Wrangell wrestlers (from left, Hailey Cook, Jackson Carney, Ian Nelson, Boomchain Loucks and Ben Houser) watch a match on Dec. 13 during the Southeast tournament in Haines.
Southeast Island School District's Michael Jones tries to fight away from Wrangell's Jackson Carney on Dec. 13 during the Southeast wrestling tournament in Haines.
Jack Carney's maniacs on the mat aren't slowing down.
At the Southeast wrestling championship in Haines on Dec. 13-14, Wrangell boasted three champions, four runners-up and five bronze medalists. Seven wrestlers qualified for the state tournament in Anchorage on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 20-21, but head coach Jack Carney hopes many more will receive an at-large bid.
Wrangell's triad of top-step finishers were Della Churchill, Jackson Carney and Everett Meissner. Hailey Cook, Ian Nelson, Vanessa Barnes and freshman Kourtney Barnes all took second. Boomchain Loucks, Cooper Powers, Cody Barnes, William Massin and Ben Houser (who got injured in the championship round and will be unable to attend state) finished in third place in their weight class.
"I'm really proud of this team," Carney said.
The Wolves finished second in the region, losing out only to the much-larger Mt. Edgecumbe High School, a Division 3A school. Against their Division 2A peers, Wrangell was unmatched, beating their closest opposition (Haines) by 30.5 team points. For context, the next closest team was 48.5 points behind Haines.
To qualify for state, individual wrestlers needed to finish either first or second in their weight class. However, the at-large system gives third-place finishers a back-door entrance to the state tournament. Of Wrangell's five third-place finishers, Carney anticipates at least four of them receiving at-large bids. While coaches nominate students for the at-large bids, the final decision is up to the Alaska School Activities Association.
"I hope to take a team of 12 or 13 to Anchorage," he said.
Off the podium, Kalee Herman, Amura Brevick, Lennex Gurule, Lucas Stearns and Michael Cook all finished in fourth place in their weight class.
Champions Della Churchill and Jackson Carney both pinned their opponents in the gold medal match.
"That was really cool to see," coach Carney said.
The head coach was especially impressed with Kourtney Barnes' debut at the Southeast championship. The freshman finished in second place in the 126-pound division after falling to her cousin, Krista Howland of Hoonah, in the championship match.
"Kourtney has nothing to worry about," Carney said. "She's dangerous for anybody. She can do anything at state."
Notably, Barnes was moved up a weight class so that she and Churchill would not compete in the same division. Carney said he didn't want two of his best wrestlers to end up getting in each other's way.
Despite Mt. Edgecumbe traveling with a markedly larger team, Wrangell matched their rivals in total pins during the two-day tournament; both teams finished with 16. Jackson Carney was responsible for three of these.
The sophomore pinned his first opponent in just a minute and a half. Next, he pinned Sitka's Cooper Wyman in just two and a half minutes. In the championship, Carney took town Haines' Lawrence Howland in under three minutes.
According to coach Carney, the event was rather chaotic. On the second day of competition (the championship day), delays caused some Wrangell wrestlers to have to wait up to six hours between warm-ups and competition.
However, Carney said the Wolves have turned their focus to this week's state championships in Anchorage.
This weekend will be a big week for Wrangell athletics, as Friday marks the home opener for boys and girls basketball.
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