The Anchorage trio of Trestin Houck, Shane Ostermiller and Jacob Morris put Alaska on the map by each winning national Greco Roman wrestling titles at Junior Nationals in Fargo, N.D.
Wrestling for Team Alaska, Houck pulled off a stunning comeback at 126 pounds, Ostermiller blew away the competition at 144 and Morris held off a Big Ten signee at 157.
Mountain City rising sophomore Houck had outscored opponents 54-4 en route to the title match. He pinned his oppontent to cap a fabulous finish that saw him battle back from a 7-0 deficit to orchestrated a comeback for the ages on the big stage and finish 7-0.
South High rising sophomore Ostermiller was outstanding, winning all seven matches and allowing only one point during the entire tournament. He pinned the only opponent to score on him, so this was a masterclass in technique and toughness.
Morris, a rising senior and two-time state champion at South, turned some heads after going 6-2 in freestyle and 7-0 in Greco Roman, a Herculean effort capped by his 5-4 decision over a three-time state champion from Illinois who will join the Fighting Illini this fall.
The Team Alaska wrestlers are our Alaska Athlete co-winners.
- Cook Inlet Soccer 09 Girls – The CISC 2009 Girls Elite team won the U17 US Youth Soccer national championship in Murfreesboro,TN, to become the first Alaskan team to ever win a USYS national title.
- Jacob Johnson – The American Legion left-handed pitcher from Wasilla recorded back-to-back strikeouts with runners in scoring position to nail down the win and save his team’s season. His team’s 5-4 victory over Dimond clinched a state tournament berth.
- Christy Marvin – The 45-year-old from Palmer, ran to a record-tying ninth victory in the Crow Pass Crossing backcountry race Saturday. Her victory matched the all-time win record set by Nancy Pease.
- Allie Ostrander – The 29-year-old from Kenai placed runner-up at the U.S. 8K Championships, blasting to a time of 25 minutes, 42 seconds, achieving her highest finish ever at a U.S. Championship.
- Leif Richards – The athlete from Juneau broke a 45-year-old world record at the World Eskimo-Indian Olympics, with a mark of 15 feet, 4.5 inches in the greased pole walk. He bettered Gene Andrew’s old record from 1981 by nearly two feet.
- Jayden Stuyvesant – The American Legion baseball player from Kenai hit a home run on Saturday and took the pitcher’s mound on Sunday and recorded 11 strikeouts. The Twins won both games to clinch a state playoff berth.
The Alaska Athlete of the Week is selected by a panel each Monday. Send recommendations to info@alaskasportshall.org.
