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Southeast Showdown puts 11 Crimson Bears on top
JDHS takes team titles; Wrangell’s Carney, Barnes are boys, girls outstanding grapplers
By Klas Stolpe
Juneau Independent
The Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé wrestling team honored its senior grapplers on Saturday and proceeded to sweep the team titles in the Southeast Showdown, placing 18 boys and 13 girls on the three-tiered podium with 11 earning championships.
“This means a lot,” Crimson Bears senior Ethan Van Kirk said. “Especially since it is senior night, our last home tournament. It means a lot to be able to show up for the community.”
Van Kirk decisioned Metlakatla senior Porter Hudson 5-2 in the 160-pound title match.
“I was thinking about being a senior, honestly, quite a bit tonight in my match,” Van Kirk said. “It was on my mind quite a bit. Obviously the goal was to go out there and just wrestle, but it is always in the back of your mind that this is the last home tournament match I am ever going to have.”
That last match also was laden with blood as Van Kirk took a blow to the nose on a Hudson move and the match would have a few stoppages to quell the bleeding. The issue was ultimately resolved with tape wrapped around Van Kirk’s head and nose.
“They wrapped me up in some new headgear,” Van Kirk mused. “It was harder to wrestle in. I had a little bit of trouble with my hair mixing in with the tape, I couldn’t see much, but it was enough to go finish the match. I got that reversal at the end and that really cemented the win. It put me three points ahead and after that there was a few seconds left, and I just finished out the clock.”
The JDHS boys scored 280 points, Wrangell 125.5, Petersburg 104, Metlakatla 80, Mt. Edgecumbe 74.5, Dimond 64.5, Hoonah 62, Sitka 50, Thorne Bay 50, Haines 45.5, Skagway 26.5, Angoon 16, Craig 14, and Kake seven.
JDHS senior captain Jed Davis pinned his way to the 145-pound title, putting Petersburg senior Tanner Caulum on his back with 31 seconds left in the second period.
“It feels great,” Davis said. “I expected to win and I did, and it feels good. Always does…To be honest I don’t know what I did out there, but consistency in the practice room is the key to winning all the time. You just get in there, you work hard, and you make things happen on the mat.”
The Crimson Bears girls scored 115 points, Wrangell 62.5, Mt. Edgecumbe 61, Dimond 43, Angoon 29, Kake 28, Craig 28, Hoonah 14, Sitka 11, Thorne Bay five, Haines and Petersburg 0.
JDHS sophomore Madelyn Dale scored a 10-2 major decision win over MEHS sophomore Audrina Dull for the girls 126-pound title.
“For me winning this tournament was really cool; last year I lost in finals so this year I got some redemption,” Dale said. “I think my key to win was just being confident in myself and enjoying it. I was really excited to wrestle, and I went out and wrestled my match.”
The two-day tournament was dealt a twist with Ketchikan falling prey to the somewhat challenging skies over Southeast Alaska and having to deplane in Wrangell on the ‘milk run’ to Juneau, missing the first day of matches. The Kings were accommodated with inclusion into Saturday’s second chance tourney to earn matches under the spotlight in the evening.
The Wrangell Wolves traveled earlier and claimed multiple placings on the podium with 152-pound senior Jackson Carney earning the boys Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament and 132-pound junior Kourtney Barnes the girls Outstanding Wrestler.
“I think the thing I was most pumped about is just the opportunity to be back on the mat with tough competition,” Carney said. “I had some great matches this weekend with some guys like Jed Davis and Keller Jackson. It was just getting back on the mat and getting back into saying, ‘All right, I know how to do this. This is what we love.’ So really, coming to the Southeast Showdown is just a reminder of how much I love this sport. And what a blessing it is to have the opportunity to do this.”
Carney earned a technical fall, two pins and a 15-4 major decision in the championship over Dimond senior Keller Jackson to improve to 15-0 this season. He also wrestled an exhibition win over JDHS’ Davis, the two combatants have battled on weight bracket mats their entire high school careers.
Barnes pinned Mt. Edgecumbe senior Ashlynn Lonewolf with 45 seconds remaining in the second period and is also undefeated this season.
“It just shows me how much I improved since last year,” Barnes said. “I haven’t gotten a single tournament title since last year except at my own home tournament. It just feels really good to see that my work is really beginning to pay off. In the final match it was my armbar that was key for me.”
Wrangell’s 107-pound sophomore Jenna Meissner also earned the podium, winning by fall over MEHS sophomore Kaija Donath.
“I think it was awesome,” Meissner said. “Just coming out of cross country season this is kind of a blast and I just love the sport so it was fun to be here. The transition from cross country to wrestling just kind of comes and I think it was easy. So I normally like to throw a lot of head-and-arm. So I switched it up and I won with a headlock. I had to switch it up because they know I am always throwing the head-and-arm.”
