Dyment, Warriors grind out wins in Fairbanks

Bethel wrestler Thomas Dyment gets ready to take down an opponent in the Junior 113 division at the 2017 Wrestling Regional Tournament in Idaho last June. Photos by Patty Smith

by Tommy Wells

Thomas Dyment worked his way to a 7-0 record over the weekend and helped the Bethel Regional High School Warriors roll to a third-place finish at the Battle in the Interior. The Warriors posted a 6-2 mark in their eight dual matches and finished behind only a duo of Class 4A powers – Lathrop and South Anchorage – in the team standings.
The Warriors opened the two-day tournament with an impressive outing against West Valley on Friday. The BRHS wrestlers pounded out wins in 14 of the 15 matches and posted an 81-0 decision. Dyment and Hayden Lieb highlighted the Warriors’ rout of the Wolfpack by posting easy wins. Dyment defeated West Valley’s Bradley James in less than a minute in the 113-pound match. Lieb needed just 1:22 to down Allen Holland in 152 ranks.
Bethel was just as dominating in their second duel, claiming wins in 13 of the 14 weight classifications en route to a 73-6 victory over Hutchison.
Mathew Hunter and Sven Williams both registered clutch victories for BRHS. Hunter wrestled his way to a 15-6 win over Khalil Turn in the 126-pound division. Williams defeated Matthew Fagan by a 7-2 clip in the 182-pound bout.
Back by easy wins over West Valley and Hutchison, the Warriors rolled to a 40-29 decision over Palmer. Bethel won nine of the 15 matches. Avery Hoffman, Dyment, Lieb, Jarius Allain, Hunter, Williams and Ryan Smith all collected wins. Hoffman scored the biggest win of the match, claiming an impressive 8-0 decision.
Lathrop dealt Bethel its first setback of the meet in the fourth round, claiming a 54-18 decision. Bethel managed to win just four weight classes in their showdown with the Class 4A power.
Dyment starred in the setback. He rolled to an easy 15-0 victory over Roberto Lechuga. Allain, Kyle Valadez and Smith also picked up wins in their weight divisions.
One of the marquee matches in their showdown with Lathrop came in the 152-pound division as Lathrop’s Wyatt Story story squared off against Lieb. In a match that was later voted “Best Match of the Weekend,” Story eked out a 7-4 victory. Both wrestlers received an award following the tournament for their performance in the match.
Lieb finished the meet with a stellar 5-1 record
South Anchorage dealt Bethel its second loss of the tournament, claiming a 49-21 win in the fifth round. Smith, who joined Dyment as the only other BRHS wrestler to go undefeated, highlighted BRHS’ efforts against the Wolverines. He defeated South’s Heny Saafi by an easy 17-7 margin.
Dyment, Lieb, Mian Alexie-Leonard, Mathew Ferguson and Williams also collected wins for Bethel.
Ferguson, Alexie-Leonard and Williams all turned in outstanding efforts during the meet. Alexie-Leonard finished 5-2. Ferguson recorded a mark of 6-2, while Williams went 6-1.
The Warriors closed out the tournament in grand fashion. Bethel rallied back to claim wins of 54-30 over North Pole and 69-15 over Lathrop’s second team.
Against North Pole, Bethel won 12 of the weight classifications. Hunter Secor was among the big winners, netting a quick win over North Pole’s Bridger Koch in the 98-pound classification in just 48 seconds.
Bethel will return to action this weekend when they travel to Anchorage to compete in the Halloween Bash, another 8-dual event. The meet will be held at South Anchorage High School.