Wrestlers ‘wrangle’ Wolves on island hide-a-way
- Klas Stolpe
- 10 hours ago
- 5 min read
JDHS Crimson Bears grapplers battle in road tournament
By Klas Stolpe
Juneau Independent
The Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé Crimson Bears took a smaller pack to the Tom Sims Invitational wrestling tournament in Wrangell over the weekend, but they wrestled big, putting eight grapplers into the finals, and placing second as a team behind the host Wolves and in front of nine other schools.
“The tournament went well,” JDHS coach Adam Messmer said. “I could see improvement in every kid we brought. For a week away from regionals that makes me feel pretty good about where we are as a team.”
JDHS had four champions and multiple podium finishes from its 17 wrestlers.
“Our heavyweight, Sean Fairchild, has really been leveling up the second half of the season,” Messmer said. “He has made it to the finals in the last two tournaments and this time came out on top.”
Fairchild (11-8 on the season), a sophomore, went 2-0 on the weekend and won his 285-pound title by pinning Metlakatla freshman Asher Oliver (8-7) at 1:00.
“My finals match was very emotional to me,” Fairchild said. “I knew that I needed to be cautious. When I get in these type of situations I start to mess up. I need to just keep going over the basics and stick to what I know and perfect it over the next week. Being a wrestler at JDHS means to me that I can be supported by my teammates and I can support them.”
JDHS freshman Matthew Shockley (26-6) went 3-0 and won the 112-pound championship by 17-6 major decision over Ketchikan freshman Maxton Glover (5-6).
“I felt like I knew how to handle some spots I would not normally find myself in that often,” Shockley said. “Thanks to the amazing help from all my coaches I was able to stay composed and scrupulous especially when in some dangerous situations. If I am going to keep doing good going into regions I will have to improve on how I work on top. I tend to forget some stuff that I have been working on. For me it is a great opportunity to be a JDHS wrestler because we have a supportive team. I believe we have amazing chemistry by cheering on everyone.”
JDHS junior Joseph Webster (19-9) went 4-0 at 135 pounds and decisioned freshman teammate Hendrik Van Kirk (12-7) by an 8-5 score for the championship.
“My finals was a close match with the win being by decision,” Webster said. “I am just trying to stick to the fundamentals, nothing crazy. Good stance, careful shots, good pressure. I am looking to wrestle more intelligently heading into regions and hopefully state.
The JDHS team is a bit of an eclectic one, but we have great coaches and mesh well. We all love this sport and are very motivated to push ourselves and teammates to become better. The team is very supportive and driven, and is a great environment to improve.”
JDHS 125-pound junior Camden Messmer (26-4) went 3-0, including a finals pin over Ketchikan freshman Mark Angelo Margaja (11-5) at 3:24.
JDHS 119-pound freshman William Hulson (17-11) went 3-1, placing second with a finals loss to Wrangell sophomore Curtis Harriger (18-9) by fall at 3:06.
JDHS 130-pound sophomore Joshua Beedle (14-9) went 2-2, including a loss in the championship to Wrangell senior Ben Houser (22-5) by 13-1 MD.
JDHS 189-pound sophomore Hugo Rank (6-3) went 3-2, including a 6-2 decision over junior teammate Tyler Oudekerk (3-6) in the third-place match.
JDHS 145-pound junior Gage Keller (11-5) went 2-2, including a loss in the third-place match to Wrangell sophomore Lucas Stearns (18-9) by fall at 4:22.
JDHS 103-pound freshman Jayden Frickey (8-14) went 3-2 and defeated Craig freshman Allen Trimmer by 9-4 decision for fifth place; JDHS 112-pound sophomore Carson Kautz (7-7) placed sixth; JDHS 140-pound senior Quintin McCoy (2-7) placed seventh; JDHS 125-pound sophomore Michael Carson (5-11) placed eighth; and JDHS 160-pound sophomore Brody Vavalis (2-9) lost two tough matches.
