Wrestling season begins at high school

The season began for Wrangell High School’s wrestling team yesterday, as members met for their first after-school practice.

“They’re training really hard,” said the team’s coach, Jeffery Rooney. Coach Steve Miller will be assisting him again this year, which Rooney expects will be good for the team.

Last year Wrangell took the Region V title, and took seventh overall at the state-level tournament in Anchorage. Several students placed in the top two or three spots for their weight class, and 12 of the Wolves’ 15-strong roster this year are returning wrestlers. Three freshmen joining the team come from Stikine Middle School’s program; the Cougars took 2A at regionals and

finished third overall last

year.

“We’re anticipating another really good year,” Rooney said.

The team’s first tournament of the year, the Tom Sims Invitational, will be held here in Wrangell on Oct. 16 and 17. The team will then have five or six further tournaments through the fall before Region V in Petersburg begins on Dec. 11.

In preparation for the competitions ahead, wrestlers have been busy selling tickets for their annual halibut dinner, which will be held at the Nolan Center on Saturday at 6 p.m.

“For the amount of work our kids put in, it funds their travel and housing,” Rooney explained. The school only funds travel for so many wrestlers, and the money the dinner raises helps cover overage costs of fielding the whole team.”

The coach explained tournament participation is a valuable part of the experience, and tournaments often allot mat time for some friendly competition in addition to the scored brackets.