Bulldogs pin Soldotna in dual meet
The Nikiski High School wrestling team, aided by six wins by pins, defeated Soldotna 60-23 in a dual meet Tuesday in Nikiski.
Matt Parker (125 pounds), Josh Brown (130), Kovy Harbick (135), Sawyer Skieba (140), Tyler Peek (145) and Lincoln Johnson (160) all won by pin for the Bulldogs.
"They wrestled well tonight," said head coach Adam Anders. "They came out, wrestled tough, and got the pins."
After losing 60-18 against Skyview last week, Anders said his team came prepared to avenge the loss.
"They came out really hungry to wrestle," he said. "It was a fun night for everybody."
Johnson had a hard-fought, three-round match with SoHi's Tanner Link. Johnson almost had a pin at the end of round one, but time expired before he could pin his opponent.
Johnson led 8-7 heading into the final round. After a quick two points scored by Link, Johnson came back with a pin with 1:12 remaining in the round.
"He showed a lot of character by coming back and winning by pin against a tough opponent," Anders said about Johnson.
SoHi was missing about half of its lineup, mostly due to illness, said head coach Bill Carlson.
"If it's not injury, it's sickness," he said.
The Stars, too, are a young squad.
"Most of the lineup are freshmen," Carlson said. "That kind of explains the score."
The loss drops Soldotna to a 2-3 record. For a young, incomplete squad, that's not too bad of a showing, Carlson said.
Parker's victory by pin came 1:44 into the first round. His win was followed by Brown's pin with just 6.6 seconds left in the opening round.
Harbick, who led 10-3 after two rounds, pinned his opponent with 1:06 left in the third.
Skieba needed just 59 seconds to win his bout, taking SoHi's John Brown down to the mat fast and sealing the victory by pin.
Tyler Powell managed to avoid a pin attempt by Peek in the first round, but was not as fortunate in the second. Peek got the pin with 51.2 seconds remaining in the second round.
Following Peek's victory, Johnson's pin capped off six straight wins by pins for the Bulldogs.
Eighteen of SoHi's points came via forfeit.
Nikiski 60, Soldotna 23
103 -- Trey Zimmerman, Nik, by forfeit
112 -- Tyler Baker, Nik, by forfeit
119 -- Morgan Sauve, by forfeit
125 -- Matt Parker, Nik, p. Zach Davis, Sol, 1:44
130 -- Josh Brown, Nik, p. Asa Turner, Sol, 1:54
135 -- Kovy Harbick, Nik, p. Troy Streiff, Sol, 4:54
140 -- Sawyer Skieba, Nik, p. John Brown, Sol, 0:59
145 -- Tyler Peek, Nik, p. Tyler Powell, Sol, 3:09
152 -- Cameron Hensley, Nik, by forfeit
160 -- Lincoln Johnson, Nik, p. Tanner Link, Sol, 4:48
171 -- Kyler Ledet, Sol, by forfeit
189 -- Ryan Dahlgren, Sol, by forfeit
215 -- A.J. Briggs, Sol, by forfeit
275 -- Aaron Benson, Sol, p. Henry Eide, Nik, 3:37.