The coaches and wrestlers share the victory moment in the halls at Chugiak High School after the state tournament (from left): Assistant coach Jack Carney, state champ Liana Carney, state champ Ryan Rooney and coach Jeff Rooney.
It had been about a dozen years since Wrangell High School wrestlers came home with two state title winners, and this year juniors Ryan Rooney and Liana Carney both took first place in their weight divisions at the state tournament in Anchorage last weekend.
Rooney wrestled in the 160 weight class; Carney in the 135 weight class. It was her second state title; she took first in 2019.
Wrangell racked up the highest score among all Southeast schools at the state meet last Friday and Saturday, regardless of school size, assistant coach Jack Carney reported Sunday evening after the wrestlers arrived back in town.
The girls team took first place in the 2A division (schools are divided into four divisions, based on enrollment, with the largest schools in 4A). The boys took home third-place honors in the 2A division.
Wrangell also took home the Sportsmanship Award in the girls tournament, the coach said.
Carney praised the entire contingent of Wrangell wrestlers and said he already is looking forward to next season, which he expects will start on schedule in October after the pandemic delayed the start of wrestling for this school year.
"We don't even have time to get out of shape," the coach said of the upcoming
season this fall. A lot of the wrestlers will go to camps or summer tournaments
to stay sharp and improve their skills, he said.
Other Wrangell wrestlers in the top six at state were:
Randy Churchill, a sophomore, placed fourth.
Rowen Wiederspohn, a junior, also placed fourth.
Jake Eastaugh, a junior, placed fifth.
Mia Wiederspohn, a freshman, placed sixth in her weight class.
Other Wrangell wrestlers who went to state were junior Jamie Early, freshman Lily Younce, sophomore Ethan Blatchley and sophomore Steven Bales.
Churchill, in particular, exceeded expectations at the tournament, his coach said. "That kid beat some really tough wrestlers."
Churchill had been wrestling during the season against teammates Rooney and James Shilts, listening and learning and
improving his skills, and that made a big difference at state, Carney said. "He beat some kids he wouldn't have beat a month ago."
Eastaugh was ahead on points when he made a mistake and got caught on his back and was pinned, the coach said, otherwise he would have advanced to a higher finish.
Three of Wrangell's wrestlers lost in what's called the Blood Round, the final match before making it to the top six and championship play. "They call it the Blood Round ... because there's a lot of heart" as wrestlers strive to make it into the next round, Carney said.
Wiederspohn had the most pins in the least time among all the boys at the
tournament: Four pins in 6 minutes, 59 seconds. Churchill was second, with four pins in 8:23.
"Our boys took fourth out of the tournament for pins with 13 pins in 29:57," the coach said. "Our girls took seventh in team pins with seven in 19:47."
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