High school wrestlers lined up to practice their moves last Friday in anticipation of the season opener Oct. 18 in Hoonah. Head coach Jack Carney expects 22 wrestlers this season.
Third-year head coach Jack Carney feels good about his team, and he's got his eyes fixed on a handful of state titles.
"We're in a high point," he said.
Carney expects 22 wrestlers for the 2024 season: eight girls and 14 boys. There will be just three seniors on the roster, including returning standout captain Della Churchill. A two-time region champion, Churchill was voted Outstanding Female Wrestler of the tournament at the Southeast championships last year. This year, her coach hopes she can vie for a state title.
In fact, he hopes a lot of his athletes can.
Kourtney Barnes enters the high school wrestling world with an impressive resume, and Carney believes she could be the first wrestler in Wrangell history to win the state title in all four of her high school years. Barnes is coming off of two middle school state titles, and Carney is thrilled for her to join the high school ranks.
"Even though she's a freshman, she actually trained with the high school team last year," he said. "I hope she wins it all this year."
In addition to impressive newcomers, the team is also returning five wrestlers who placed at state last season - a feat that impresses Carney.
State championship qualification is rather straightforward. There are 10 weight classes for girls and 14 for boys. The top two regional finishers from each weight class compete for the state title.
"The kids that go to state championships are the 16 best kids in the state. So, if you place in the top six of that tournament that says a lot," he explained.
In addition to Churchill, junior Ben Houser and sophomores Jackson Carney and Haley Cook round out returners who also finished in the top five at last year's state championships.
One change for this year is the addition of a new assistant coach. Lorne Cook, Carney's longtime assistant at the middle school level, will join the high school ranks for the current season.
Though their head coach is hopeful for multiple individual titles this year, he hopes this year's team can accomplish something no other Wrangell wrestling team has ever done: win a team state title.
"We're hoping for a team title. We have to compete against some schools with over 400 kids, but we're still in the running. We want a region title as a team; we want a state title as a team; we want multiple state and region titles," he said.
Carney, also the high school history teacher, joked that going up against comparatively enormous schools like Mount Edgecumbe can feel like you're going up against the Russian military in World War II.
"It's overwhelming," he laughed.
While Carney would relish a team championship - something he said is more probable for the boys team - he hopes his wrestlers can show improvement every day.
"But the main thing is we just want everybody to get better. We want everybody to love wrestling," he said. "We want people to be healthy and just loving life. If they're loving life - guess what - they're going to start winning."
The Wolves will face their first official competition at a two-day meet in Hoonah starting on Oct. 18. The next weekend, they will be in Juneau before heading to the Mountain City Christian Academy Tournament in Anchorage on Nov. 1-2.
They will be in Ketchikan the following weekend before the sole home event of the year Nov. 15-16. The team will wrestle in Sitka the next weekend before ending the regular season Dec. 6-7 in Petersburg.
This year, Haines plays host to the Southeast championships Dec. 13-14. State championships will be held in Anchorage on Dec. 20-21.
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