Three Juneau wrestlers win titles at West Christmas Classic

Three Juneau-Douglas High School wrestlers claimed titles in their respective weight classes Saturday night to lead the Crimson Bears to a fourth-place finish in the West Christmas Classic at West Anchorage High School.

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Sophomore Gerry Carrillo (103 pounds), junior Sungie Musarra (112) and junior Jake Ritter (215) were Juneau's only wrestlers to make the finals, and all three claimed titles.

"To send three guys to the finals and have all three wins, that sends a message," Juneau coach Kris Mercer said.

The Service Cougars claimed the team title in the 13-team tournament with 231.5 points, followed by the Chugiak Mustangs with 187.5, the Wasilla Warriors with 134, Juneau with 113.5 and Homer with 106.5 points. Ted Nelvis of West Anchorage was named the tournament's outstanding wrestler after claiming the 119-pound championship with a 4-3 upset decision over Service's Matt Blakeslee.

The Crimson Bears had been in sixth place after Friday's first day of wrestling, but the Crimson Bears were able to pass Bartlett and Homer on Saturday.

Many teams split their squads and sent teams to Fairbanks for the West Valley tournament, or sent wrestlers to the Lower 48 for a national tournament in Reno, Nev. But Mercer said he was happy with how his freshman- and sophomore-laden team did this weekend.

"So far the season's going good," Mercer said. "We're taking little bites at it and climbing upward. This was a good step for us. The kids were able to boost their ego."

Carrillo, the state's top-ranked wrestler at his weight in the rankings posted on AlaskaWrestling.com, recorded two pins, a technical fall and a major decision en route to winning his title. He claimed a 4-2 decision over Homer's Simeon Daigle in the championship bout.

Musarra, who is ranked third in his weight class, won all of his matches with first-round pins. He won his title with a pin of Chugiak's Sam Carlson 1 minute, 51 seconds into his bout.

Ritter, who is the state's top-ranked wrestler in his weight class, had to survive a scare in his championship bout before he pinned Wasilla's John Olson with three seconds left in the first period. Olson got Ritter on his back early in the period, but Ritter was able to escape the hold. Ritter recorded a pair of pins and a technical fall in his bouts.

Three other Juneau wrestlers placed in the tournament. Senior Dennis Hall claimed third place at 125 pounds, while freshman Dante Santos was fourth at 112 and sophomore Clinton Clark was fourth at 130 pounds.

The Crimson Bears will take a break during the holiday season, then they will return to action when they head to Ketchikan for dual meets on Jan. 9-10.