Crimson Bears topple Knights at Kayhi’s Bill Weiss Invitational
- Klas Stolpe
- 21 hours ago
- 9 min read
Updated: 12 hours ago
JDHS’ Schooler, Wrangell’s Carney, earn girls, boys outstanding wrestler
By Klas Stolpe
Juneau Independent
The Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé boys grapplers spoiled the Colony Knights’ vision of traveling to Ketchikan and claiming Southeast for their Palmer fiefdom Saturday with a championship win at Kayhi’s Bill Weiss Invitational Wrestling Tournament.
“Our underclassmen really continue to improve at a rapid pace and a lot of that has to do with the mentorship of our upperclassmen,” JDHS coach Adam Messmer said. “It wasn't really improvements as much as it was executing what we have been working on in practice.”
JDHS and Colony were tied at 260 points apiece after Friday evening and Saturday morning matches, with the Crimson Bears qualifying eight for the finals and the Knights seven.
Five Crimson Bears would win championships as JDHS totaled 287 points to Colony’s 280 in the 14-team tournament.
JDHS 160-pound senior captain Alexzondro Marx-Beierly improved to 26-8 on the season in arguably the state’s toughest weight bracket. Marx-Beierly defeated Ketchikan junior Cayden Harney (9-2 on the season) 8-5 in sudden death for the title. He also won by 22-4 technical fall over Petersburg sophomore Andrew Beavers (8-7) at 4:37, pinned Mt. Edgecumbe junior Gerasim Nelson (4-2) at 4:41 and pinned Metlakatla senior Micah Broncheau (8-4) at 3:52.
“My matches this weekend were important to me since I have never been in the Bill Weiss finals before,” Marx-Beierly said. “I was really excited to finally get my chance for a Ketchikan first place. Not only that, but as a team we ended up beating Colony and winning the tournament which is a huge step forward for us, showing that we can compete with the teams from up north and win. With every tournament I get more and more excited for state.”
JDHS junior Jed Davis improved to 23-5 on the season with a 18-1 technical fall over Wrangell senior Ian Nelson (13-5 season mark) at 4:11. Davis also pinned Petersburg senior Tyson Reid (3-6) at 2:39, pinned Southeast Island School District senior Michael Jones (1-4) at 0:44 and pinned Colony freshman Jackson Gerstner (15-7) at 1:44.
“My win was no more important than any other person’s on our team, in the finals or any other match during the whole tournament,” Davis said. “Every win was one closer to getting the team title, and I think that’s what mattered the most. Individual titles are good and nice, but as a team we are always trying to bring each other up to the same caliber as the finalists. Hopefully by regions there won’t be a single Juneau wrestler who isn’t under the spotlight.”
Davis added, “In the last few years I think Juneau has finally started to catch up with the pace under which wrestling is changing. Wrestling is an ever-evolving sport and if your coaches don’t keep up it leaves the wrestlers at a severe disadvantage. I don’t think there is anything necessarily special about Juneau wrestlers other than our ability and our coaches’ ability to adapt to change quickly, and that is why that is setting us apart from the rest of the region.”
JDHS 125-pound junior Camden Messmer (22-4) pinned Colony freshman Rowyn Mayer (14-10) at 1:58 for the championship. Messmer also pinned Craig freshman Jon Carle (2-2) at 1:14 and pinned Ketchikan freshman Mark Angelo Margaja (8-2) at 2:39.
“I just went into this tournament knowing that I could win,” C. Messmer said. “All of the kids I wrestled I have already beat before this season. Last time I wrestled the Colony kid it was a close match and I wasn't in the right mindset during that first match with him. I wrestled him up north in the Monster Bash. But this time I finished the match quick with a pin in the first round using a cradle. This team win really just shows how it is not just one person putting in the work, it is the whole team that is putting in the work and are getting better together.”
JDHS 112-pound freshman Matthew Shockley (23-6) pinned Mt. Edgecumbe junior Benjamin Balluta (13-3) at 5:52 for the title and also pinned Ketchikan sophomore Lucas Teasley (0-7) at 3:07 and won by 8-1 decision over Ketchikan freshman Maxton Glover (3-4).
“Matthew lost to Balluta in Juneau and at Lancer-Smith,” coach Messmer said. “But he won handily with a pin by sticking to what we work on in the room.”
