M’s pin down performances at Skyview

• Wyatt, Garvey go undefeated in 2 days of wrestling

By Sean Pearson
Homer Tribune
After struggling a bit last week, Mariner mat men proved this weekend that working hard over practice can certainly pay off. The Mariners competed in six duals over two days at Skyview, where Head Coach Chris Perk said his team really started to gel. 
“We had many top performances by almost every wrestler on the team,” Perk said. “I’m proud of how hard they all worked.”
Leading the way at Skyview were captains Mitch Wyatt (152) and Eli Garvey (103), who both went undefeated over the weekend. Wyatt pinned all six of his opponents, and only gave up one escape and one reversal in two days worth of wrestling. Garvey scored 14 takedowns, including a thriller match with about 10 seconds remaining against Elisha Fields of Kodiak. 
“Eli is starting to really flow nicely on the mat,” Perk said. “He was trailing 3-5, when he bull-rushed Fields to his back for a two-point takedown and a two-point near fall.”
According to Perk, both wrestlers appear poised and ready for another run at the state tournament next month. 
Senior Josh Brandt, wrestling for the first time at 215 pounds, suffered his first losses of the season. His first loss was to Josh Greene of Bartlett, who is ranked No. 2 at 285 pounds. Brandt then fell 2-3 in a close match against Nate Williams of Eagle River. 
Of the six duals, Homer posted wins over Houston 48-18, as well as Bartlett 36-25. The M’s were again forced to forfeit four weight classes, translating to a loss of 24 team points.
“We just could not overcome that kind of point deficit in the other four duals against Palmer, Eagle River, Colony and Chugiak,” Perk said. “These are all big-school opponents, and we just don’t have the same kinds of numbers.”
Not to be overlooked were a couple of come-from-behind wins from Larry Croft over Nathan Paramore of Palmer and Travis Catron’s win by fall against Andy Gocke of Houston. 
“Both Homer wrestlers were down a few points with only a minute or less remaining, when they were able to roll their opponents to their backs for victory,” Perk explained. “All weekend, the team wrestled with more heart and desire. That’s something we need in order to finish the season with confidence.”
Once surprise over the weekend came from freshman 140-pounder Joe Resetarits, who won all three of his matches by pins.
“He has been very dedicated to improving himself throughout the past couple of weeks and it is paying off,” Perk said.
This weekend, the Mariners travel to Dimond to participate in the final regular-season tournament before Regions.

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