championship finals.

Also taking home titles for the Warriors were Tristen Evans at 120 pounds and Hayden Lieb at 132 pounds.

Coach Darren Lieb credited the team's success to long-time coaches at the grade-school and middle-school levels who get kids involved in the sport when they are young.

"We've had the fortunate deal to have these coaches that stick around and believe in the system," he said.

Of the 250 high school students in Bethel, nearly one-fifth are wrestlers, Lieb said.

"We've just got big numbers," he said. "… We finished the season with 40 wrestlers, and 18 boys and three girls qualified (for state), so half the team qualified for state."
Bethel advanced five wrestlers into the championship finals – 98-pound Diesel Geerdts and 113-pound Avery Hoffman both placed second – and five into the third-place matches.

Homer advanced even more to the final two rounds. The Mariners had seven wrestlers in the championship finals and four in the third-place matches.

Homer boasted four individual champs, more than any other team. Leading the way was 126-pound Luciana Fasulo, who pinned his opponent to wrap up an undefeated season. He was 45-0 this season.

Also taking titles for the Mariners were Jared Brant at 138 pounds, Timmy Woo at 160 and Tristen Cook at 170.

Fasulo and Dyment, who posted a 28-0 record this season, were among three wrestlers to finished the season undefeated. Joseph White of Glennallen won the 182-pound championship to run his record to 30-0.

Homer coach Chris Perk said his team, like Bethel's, benefits from long-time coaches and a strong youth program.

"We have a strong freestyle program with Popeye and the Anchor Kings, then we have a coaching staff that works together pretty much all year," he said.

Two Anchorage wrestlers claimed titles – Michael Lucas of Holy Rosary Academy at 145 pounds and Evan Bockman of Grace Christian at 152.

Also winning titles were 98-pound Maxim Kusnetsov of Voznesenka, 113-pound Blunka Blunka Jr. of New Stuyahok, 195-pound Joshua Goeden of Sitka, 220-pound Benjamin Heather of Barrow and 285-pound Marshall Pinard of Su Valley.

Going into the two-day meet, Bethel and Eielson each owned a record six Class 1-2-3A state titles. Now the Warriors are alone at the top.

ASAA/First National Bank Class 1-2-3A wrestling

Team scores

1. Bethel 264.5; 2. Homer 246.0; 3. Barrow 114.0; 4. Sitka 99.0; 5. Petersburg 89.5; 6. Glennallen 84.5; 7. Kotzebue 82.0; 8. (tie) Houston and Wrangell 64.0; 10. Voznesenka 55.0; 11. Grace Christian 45.5; 12. New Stuyahok 44.0; 13. Craig 42.0; 14. Susitna Valley 41.0; 15. Dillingham 39.0; 16. Klawock 36.0; 17. Nikiski 34.0; 18. Cordova 32.0; 19. Holy Rosary Academy 27.0; 20. Unalaska 26.0; 21. Thorne Bay 23.0; 22. Nome 22.0; 23. Eek 21.0; 24. (tie) Aniak and Mt. Edgecumbe 20.0; 26. Anchorage Christian 19.0; 27. (tie) Galena and Skagway 18.0; 29. Eielson 17.0; 30. (tie) Hutchison and Shaktoolik 16.0; 32. Noatak 15.0; 33. Unalakleet 13.0; 34. Napaskiak 12.0; 35. Hydaburg 11.0; 36. Seward 10.0; 37. Delta 8.0; 38. Metlakatla 6.0; 39. (tie) King Cove and Valdez 5.0; 41. (tie) Nenana, Newhalen, Nunapitchuk and Selawik 3.0; 45. Glacier View 2.0.

Championship finals

98 — Maxim Kusnetsov (Voznesenka) p. Diesel Geerdts (Bethel), 3:12.
106 — Thomas Dyment (Bethelm.d. Wayne Newman (Homer), 12-0.
113 — Blunka Blunka Jr. (New Stuyahok) d. Avery Hoffman (Bethel), 3-2.
120 — Tristen Evan (Bethel) d. Curt Bartlett (Sitka High School), 3-1 (SV-1).
126 — Luciano Fasulo (Homer) p. Buddy Stelmech (Petersburg), 5:17.
132 — Hayden Lieb (Bethel) p. Jared Virgin (Glennallen), 4:30.
138 — Jared Brant (Homer) d. Jonas Heppe (Klawock), 3-0.
145 — Michael Lucas (Holy Rosary) m.d. Ezekiel Eakin (Kotzebue), 13-3.
152 — Evan Bockman (Grace Christian) won by forfeit over Kagan Stockton (Barrow) 21-4.
160 — Timmy Woo (Homer) d. Caden Gerlach (Glennallen) , 5-3.
170 — Tristen Cook (Homer) p. Titus Tripple (Thorne Bay), 5:24.
182 — Joseph White (Glennallen) p. Louis Edenshaw (Kotzebue), 2:54.
195 — Joshua Goeden (Sitka) 28-1 p. Kyle Wells (Homer), 3:57.
220 — Benjamin Heather (Barrow) d. Tyler Litke (Nikiski). 6-2.
285 — Marshall Pinard (Su Valley) 23-1 d. Jadin Mann (Homer) 36-6, 6-1.

Third-place matches

98 — Matthew Bohlman (ACS) d. Jacob Andrew (New Stuyahok), 3-1.
106 — Jarius Allain (Bethel) m.d Deven Perez (Eielson), 13-3.
113 — Seth Inama (Homer) d. Caleb Evatt (Nome), 5-1.
120 — Jens Knutson (Houston) d. Teagen Schwartz (Petersburg), 12-6.
126 — Everson Paniptchuk (Shaktoolik) d. Carl Charlie (Bethel), 9-4.
132 — Brandon Evans (Eek) 15-3 p. JohnRick Nobleza (Barrow). 2:03.
138 — Aaron Olsen (Bethel) d. Caleb Suarez (Sitka), 3-2.
145 — Mian Alexie-Leonard (Bethel) d. Sig Decker (Wrangell), 5-2.
152 — Chris Cudaback (Homer) d. Kyler Sumauang (Sitka), 4-3.
160 — Isiah Passi (Barrow) d. Jaime Rios (Homer), 5-2.
170 — Trevor Miller-Hickerson (Kotzebue) p. Justin Ward (Aniak), 2:51.
182 — Ethan Goebel (Skagway) d. Levi King (Homer), 8-4.
195 — Kayden Bird (Craig) d, Sione Tu`ifua (Barrow), 8-5.
220 — Caleb Groshong (Wrangell) p. Malaki Barrett (Houston), 2:12.
285 — Stelios Gialopsos (Cordova) d. Thomas Tocktoo (Galena), 2-1 (TB-1).