Samuelson, Beans-Polk lead BRHS girls to 4th at state

by Tommy Wells

Rebecca Samuelson and Lindsey Beans-Polk both turned in stellar outing this past weekend in Anchorage and helped spur the Bethel Regional High School Lady Warriors to a fourth-place finish at the 2019 Alaska Division II State Girls’ Wrestling Championships.

Bethel, keyed by third-place finishes by Samuelson and Beans-Polk, scored 67.5 points in the two-day meet which was held in the Alaska Airlines Center. The BRHS girls finished just 8.5 points behind Homer for third place overall. North Pole won the girls’ state title by edging out Lathrop.

Samuelson, who posted a 4-1 record at the state meet, capped her third-place finish in memorable fashion. She battled her way into overtime before wrestling her way to a 5-3 decision over Lathrop’s Desarae Matheny.

Matheny had rolled into the third-place match sporting an impressive 32-3 record.

Samuelson’s lone loss at the tournament came in an 8-5 decision to 145-pound runner-up Emily Bellant of North Pole.

Beans-Polk also went 4-1 and placed third in the 135-pound weight classification. A senior, she opened the meet with a pair of impressive wins over West Valley’s Natasha Helmericks and Seward’s Pricilla Stoltz. After suffering a 15-7 loss to eventual 135-pound champion Danielle Johnson of Lathrop in the semifinals, the BRHS star reeled off back-to-back wins over Dillingham’s Reagan Finkenbinder and Wrangell’s Jamie Early.

Bethel also picked up solid showings from Cadence Cedars and Jaron Mute. Cedars turned in a 3-3 mark and placed sixth in the 103-pound division. Mute collected a pair of wins and took sixth in the 130-pound standings.

Dellarae Charlie, Katherine Small and Fiona Phelan also wrestled well for the Lady Warriors.

While the BRHS girls were making a run at the girls’å state title, Michelle Atcherian was proving she was among the best 103-pound grapplers in the state. The Chevak star worked her way to a fourth-place mark in the division with a 3-2 record. She advanced to the third-place contest before dropping a decision to Lathrop’s Kaylana Keith.

Charity Boyscout and Haley Ulroan also notched wins for the Lady Comets, who finished 23rd in the team standings.

Rachel Kaganak and Shyanne Kopanuk highlighted Scammon Bay’s outings. Both placed sixth in their divisions.

In all, five Scammon wrestlers competed in the state tournament. Joining Kaganak and Kopanuk at the event were Flora Nanuk, Leah Amukon and Kaylee Simon.

2019 Alaska Girls State Wrestling Championships

Held Dec. 19-20 in Anchorage

GIRLS Final team standings

1. North Pole 112.0; 2. Lathrop 98.0; 3. Homer 76.0; 4. Bethel 67.5; 5. Kodiak 67.0; 6. Ketchikan 61.0; 7. Mt. Edgecumbe 57.0; 8. Soldotna 55.5; 9. East Anchorage 51.5; 10. Dillingham 51.0; 11. Wrangell 45.0; 12. Colony 34.0; 13. Petersburg 33.0; 14. Palmer 31.0; 14. Scammon Bay 31.0; 14. West Anchorage 31.0; 17. Eagle River 29.0; 18. South Anchorage 25.0; 19. Eielson 24.0; 19. Newhalen 24.0; 19. Nome 24.0; 22. Brevig Mission 23.0; 23. Chevak 22.5; 24. Cordova 21.5; 25. Unalakleet 18.0; 26. Reddington 17.0; 26. Valdez  17.0; 28. Unalaska 14.0; 29. Bartlett 12.0; 30. Hutchinson 11.0; 31. Kotzebue 10.0; 32. Wasilla 8.0; 33. Metlakatla  7.0; 33. West Valley 7.0; 35. Alakanuk  6.0; 36. Barrow  4.0; 36. Service  4.0; 36. Seward 4.0; 39. Bristol Bay 3.0; 39. Nunapitchuk 3.0; 39. Stebbins 3.0; 42. Selawik 2.0; 43. Akiachak 0.0; 43. Chugiak 0.0; 43. Emmonak 0.0; 43. Gambell 0.0; 43. Hooper Bay 0.0; 43. Houston 0.0; 43. Kiana 0.0; 43. Koyuk 0.0; 43. St. Mary’s 0.0.