JDHS 119-pound freshman Landon Hill improved to 22-1 on the season with a 16-0 technical fall over Metlakatla sophomore Jeshua Mowers (21-6) for the title. Hill also pinned Sitka freshman Chance Davis (7-10) at 1:02 and won by 18-3 TF over Colony senior Gabriel Crockett (12-11) at 3:58.
Other JDHS boys’ podium placings included sophomore Joshua Beedle (13-7) second at 130 pounds to Colony freshman Addyxus Echak (18-7) by 8-2 decision; 125-pound junior Tristen Ridgeway (12-5) fourth; 130-pound junior Joseph Webster (16-9) fourth; 135-pound junior Felix Hesson (17-11) third; 140-pound sophomore Caleb Aube (11-4) third; 189-pound senior Hyrum Fish (10-9) pinning sophomore teammate Hugo Rank (6-3) at 2:41 of the third/fourth place match; 215-pound senior Kyle Carter (15-8) fourth; 285-pound sophomore Sean Fairchild (8-9) losing by pin at 0:31 of his championship match against Colony senior Jackson Weller (15-4).
JDHS senior Marlin Cox (16-9) placed second at 145 pounds, falling to Wrangell junior Jackson Carney at 3:05.
Carney, now with a 21-0 record, led Wrangell to a third-place team total of 179 points and was selected the boys’ tournament outstanding wrestler.
“I was super pumped to get outstanding wrestler,” Carney said. “Out of all the tournaments I have wrestled at, this was the first time I was voted OW, so it meant a lot. Bill Weiss is always a lot of fun and a good showcase of Southeast’s skill. I was excited to see that Southeast is looking tough as a whole, and I was especially glad to see how well Wrangell is doing. A lot of work has gone into our season this year, and I am excited to see how we do at state. Goal is to come home with a couple of individual champs and Wrangell’s first team championship.”
JDHS 107-pound sophomore Nixie Schooler improved to 21-0 on the season and was selected the girls’ tournament outstanding wrestler.
“I think the tournament was so cool because a team from up north came,” Schooler said. “I am learning that I am very much capable of winning, especially when I am not in my head and I am having fun. I love getting outstanding wrestler and I am really proud of our girls. I love to see them improve and work hard and have a love for the sport.”
Schooler pinned Sitka freshman Payton Bergman (2-2) at 1:08; pinned SISD sophomore Ella Sutton (3-6) at 1:42; won by 17-2 technical fall in the semifinals over Colony junior Tiffany Churchill (18-1) at 1:18, and pinned KTN freshman Loriel Zapata at 1:22.
JDHS freshman Madelyn Dale (9-4) placed second at 114 pounds, falling to Colony senior Hayden Vanderpool (21-2) at 1:54. Dale also pinned Sitka freshman Piper Johansen (3-4) at 0:49 and defeated Wrangell’s Hailey Cook (16-7) by 15-12 decision.
Other JDHS girls included sophomore Sunny Dutton (9-8) fourth at 120 pounds, including a loss to champion Colony junior Braelyn Troxell (29-3) by fall; freshman Ciara Dutton (9-10) fourth at 138 pounds, including a loss to champion Colony sophomore Cailynn Belgrade (28-7) by fall; and 120-pound sophomore Lacie Whitehead (5-4), 120-pound freshman Adriana Blanton (6-6) and 126-pound sophomore Toriana Johnson (12-9) just off the podium.
Colony won the girls’ team title with 167 points, Mt. Edgecumbe 137, Ketchikan 124, JDHS 68.5, Wrangell 65.5, Craig 41, Hoonah 30, Metlakatla 23, Sitka 18, Angoon 4, Petersburg 3, Southeast Island School District 2, Hydaburg 0.