Girls champions included JDHS 114-pound junior Nixie Schooler by fall over PSG freshman Freya Fenner; CRG 120-pound senior Athena Fraley over JDHS freshman Leighton Hall; Dale at 126 pounds; Barnes at 132 pounds; JDHS 138-pound freshman Feangai Kivalu by 18-1 technical fall over Kake freshman Amari Davis; Dimond 145-pound sophomore Payton Baker by fall over JDHS junior Harlee Brown; JDHS 152-pound sophomore Ciara Dutton by fall over MEHS sophomore Kira Oxereok-Weya; CRG 165-pound sophomore Eva Clark by fall over JDHS junior Keira Jenkins; and JDHS 235-pound sophomore Phoebe Martin by fall over KAK junior Sassy Sharclane-Wo.
“It was fun taking my third home tournament title,” JDHS’ Schooler said. “But it was also sad realizing it was some of my friends’ last home tournament. I didn’t use any special moves, I just went out there and showed up.”
Anchorage visitor Payton Baker enjoyed Dimond’s first trip to Juneau.
“I am just really excited,” Baker said. “I thought it was fun just to wrestle. That is really all I wanted to do, win or lose. I just didn’t want to get in my head, so I just made sure to watch other people's matches, have fun and just pay attention to people. It was so fun to be in Juneau. It is so beautiful. The mountains are so pretty. Right when we got here I was like, ‘I want to go on a hike.’ It was awesome.”
On the boys title mats HNS 103-pound sophomore Luke Bell won by fall over JDHS freshman Logan Sivertsen; SIT 112-pound sophomore Jene Keith by 18-3 technical fall over TB sophomore Waylon Matejowsky; MEHS 119-pound senior Benjamin Balluta by fall over HNS freshman Asher Jimenez; and JDHS 125-pound sophomore Matthew Shockley by 7-3 decision over WRG junior Curtis Harriger.
“Losing in the finals in the Southeast Showdown tournament last year had a big impact on me and made me not want to lose in front of my home crowd ever again,” Shockley said. “The key to my victory in my finals match was wrestling with my emotions in check and using the skills all the coaches have been teaching throughout the season. My opponent was from Wrangell so I was already mentally prepared because I know Jack Carney has a very strong program with all of his wrestlers and could give each wrestler a great game plan for their upcoming matches. I learned a lot in my previous match against my teammate (jr Carson Kautz) and I got a little reckless and did not wrestle with good fundamentals."
"Coach Mesmer pulled both of us aside after the match and gave us both some really good advice on wrestling to our strengths and staying away from situations that would compromise us. I remembered what coaches talked to me about going into my finals match and I wanted to make sure I did not put myself in any position that would be dangerous. Being able to get JDHS a win on senior night means a lot to my teammates, my coaches, and me. While this victory means a lot in the moment we are not done yet and we are taking this one week at a time, this season has just begun and we have a long way to go.”
JDHS 130-pound sophomore Landon Hill won by 14-5 major decision over senior teammate Felix Hesson.
“It feels great to dominate in front of my people,” Hill said. “It is hard to wrestle someone that you know all their moves and counters and you practice against. I just thought to myself dominate this match, get him tired, and have some fun out there. Man this sport is fun!”
JDHS 135-pound senior Camden Messmer won by fall over MET junior Jeshua Mowers.
“It feels good to be a champ,” Messmer said. “I went into the match wanting to maintain control and I think I did a good job controlling him thoughout the match. Then I pinned him in an arm bar.”
JDHS 140-pound junior Joshua Beedle by fall over classmate Michael Carson.
“It is pretty cool,” Beedle said. “I get the opportunity to wrestle in front of my peers and it feels great. I kind of just tried to wrestle my match. Keep it in my field. It is hard to face someone you practice with. We wrestle every day. We know exactly what each other are going to do. It is just who remembers more, really.”
Davis won at 145 pounds; Carney at 152 pounds; Van Kirk at 160 pounds; HNH 171-pound senior Lawrence Howland won by fall over SIT sophomore Landon LaDuke; PSG 189-pound senior Eli Anderson won by 16-11 decision over WRG senior Everett Meissner; PSG 215-pound junior Edgar Olsen won by fall over JDHS junior Hugo Rank; and 285-pound MET senior Josiah Bergtold won by fall over JDHS junior Sean Fairchild.
“Oh it is really great,” PSG’s Anderson said. “I am a senior so this is my last year and I am just trying to do the best that I can. I was just working on my shots. Just getting in, trying to set them up, execute them, work through them and do what I know how to do. I know the competition is strong. These guys know how to wrestle. There is a lot of strong competition in Southeast and I am excited to see how the season goes.”
JDHS honored seniors Samuel Buttner, Jed Davis, Landyn Dunn, Tyler Garrison, Felix Hesson, Jaeger Hubert, Jaxin Jim, Gage Keller, Camden Messmer, Tyler Oudekerk, Tristan Ridgway, Ethan Van Kirk and Max Webster before the Saturday finals.
“I think our team did well,” JDHS coach Adam Messmer said. “We have a lot of young kids on our team and they improved thoughout the tournament. Our older kids are right where we want them and it was a good tournament to shake off some rust before heading back up north next week.”
This story will be updated.
• Contact Klas Stolpe at sports@juneauindependent.com
