Wrangell's Cody Barnes pins Sitka's Dylan Petersen during their 285-pound match Saturday at the Southeast Showdown Wrestling Tournament in Juneau.
Wrangell's Vanessa Johnson attempts to pin Mount Edgecumbe's Alexia Zacharof during their 165-pound championship match Saturday at the Southeast Showdown Wrestling Tournament in Juneau's George Houston Gym.
The Wrangell High School wrestling team secured six podium finishes at the Juneau Southeast Showdown on Oct. 26-27.
Senior Vanessa Johnson finished first in the girls 165-pound bracket while sophomore Jackson Carney continued his unbeaten season, finishing first in the boys 140-pound class. Ben Houser, Della Churchill, Cody Barnes and sophomore Hailey Cook all finished second in their respective events. Senior Kyan Stead came in fourth place for the boys 125-pound weight class.
Of all the Wrangell victories, none were better than Carney's performance against Ketchikan senior Gage Massin.
Jackson Carney took an early lead in the matchup, winning the first two rounds handedly. However, as the match went on, Massin - Carney's previously undefeated opponent - mounted a comeback. With 20 seconds remaining, Massin took down Carney. In a crowd-wowing move, Carney flipped the script, and shortly after, the referee gave Carney the pin.
Carney believes his success came in part due to the mindset that he approaches every match with.
"You want to go out and wrestle everyone the exact same," Carney told the Juneau Empire. "So, I went out thinking that I could wrestle him the same as everyone else, with a good stance, good positions and see what happens."
His head coach (and dad) was thrilled.
"Jackson has wrestled Gage since third grade, and up until this year he had never beaten him," coach Jack Carney said. "Gage is a senior, super tough, a region champion. Usually, you can't pin him like that."
Churchill's second-place finish continues her run of top three finishes this season. The senior captain is no stranger to the upper steps of the podium, as the two-time region champion was voted Outstanding Female Wrestler at the Southeast championships last year.
Junior Ian Nelson finished sixth in the 152-pound boys weight class and sophomore Everett Meissner finished eighth in the 160-pound bracket. In the girls bracket, Sophomore Bella Ritchie finished seventh in the 114-pound weight class.
Unfortunately for the Wolves, freshman phenom Kourtney Barnes was unable to compete in the event due to injury. Her coach has high hopes for the newcomer on the mat and is impressed by her willingness to help the team while she is sidelined. In Juneau, Barnes took over camera duty.
Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé won their home event with 516 points. Wrangell finished fourth with 128 points, behind second-place Mount Edgecumbe (399 points) and third-place Ketchikan (298 points).
The tournament was the largest meet Wrangell has competed in this year, with over 200 wrestlers. Jack Carney noted that several Wrangell wrestlers competed up a weight class over the weekend.
Next up, the Wolves will travel to Anchorage where the Mountain City Christian Academy Tournament will be held Nov 1-2. They will be in Ketchikan the next weekend and will host their only home event of the season on Nov. 16-17.
According to their head coach, the team's mindset is unchanged from the start of the season.
"Everybody is focused on a state title," he said. "We expect to do pretty big things up at Mountain City Christian Academy."
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