.png)
.png)
Four milestones set for JDHS wrestlers at Ketchikan’s Bill Weiss tournament
Crimson Bears seniors Davis, Messmer win fourth titles; freshman Freebury first win; girls first team title
By Klas Stolpe
Juneau Independent
To the victor goes the guts and glory, and for two Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé Crimson Bears senior wrestlers they have achieved a Southeast mid-season benchmark, winning four straight championships at Ketchikan’s Bill Weiss Invitational.
“It feels good to be a four-time champ,” JDHS senior co-captain Camden Mesmer said of his 135-pound title on Saturday. “I would tell my freshman self to keep up the hard work and keep reaching for the top.”
Messmer won titles as a 112-pound freshman, a 119-pound sophomore and a 125-pound junior.
Senior Jed Davis won the 145-pound title on Saturday. As a freshman he won at 125 pounds, then won titles at 145 pounds as a sophomore and 152 pounds as a junior.
“It is a great feeling being able to secure my fourth win at Bill Weiss, I wouldn’t have it any other way,” co-captain Davis said. “If I could talk to my young self as a freshman I would only tell him to work harder, harder than you would think possible. Because that is where change and growth happen. Wrestle all year around and never take your foot off the gas.”
The Crimson Bears had a successful weekend in the Bill Weiss tournament, putting 17 wrestlers in the finals, 11 boys and six girls. The JDHS girls won their first-ever girls division team title.
“A couple of our finals matches we were wrestling our own team,” JDHS head coach Adam Messmer said. “The girls really stepped it up this week. Harlee Brown had a rematch with Kendall Hamilton, that she lost to under the spotlight at our home tournament, and wrestled a near-perfect match to take first. Ciara Dutton continues to be a terror adding multiple wins to her undefeated season. On the boys side we came out firing on all cylinders. There were some big matches that we came out on top. Max Webster also had a rematch from our at-home finals matches against a tough Ketchikan kid and executed his game plan flawlessly for the win.”
In the girls division JDHS junior Nixie Schooler won the 107-pound title and was voted the Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament. Freshman Feangai Kivalu took first at 138 pounds, junior Harlee Brown first at 145 pounds, sophomore Ciara Dutton first at 152 pounds, freshman Minali Reid second at 120 pounds, sophomore Maddie Dale second at 126 pounds, sophomore Fiona McFarlin third at 100 pounds, junior Sunny Dutton fourth at 132 pounds, junior Reagan Wolfe fourth at 152 pounds, junior Lacie Whitehead sixth at 120 pounds and sophomore Clara Van Kirk eighth at 120 pounds.
Davis (145) and C. Messmer (135) led a strong contingent in the boys’ division with their titles. JDHS freshman Logan Sivertsen placed first at 103 pounds, sophomore Landon Hill first at 130 pounds, junior Josh Beedle first at 140 pounds, sophomore Matthew Shockley second at 125 pounds, sophomore Jack Pegues second at 130 pounds, senior Felix Hesson second at 135 pounds, junior Hugo Rank second at 189 pounds, senior Jaxin Jim second at 215 pounds, junior Sean Fairchild second at 285 pounds, Tanner Freebury third at 103 pounds, senior Joseph Max Webster third at 135 pounds, sophomore Hendrik Van Kirk third at 152 pounds, junior Carson Kautz fourth at 125 pounds, freshman Wyatt Hickok fourth at 130 pounds, freshman Andrew Erickson fourth at 140 pounds, sophomore William Hulson fifth at 145 pounds, senior Ethan Van Kirk fifth at 160 pounds, senior Samuel Buttner fifth at 171 pounds, freshman Rawley Cox sixth at 112 pounds, and senior Tyler Oudekerk sixth at 215 pounds.
“One of the matches that will stick with me was our freshman 103-pounder Tanner Freeburry getting his first high school win, with a pin,” coach Messmer said. “I don't know if I have ever had a team, coaches include, so excited. It was truly a special moment.”
Freeburry is on the autism spectrum, with low support needs. He does not always pick up on social cues or maintain eye contact, has difficulty reading non-verbal cues or understanding sarcasm, and needs a little extra support in some of his classes to keep on track, but he also has very focused interests and can talk about computers and their operating systems for hours without getting bored.
"Well, they are interesting," Freeburry said of computers. "You can make them for specific purposes, you can mod certain phones and tablets. Computers are extremely upgradable. The one problem is AI is making computer parts expensive, but yeah, I like computers because they are cool and I can do alot with them."
“Yeah wrestling has been going good for me and I plan on continuing doing this,” Freeburry said. “It is my favorite sport, and I have never done club wrestling, but I might this year though. I love being on the team and the senior captains are very good, and also the coaches are the best in all three of my years wrestling. I started wrestling in seventh grade.”
Freeburry said, “My win started with me waiting a few seconds for my opponent to get to the mat. We wrestled and in the first period I got some points, but nobody pinned anyone. But in the second period the person I was wrestling got a shot, but I sprawled and was able to get control. Then he stood up and I did a mat return, then he stood up again and I did another mat return. And after a couple of seconds I was able to knock him over and get that pin. I have been wrestling for three years and there have been tons of matches. I felt great as the final seconds ticked off.”
The entire Crimson Bears roster felt great.
“Tanner getting that win was the highlight of my week at the tournament, along with many of my teammates,” JDHS co-captain Davis said. “He is one of the most resilient people in that room; he never misses a practice and always gives it his best, and to see that work finally payout for him was very gratifying. He earned it. It inspires me. I think the last few year of my wrestling career have been solid, but nothing more. I have come short of my goal of being a state champ every year. But that only makes me push harder the next. This sport comes with ups and downs and you just have to accept that, I get downtime which helps me reset and not burn out, but because I have not reached my goal yet I do not see any reason to have to cope. This year in particular, I will allow wrestling to consume my life for a few months to reach the top.”
Co-captain C. Messmer said, “Tanner just really shows that if you want something enough you can achieve it. It really shows that anyone can step on the mat and win. And I know Tanner has a lot more wins to come. He is inspiring. And for me I would describe the past years as just life. I have been wrestling for so long that it has just become part of my day-to-day life. I started wrestling when was four so I do not remember the reason I started, but I can say I have never regretted joining wrestling.”
JDHS will next attend the 2026 Lancer Smith Memorial Wrestling Tournament at Wasilla’s Curtis Menard Sports Center, Friday-Saturday, Nov. 13-14.
“I am happy about where we are right now,” coach Messmer said. “A lot of our losses we were winning and made a small mistake. I feel like those mistakes are easy fixes that we can correct. We have a short week of practice this week before heading to Lancer in Wasilla, the biggest tournament of the season. We will be ready come Friday morning to show those up north teams what they have coming for them.”
• Contact Klas Stolpe at sports@juneauindependent.com
.jpg)
.jpg)