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Fairbanks — Billy Craig wasn’t aware of the pressure that awaited him Saturday night in the Bartlett High School gymnasium in Anchorage.

He truly handled it like a champion, though.

The Petersburg senior had a lot of weight on the shoulders of his 5-foot-10, 245-pound body when he stepped onto the mat to face Sitka’s Zhenya Kisaraukas for the 285-pound final of the Class 1A-2A-3A State Wrestling Championships.

“I had a mindset that I usually have — to me it was another match,” Craig said Wednesday night from Petersburg. “It really didn’t hit me how important it was until afterward.”

The 17-year-old was competing in the last match of the tournament and his last match of a four-year high school wrestling career. And, of course, he was the No. 1 seed in the weight class.

It was also Petersburg’s last chance for its first state team title since 1980, when the Vikings captured the Division I crown.

None of Petersburg’s 12 wrestlers who advanced to this year’s state tournament — among them were eight seniors, including one girl, Clara Sallenbach — were alive back then or during the 1985-86 school year, when the state tournament was divided into a Class 4A competition and a combined 1A-2A-3A event.

The Vikings of Southeast Alaska have been runners-up three times (1989, 1998 and 2003) in the combined small schools tournament, but had never raised the championship trophy.

“We have won 26 out of the last 29 region titles,” Rob Schwartz, Petersburg head wrestling coach and 1984 alumni, said Tuesday night. “It’s pretty phenomenal to do that, but we had not won the state title since 1980. No matter how many times you take second or third, you want an accomplishment that makes your young men and women feel good.”

The Vikings wanted the state championship trophy. Schwartz, though, didn’t put any pressure on Craig despite knowing that Craig’s finale would be the determining factor.

Prior to the 285 title match, Petersburg sat in third place with 170 points, aided by three third-place finishes (130, 145, and 152) and Tim Erickson winning the 140 title. The Bethel Warriors were in the lead with 175 and the Dillingham Wolverines were close behind with a two-day total of 174.5.

Petersburg needed six points, which in high school wrestling are only possible with a pin.

“I didn’t want to put the extra pressure on him,” Schwartz said.

Craig was happy to not receive the extra pressure because he wasn’t aware of the standings before his final.

“I’m glad I didn’t (know) because I probably would have got nervous,” Craig said.

Schwartz had been in enough state tournaments to see pressure come down to a heavyweight final. He made sure Craig didn’t have to deal with it.

“Two years ago, we lost in the state tournament to Bethel by 2 1/2 to three points and several of the smaller wrestlers blamed the heavyweight,” Schwartz recalled. “I said to them, ‘You guys lost to guys whom you beat earlier in the season.’ “

In dual meets, Schwartz said, there’s coin flips to determine if a heavyweight wrestles first or if a wrestler at a lighter weight starts the action. That wasn’t the case in the state tournament — the heavweights wrestled last.

“He knew it,” Schwartz said of Craig, “and it just happens that he’s a very determined young man who’s been in a lot of tight matches. He’s gritty, he’s got guts and not a lot of fear.”

Craig had strength, too. He pinned Kisaraukas in 56 seconds after setting up the 6-foot-6, 260-pound Wolves wrestler with a fireman’s carry.

“It wasn’t planned,” Craig said. “I went by memory of wrestling with my younger brothers (sophomore twins Tony, about 189 pounds, and Jacob, about 270), and trying things with them.”

Craig said he “pushed and pulled” against Kisaurakas, whom he posted a 3-1 record during the season, including a pin in the region final in Wrangell a week before state.

“It ended up that I pushed hard enough that I went for it,” Craig said. “We were almost out of bounds, and I knew that I was either going to go out of bounds and then have to readjust, or I was going to pull him back onto the mat.”

The victory gave Petersburg 176 points, and culminated a 4-0 run through the state tournament for Craig. Schwartz’s emotions also emphasized the importance of the final match for him.

“I was hearing his voice and then I saw tears in his eyes ...,” Craig said. “It means a lot to me in my senior year. It’s a pretty great feeling that we took that championship and I went out with a bang.”

CAMPUS TRAILS: Cade Roberts, a South Dakota State senior and West Valley graduate, was named Tuesday as the Summit League Men’s Swimming and Diving Athlete of the Week. Roberts was recognized for winning the 100-meter breaststroke in 1 minute, 7.58 seconds and the 200 breaststroke (2:29.78) during Saturday’s 161-127 loss to the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, S.D. He also placed second in the 400 individual medley (4:46.59) and was part of the runner-up 400 medley relay (3:59.57) ... Fellow senior and West Valley grad Hannah Ferree placed second for the South Dakota State women in the 100 IM (1:07.97) in Friday’s 176-119 loss to Nebraska in Brookings, S.D.

• A few Alaskans are on the rosters of teams involved in postseason college football action. Homer’s Noah McWilliams is a freshman fullback for Montana, which faces Richmond on Friday in Chattanooga, Tenn., in the national title game for the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision. On Saturday, East Anchorage graduate and sophomore defensive end Cory Macon lines up for Colorado State against Fresno State in the New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque, N.M. Palmer grad and junior running back Jake Heun is playing with Hawaii against Notre Dame in the Hawaii Bowl on Christmas Eve, and Miami, which includes sophomore linebacker Kylan Robinson of Anchorage, faces California in the Emerald Bowl in San Francisco on Dec. 27 ... Senior linebacker and West Valley grad Ward Dobbs was recently named to the first team of the All-Mountain West Conference Team. Dobbs led the Cowboys this season with 101 tackles and tied for the team lead in interceptions with three, including two returned for touchdowns. Dobbs finished his career as Wyoming fifth all-time leading tackler with 343. Nevada-Las Vegas senior wide receiver Casey Flair, an East Anchorage grad, was an honorable mention All-Mountain West selection.

• Sophomore left wing Hunter Bishop of Fairbanks contributed a goal each night in host Ohio State’s sweep of Bentley (Mass.) — a 10-1 win Friday and a 3-2 victory Saturday — in a nonconference hockey series ... Bishop’s sister, Teal, a sophomore defenseman, had two assists for the Ohio State women in Saturday’s 5-5 tie at Minnesota State in Mankato.

• Sophomore guard and Lathrop graduate Krystal Tolliver grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds and had five points and five assists for the Peninsula College women’s basketball team in Saturday’s 68-62 loss to South Puget Sound in Olympia, Wash. Sophomore teammate and Kenai grad Damaris Craig chipped in nine rebounds and six points in the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges game ... Oregon State sophomore guard Talisa Rhea, a Juneau-Douglas grad, scored 20 points and dispensed six assists in a 91-54 rout of Nevada-Las Vegas in Monday’s women’s game in Corvallis, Ore. ... Junior forward and Dimond grad Shaina Afoa contributed 13 points for the Central Washington women in Saturday’s 66-59 win at the Academy of Art in San Francisco ... On the same day for the Academy of Art men, freshman guard and Lathrop grad Dominique Smith collected a team-high six rebounds and scored six points in an 80-71 loss to San Francisco State in the San Francisco State Invitational.

Contact staff writer Danny Martin at 459-7586 or dmartin@newsminer.com.