Thomassen wins big at Craig tournament

Wrangell’s Tanner Thomassen knows how to win on the wrestling mat – and proved it at the Craig Invitational Tournament last weekend.

After being split into the two brackets of the 145-pounder group, Thomassen was able to achieve 5 pins and a single technical pin against his opponents. With the wins under his belt, the junior ended up earning the top points in the bracket to advance to the championship against Dalton Touhy of Haines.

“Tanner’s performance this week was nothing short of we’ve been expecting from him,” said head coach Jeff Rooney. “He strives for improvement and brings high intensity to every meet. Everyone can expect to see him finishing strong for the Wolves in meets to come.”

In the 113-pound group, Alex Cano went head to head with stiff competition from Craig, Petersburg and Sitka while Jacob Marshall faced competition of his own among the 138-pounders. Austin Stevens and Austin Sun both wrestled in a talent heavy 152-pound weight class, with Sun collecting 16 points for 2nd place in his bracket.

Devon Miller, who entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed in his 170-pound bracket took 1st place in his pool with 14 points, though he came out on the bottom end of the championship match against 182-pounder Jay Balcom of Craig.

“Devon brought us 3 pins and one decision, making him the top point earner for his weight class and sending him to the championship round against the 182-pound opponent,” Rooney said. “I’m confident we can look forward to Devon in the finishing rounds of meets to come.”

Steven Barger made a 3rd place showing in the 182-pound group, with Lorenzo Silve making the trip to Craig for the 195-pound matches.

Aside from the Wolves squad, the tournament was attended by Craig, Kake, Petersburg, Yakutat, Haines, Klawock, Sitka, Hoonah, Metlakatla, Thorne Bay, Hydaburg and Mt. Edgecumbe and featured a 4- and 6-man bracket setup.

The Wolves’ next meet will be this weekend at Ketchikan.