Last weekend Wrangell’s high school wrestlers took 10th overall at the Alaska School Activities Association 123A State Championships.
The two-day tournament was hosted by the Bartlett and Chugiak high schools in the Anchorage area, and featured wrestlers from around the state who had finished in the top four spots of their regional brackets.
The Wolves’ nine wrestlers together earned 64.5 points, putting the team 10th out of 65 schools competing. From among Region V schools, Sitka came in seventh place with 80.5 points, and Craig High School was just behind in 12th place with 60 points. Homer won the tournament with a team score of 212 points.
“We did okay,” said Wrangell coach Jeff Rooney. “They wrestled some tough matches.”
Two of Wrangell’s wrestlers took top placements in the championship. For the 182-pound bracket, senior Chet Armstrong placed second and scored 24 points for the team. He ended his first three matches in pins, two of them in under two minutes.
“The first two were kind of short, and then the third one was a good match,” Armstrong recounted. During the semifinal he wrestled Drew Pekar of Bethel, ending in a pin after 4:22.
“He wrestled all the way through there,” said Rooney. Despite having an injury late in the tournament, Armstrong pulled through with a close match in the final. Facing Joseph White of Glennallen High School, officials gave the victory to White in an 11-6 decision.
“We threw some tape on him and he finished the tournament well,” said Rooney. Armstrong finishes his final season with the Wolves with a 32-4 record.
Jonathon Barratt placed third for his 98-pound bracket, earning 19.5 team points. After receiving a bye in the first round, he was pinned by Caleb Evatt of Nome in the quarterfinal. However, from the other side of the bracket Barratt went on to win his next four matches with a technical fall and three pins.
“He wrestled tough his way out the backside,” Rooney said. Barratt ends his season with a record of 17-10.
In the 120-pound bracket, sophomore Orion Heller scored one team point and finished his season with a 22-13 record.
In the 126 sophomore Ian Jenson scored six team points and finished with a 26-8 record.
Roger Miller earned three team points in his 145-pound bracket, finishing his final season with a 23-11 record. Also competing in the 145, junior Sig Decker finished with a 24-15 record.
Junior Darren Shilts scored five team points for his 170-pound bracket, ending the season on a 20-15 record.
In the 182-pound bracket, freshman Wesley Scott earned three points and finished 6-20.
Sophomore Caleb Groshong scored three team points competing in the 220-pound bracket, finishing his season with a strong 15-3 record.
Rooney said the team plans to have a modest award ceremony to mark the season’s end. Two wrestlers will be hanging up their red ear guards: Miller and Armstrong will both be graduating this year.
“I’ve really enjoyed it a lot,” said Armstrong, who joined the program in his sophomore year. He had a good time with his teammates, and felt he learned some valuable life lessons along the way.
“I don’t know if I’d be the same person if I didn’t wrestle,” he reflected.
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