The Homer wrestling team had the upper hand in a dual meet against Soldotna on Tuesday evening, beating the Stars 48-30 at Soldotna.

Soldotna Head Coach Scooter Hackett said the Stars were not as prepared for the competition as the Mariners were, mostly because Soldotna’s season begins and ends later than Homer’s. The two schools wrestle in different categories — small-schools for Homer and big-schools for Soldotna — based on student population. Tuesday’s meet marked the first contest for the Stars, while the Mariners have already seen competition this season.

Soldotna suffered from eight forfeited matches on Tuesday, while Homer only had two forfeits. Because of that, there were only four scored matches, and although three of them were won by Soldotna, the forfeits ultimately led to the Stars loss.

Dakota Alward of Homer defeated Soldotna’s Hunter Bourgeois in the 145-pound weight class with a first-round score of 10-2, then had a takedown 2 minutes, 38 seconds into the second round to win the match.

In the 182-pound category, it was Homer’s Mark McGregor battling against Soldotna’s Troy Streiff, as McGregor took round one with a 2-0 decision on a takedown. Streiff battled back to win the match with a pin 2:14 into the round.

Daniel Rosin of Soldotna won the 195-pound battle against Homer’s Jordan Reynolds on a pin 1:54 into the first round, and in the 220-pound class, Soldotna’s Jarred Briggs pinned Homer’s Dick Perez only 52 seconds into the match to win.

Both teams will join Skyview, Kenai, Nikiski and Seward at this weekend’s Palmer Tournament, beginning on Friday.