On the girls side JDHS’ 120-pound sophomore Sunny Dutton (9-7) went 2-1 and lost in the championship to Craig freshman Jayla Edenshaw (4-0) by 14-4 MD and 100-pound freshman Fiona McFarlin (11-14) lost two tough matches including one to Wrangell’s state-ranked freshman Jenna Meissner (21-4).
“My finals match was a tough match,” Dutton said. “I fought hard and stayed focused on sticking to the basics. I hope to see improvement on the things that I have been working on with the coaches as Regionals and State come around…My teammates push me out of my comfort zone to make me a better wrestler. We have great coaches and a great team. We build each other up and are a connected and supportive team.”
Wrangell won the boys team scoring with 274 points, JDHS 180.5, Sitka 126, Ketchikan 96.5, Craig 76.5, Petersburg 76, Metlakatla 68, Southeast Island School District 63, Skagway 62, Hoonah 47.5 and Kake 5.
Ketchikan won the girls team scoring with 124 points, Wrangell 104.5, Craig 68, Kake 34, JDHS 28, Metlakatla 27, Hoonah 23.5, Petersburg 16, Sitka 16 and SISD 9.
Finals matches included: Boys 285 - JDHS Fairchild (11-8) over MET Oliver (8-7) by fall 1:00; Girls 235 - WRG fr. Arabella Nore (12-5) over Kake so. Sassy Sharclane-Wooton (0-2) by fall 1:19; Boys 215 - WRG sr. Cody Barnes (21-6) over KTN so. Rocco Piazza (15-5) by Dec 11-4; Boys 189 - PSG so. Eli Anderson (14-1) over CRG sr. Aiden Goheen (4-1) by fall 2:42; Boys 171 - WRG sr. William Massin (14-9) over PSG so. Edgar Olsen (11-4) by MD 12-1; Boys. 160 - KTN jr. Cayden Harney (11-4) over WRG jr. Everett Meissner (19-9) by Dec 5-2; Boys 152 - WRG sr. Ian Nelson (18-5) over HNH jr. Lawrence Howland (18-7) by Dec 8-5; Boys 145 - WRG jr. Jackson Carney (26-0) over PSG jr. Tanner Caulum (3-1) by fall 5:39; Girls 145 - CRG fr. Abigail McCoy (3-1) over HNH so. Harlee Brown (18-3) by Dec 9-6; Boys 140 - WRG jr. Cooper Powers (18-4) over HNH fr. Tank Tyler (12-7) by technical fall 17-2 at 4:35; Boys 135 - JDHS Webster (19-9) over JDHS Van Kirk (12-7) by Dec 8-5; Girls 132 - KTN sr. Meg Thompson (4-0) over PSG jr. Fyscher Humphrey (2-2) by fall 0:35; Boys 130 - WRG Houser (22-5) over JDHS Beedle (14-9) by MD 13-1; Girls 126 - WRG so. Kourtney Barnes (28-1) over KTN sr. Minh-Thu Vo (3-2) by fall 3:07; Boys 125 - JDHS Messmer (26-4) over KTN Margaja (11-5) by fall 3:24; Girls 120 - CRG Edenshaw (4-0) over JDHS Dutton (9-7) by MD 14-4; Boys 119 - WRG Harriger (18-9) over JDHS Hulson (17-11) by fall 3:06; Girls 114 - WRG jr. Hailey Cook (23-7) over MET so. Ashlynn Leask (13-11) by fall 3:03; Boys 112 - JDHS Shockley (26-6) over KTN Glover (5-6) by MD 17-6; Girls 107 - KTN fr. Loriel Zapata (4-0) over SIT fr. Payton Bergman (2-2) by fall 5:07; Boys 103 - SIT fr. Jene Keith (15-1) over WRG fr. Ryder Ritchie (17-3) by MD 24-13; Girls 100 - WRG fr. Jenna Meissner (21-4) over KTN so. Brynn Linne (2-2) by fall 2:51.
“We have a few days before we head to regionals,” coach Messmer said. “And I feel like we are in a place to come home with a lot of hardware.”
The Crimson Bears will travel to Sitka for the Region V Wrestling Championships on Dec. 13-14 at Mt. Edgecumbe High School.
• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@gmail.com.
