Glennallen Wrestlers Clinch State Title
GHS wrestling state champions. Congrats guys! Photo courtesy of Yvette Delaquito.
By Kelly Gerlach
For the first time since 1983, Glennallen High School wrestlers seized the state title for 1-2-3A schools. To add to the achievement of these superb young men, coaches Chad Gerlach and Trenton Culp also received awards for coach of the year and assistant coach of the year, respectively.
The following Glennallen wrestlers placed first in the state tournament: Keegan Delaquito, Bowen Korth, Jordan Korth, Alex Buck and Kael Gerlach. Brennan Garcia placed fifth at 152 lbs., and senior David Scott won a tough match. Nathanael Severs and Jayden Stone also wrestled strong and helped bring the Panthers to victory.
Senior Kael Gerlach came from behind in the last period of his finals match to win by two points against Kenai senior Tucker Vann. After being a two-time state runner-up, Gerlach’s motivation to win proved strong. In the off season, he swam upstream in the Gulkana River, lifted weights nearly every day and even ran 16 miles to school now and then just to see how it felt.
“It feels amazing to have accomplished a goal I’ve had since freshmen year,” he says. Gerlach added to the Panther’s achievements by bringing home the prestigious outstanding wrestler award. He is thankful for his coaches, teammates, booster club and his grandparents for housing and feeding the team.
Freshman Bowen Korth also claimed a first-time state championship for the Panthers. “It was wonderful to be part of a record-breaking year,” says Korth of the Panthers’ season of five Glennallen state champions.
Chad Gerlach (right) and Trenton Culp (left) with their awards for coach of the year and assistant coach of the year. Photo courtesy of Yvette Delaquito.
Especially with fluctuating Covid regulations bringing an element of stress to the year, Coach Gerlach is proud of the way the team persevered through an arbitrary season. “Each week we didn’t know where or even if we would wrestle,” he said. “But the team’s commitment didn’t waver.”
“We compete against schools with four times the number of kids we have and with twice the number of wrestlers,” says Gerlach of their competitions with 3A teams at state. “This year we were finally on equal footing as far as numbers go and our guys performed to succeed.”
“Our goal was not just to win this year but to dominate,” said ten-time coach of the year winner Chad Gerlach. With the runner-up team, Bethel High School, trailing by 37.5 points, the team crushed their goal.
After finishing second as a team for the last two seasons, Coach Gerlach and the team were hungry for a win, not only for this generation but for the last.
“My senior year at Glennallen in 1990 we placed 2nd at state as a team,” says Gerlach. “It was good to end with a win.”
While Gerlach will still coach in the 2021-22 season, he will pass the baton of head coach to two-time assistant coach of the year winner Trenton Culp.
Whether it’s enduring with a positive attitude through pandemic mandates or setting and following through with long-term goals, this group of young men and their coaches have a lot to be proud of and to look forward to.
As world and Olympic gold medalist wrestler Dan Gable said, “Once you’ve wrestled, everything else in life is easy.”
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