Wrangell’s wrestlers headed up to Anchorage over the weekend to participate in Anchorage Christian School’s 2017 Lime Solar Invitational.
Taking place beyond the usual regional play, the ACS invitational is often touted as a midseason preview into the state finals, with schools from around the state sending teams. This year’s tournament was also the first featuring an all-girls bracket, which had 27 teams participate.
In the boys varsity 106-pound weight bracket, Wrangell senior JD Barratt finished in fourth place overall. After a first-round bye, he bested Mt. Edgecumbe wrestler Dayton Hoblet by fall in 1:12. Afterward he faced Jude Merriner of Grace Christian, winning by fall in 3:28. He at last met his match in the semifinal round against Bethel’s Jarius Allain, who won by 9-3 decision. In the consolation bracket’s finals, ACS student Caleb O’Hara won by major decision over Barratt by 14-2.
Competing in the 145, senior Ian Jensen won his first round over Sitka’s Gavin Hammock by 7-2 decision. The next round was won over Travis Castle of Redington Senior-Junior High School with a pin in 46 seconds. Nome student Ben Cross won the next match in a hard-found round, by 9-5 decision. Back in the consolation bracket, Jensen rematched Cross for third place, this time winning by 5-3 decision.
In the 152 bracket, Hunter Wiederspohn won his opening match over Lane Guim of Houston, by a close 10-7 decision. Afterward he came out in a quick pin over ACS’s Cole Smith, finished in 23 seconds. In the semifinal round Bethel student Mian Alexie-Leonard came out with a decisive 8-1 win. Competing for third now, Wiederspohn won by decision over Koleman McCaughey of Nikiski, 8-2.
Competing in the 182 weight bracket, Dillon Rooney started with a win by pin over Houston’s Spencer Norquist in 56 seconds, followed by another win in equal time over Jonathon Rogers of Grace Christian. In the next, Rooney was relegated to the consolation bracket by Kotzebue’s Ethan Roetman after winning by fall in 3:30. In the back-bracket semifinal, Eileson student Nephi Tidwell came up with fifth place over his Wrangell opponent, after a tightly contested match. He won by 12-11 decision, with Rooney finishing the bracket in sixth.
Jonah Comstock dislocated his elbow during the tournament, still completing his 98-pound weight bracket. After winning over New Stuyahok wrestler Ivan Blunka in a pin in 3:59, Comstock was beaten by fall in 4:20 by eventual bracket winner James Paris, of Redington Senior-Junior High School. In the finals for third place, Seward’s Clay Petersen won by injury default at 5:45.
Still out on an injury of his own, senior Caleb Groshong was unable to compete in the Varsity 220.
Jenson led the team for points, scoring 21, followed by Barratt with 20, Wiederspohn and Comstock with 18 each, and Rooney with 17 points. Together, the Wolves came out with an eighth-place showing, of 33 schools in all.
“It was a phenomenal tournament,” commented Wrangell coach Jeff Rooney. Though the team was only able to field five wrestlers, it still outperformed a number of contenders for this year’s state championships, set for Anchorage on December 15.
Reader Comments(0)