JDHS grapplers continue to prosper on northern mats
- Klas Stolpe
- 18 hours ago
- 5 min read
Crimson Bears place fifth at prestigious Wasilla tournament
By Klas Stolpe
Juneau Independent
The Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé Crimson Bears wrestlers placed fifth as a team among 44 schools participating in the Lancer Smith Memorial Wrestling Tournament over the weekend at Wasilla’s Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center.
“I am very happy with the results,” JDHS coach Adam Messmer said. “We had four kids in the finals, two in JV, one in varsity, and one in girls. We came away with three first-place finishes.”
South Anchorage placed first in the varsity tournament with 330 points from 13 wrestlers, Soldotna followed with 286 from 13 wrestlers, Student Wrestling Development Program 272.5 from 13 wrestlers, Colony 146.5 from 14 wrestlers and JDHS 146 points from 10 wrestlers. Other southeast schools included Mt. Edgecumbe 12th (57.5 pts., 3 wrestlers), Wrangell 13th (57 pts., 4 wrestlers), Haines 18th (48.5 pts., 3 wrestlers) and Ketchikan 36th (10 pts., 3 wrestlers). Soldotna won the girls tournament (177 pts., 7 wrestlers), MEHS 16th (60 pts., 4 wrestlers), Ketchkan 18th (56 pts., 6 wrestlers), Wrangell 19th (53 pts., 4 wrestlers) and JDHS 24th (44 pts., 3 wrestlers). South won the JV tournament (209 pts.,12 wrestlers), Kayhi 11th (113.5 pts., 8 wrestlers), JDHS 14th (81 pts., 6 wrestlers), HNS 23rd (58 pts., 4 wrestlers) and WRG 30th (37 pts., 2 wrestlers).
JDHS sophomore Nixie Schooler won the girls 107-pound championship with a fall over South Anchorage freshman Brooklyn Duelfer at 2:26. Schooler, 4-0 on the weekend, also was awarded the girls tournament Outstanding Wrestler.
“I just concentrated on having fun and staying positive,” JDHS Nixie Schooler said. “I need to improve on my offense a lot.”
JDHS senior captain Alex Marx-Beierly continues to be a leader on, and off, the mat and went 5-2 over the weekend in the state’s tough 160-pound weight division. He placed fourth with a tough loss to Kenai’s state title contender Daniel Steffensen. His other loss was to the eventual second-place finisher, Chugiak sophomore Richard Dunlavey, by the score of 3-2.
“With so many wrestlers and matches going on all day, it gets difficult to stay at the top of your game for hours on end and I feel like I definitely could have wrestled a few of my matches better,” Marx-Beierly said. “That being said, my confidence has grown exponentially. I only lost to the second-place finisher by one point and that is a beacon of hope for me. It helps me to know that I am on the same level as the best guys in the state and definitely have a chance at reaching the top by the end of the season. I am going to spend this next week working on my shot confidence and my mental game, the only thing holding me back is me and if I can get past that, then the sky’s the limit.”
JDHS freshman Landon Hill won the 119-pound championship with a 7-4 decision over South Anchorage freshman Mason Ekle. The loss was the first for Ekle on the season. Hill went 4-0 on the weekend.
“I learned that I am pretty good at riding on top and scoring points,” Hill said. “But what is going to keep me moving forward is that I want to get better and better so I don’t have close matches with these guys and it is just straight domination over them.”
JDHS junior Camden Messmer placed third at 125 pounds by pinning Koliganek senior Gusty Tunguing IV at 1:34. Messmer, 4-1 on the weekend, had lost in the semifinals to second-place finisher Hudson Morris of Soldotna.
“I wrestled my best and left it all on the mat,” JDHS Camden Messmer said. “I wrestled some new kids for the first time this year at this tournament. And there is not a whole lot I need to work on, but as a team I think everyone wrestled amazing. We came in at fifth place, and only having 16 kids while all the others teams have around 25.”
JDHS junior Jed Davis placed third at 152 pounds with a pin of Student Wrestling development Program junior Hayden Reuter at 2:19. Davis lost in the semifinals to undefeated Soldotna senior Michael Dickinson. Davis went 5-1 on the weekend.
JDHS freshman Matthew Shockley placed fourth at 112 pounds, losing a close 4-2 decision to Mt. Edgecumbe junior Benjamin Balluta. Shockley went 3-2 on the weekend.
JDHS junior Joseph Webster placed first at 130 pounds in the junior varsity tournament with a record of 5-0. Webster defeated Bethel sophomore Maximos Lonewolf 10-7 for the title in overtime.
JDHS freshman William Hulson placed second in the junior varsity tournament, losing by fall to Chugiak freshman Archer Hicks at 4:00. Hulson had three wins on the weekend.
“All the kids wrestled up to their competitors,” coach Messmer said. "Landon Hill took first, in an overtime match and then right after Max Webster took first in JV in another overtime match. Both wrestled great matches with perfect mat awareness of what they need to do to get the win. Liam Hulson battled his way into the JV finals and wrestled a close match but came up a little short, taking second. Nixie Schooler continues to impress, not only me and her other coaches but the rest of the state and that was shown by her winning the girls Outstanding Wrestler. Jed Davis, Alex Marx-Beierly, Mathew Shockley and Camden Messmer all fought their way to the consolation finals with Davis and Messmer pulling off third place and Marx-Beierly, and Shockley both losing close matches, placing them fourth.”
According to JDHS coach Messmer, Crimson Bears freshman Madelyn Dale and sophomore Toriana Johnson competed well in the girls tournament. Dale went 3-2 at 114 pounds and Johnson 0-2 at 126 pounds.
In the varsity tournament junior Tristen Ridgeway went 0-2 at 125 pounds, junior Felix Hesson 1-2 at 130 pounds, sophomore Joshua Beedle 2-2 at 130 pounds, junior Landyn Dunn 2-2 at 135 pounds, sophomore Caleb Aube 0-2 at 140 pounds, senior Oliver Abel 1-2 at 140 pounds, junior Jaxin Jim 0-2 at 189 pounds, senior Hyrum Fish 0-2 at 189 pounds, and senior Kyle Carter 1-2 at 215 pounds.
In the JV tournament sophomore Michael Carson posted a mark of 2-2 at 125 pounds, freshman Hendrik Van Kirk 2-2 at 135 pounds, junior Sam Buttner 0-2 at 171 pounds and sophomore Sean Fairchild 2-2 at 285 pounds.
“The whole team did well and proved that we can compete at the ‘up-north’ level,” coach Messmer said. “There are a few little things we need to tweak, and each kid has something different to focus on. 1% better every day. Always proud, never satisfied.”
• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@gmail.com.