Girls’ tournament finals included:
100 pounds - COL sr. Grace Loutzenhiser (20-1) pinned WRG fr. Jenna Meissner (16-4) at 0:26 (3rd place KTN so. Brynn Linne / 4th place MEHS fr. Kaija Donath); 107 - JDHS Schooler pinned KTN Zapata (3. SIT Bergman / 4. COL Churchill); 114 - COL Vanderpool pinned JDHS Dale (3. WRG Cook / 4. MEHS so. Marykay Evon); 120 - COL Troxell pinned MEHS sr. Breana Nelson at 2:58 (3. CRG fr. Jayla Edenshaw / 4. JDHS S. Dutton); 126 - WRG so. Kourtney Barnes (23-1) pinned MEHS fr. Audrina Dull at 1:11 (3. KTN sr. Minh-Thu Vo / 4. COL fr. Keiana Sanderson); 132 - KTN sr. Meg Thompson pinned MET so. Haylen Ladnier (14-8) at 3:00 (3. COL fr. Bella Dull / 4. MEHS jr. Ashlynn Lonewolf); 138 - COL Belgrade pinned KTN sr. Summer Boling at 4:33 (3. MEHS sr. Halena Slats / 4. JDHS C. Dutton); 145 - HNH so. Harlee Brown (16-2) pinned ANG sr Faith Ramey at 0:28 (3. KTN so. Marley Phillips / 4. MEHS jr. Jameel Upton); 152 - COL so. Haylen Hocking (15-7) pinned MEHS jr. Arianna Alanna at 2:40 (3. KTN so. Khloe Nordland); 185-235 - MEHS so. Charity Mila pinned MEHS jr. Sophie Didrickson at 1:47 (3. WRG fr. Arabella Nore).
The JDHS boys totaled 287 points, Colony 280, Wrangell 179, Ketchikan 111.5, Mt. Edgecumbe 110.5, Haines 85.5, Metlakatla 84.5, Sitka 73, Skagway 32, Southeast Island School District 29, Hoonah 28.5, Petersburg 26.5, Craig 23 and Angoon 17.
JDHS boys just outside the podium placings included 103-pound freshman Jayden Frickey (5-12 season record), 119-pound freshman William Hulson (15-10), 130-pound freshman Beckham Selvig-Baker (7-8), 130-pound sophomore Jonah Lane (5-7), 130-pound junior Tyler Garrison (1-5), 135-pound freshman Hendrik Van Kirk (9-6), 140-pound freshman Caleb Demmert (2-5), 140-pound freshman Thomas McMillan (1-6), 152-pound junior Elliot Klinger (6-4), 160-pound sophomore Brody Vavalis (2-9), 160-pound junior Sam Buttner (3-13), 171-pound junior Jaeger Hubert (4-2), 171-pound senior Wyatt Kenney (1-4) and 189-pound junior Tyler Oudekerk (1-5).
Boys’ tournament finals included:
103 pounds - SIT fr. Jene Keith (11-1) pinned WRG fr. Ryder Ritchie (13-2) at 4:58 (3rd place COL so. David Walz / 4th place HNS fr. Luke Bell); 112 - JDHS Shockley pinned MEHS Balluta (3. SIT fr. JD Keith / 4. KTN Glover); 119 - JDHS Hill over MET Mowers (3. Col Crockett / 4. WRG so. Curtis Harriger); 125 - JDHS Messmer pinned COL Mayer (3. KTN Margaja / 4. JDHS Ridgeway); 130 - COL Echak over JDHS Beedle (3. WRG sr. Ben Houser / 4. JDHS Webster); 135 - MEHS sr. Elden Andrew (11-3) pinned COL so. Kade Harmon (8-8) at 5:44 (3. JDHS Hesson / 4. SKG so. Zane Coughran); 140 - WRG jr. Cooper Powers (13-3) over COL jr. Jake Olson (13-5) by 5-3 decision (3. JDHS Aube / 4. KTN so. Blaine Garlick; 145 - WRG Carney pinned JDHS Cox 3:05 (3. COL jr. John Bennis / 4. WRG so. Lucas Stearns); 152 - JDHS Davis pinned WRG Nelson (3. HNH jr. Lawrence Howland / 4. COL fr. Jackson Gerstner); 160 - JDHS Marx-Beierly over KTN Harney (3. COL so. Sebastian Echak / 4. MET Broncheau); 171 - COL sr. Luke Roderick (26-5) pinned HNS sr. Nolan Waid (20-5) at 5:37 (3. MET jr. Porter Hudson / 4. MEHS jr. Jorge Sandoval); 189 - COL so. Thor Nelson (27-2) over MEHS sr. Carlos Sandoval (12-2) by 5-4 decision (3. JDHS Fish / 4. JDHS Rank); 215 - HNS sr. James Stickler (20-1) over WRG sr. Cody Barnes (15-6) by 13-2 major dec. (3. KTN so. Rocco Piazza / 4. JDHS Carter); 285 - COL Weller pinned JDHS Fairchild (3. MET fr. Asher Oliver / 4. ANG jr. Daniel Fredrickson).
JDHS next will travel to Wrangell for matches Dec. 5-6.
• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@gmail.com.
