At one point in the Southeast Middle School Regional Wrestling Championships, the Stikine Wolves chanted, “Della, Della, Della…”

They said it was for their coach, inspiration and hero, Della Churchill, who was filling in for an assistant coach in the tournament.

When told this Churchill, a Wrangell High School senior who is fulfilling a senior project by coaching youth, said, “They are my heroes!”

The first-ever championships held at Thunder Mountain Middle School on Friday and Saturday celebrated the best youth grapplers in the Panhandle, but also their heroes and the return of wrestling popularity and the dedication of coaches and athletes, past and present.

“It’s fun, it means wrestling is back in Southeast,” TMMS coach Ken Brown said. “It’s recovered from that awful, past, school travel ban — when you do that it hurts all of Southeast. It has just been wonderful to see these huge teams from all over Southeast. Wrangell came ready to roll, Sitka was outstanding this tournament, Haines is outstanding…It was just awesome watching kids succeed.”

Brown, who graduated from Sitka in 1993, said of his inspirations, “I liked watching Kenny Monday wrestle but I could never do the fireman’s carry like he could…I knew Audi Petersen, he made me realize anyone can achieve anything in wrestling. Al Hill Sr. introduced me to the sport and still teaches me whether he knows it or not I look up to him. And Rick Mills from Kake inspired me to alway be myself. He gave me the nickname ‘Mad Dog’ 30 plus years ago.”

More than 230 wrestlers from 11 communities showed out to a packed Falcons gymnasium that saw host TMMS claim the team titles in the boys and girls tournaments.

“It feels good, definitely,” TMMS 106-pound seventh grader Andrew Erickson said of his major decision title win over Thorne Bay’s Cutter Killian. “I am really happy for how far I have come. I look up to my dad (Jarad Erickson) because he won Tanana, and I want to do the same in my seventh or eighth grade year.”

Fourteen Falcons boys reached the medal podium with nine earning Southeast weight division championships.

“It feels good,” TMMS seventh grader Logan Sivertsen said of his 10-7 decision over Craig’s Karl Lindley for the 85-pound title. “I feel like I still have a lot more coming. I really like wrestling because it is just intense, you’re always moving and not stopping that much.”

Sivertsen thanked those responsible for getting him into the sport.

“My friends in the last couple years really got me into wrestling like Andrew Erickson and Rawley Cox…and I look up to guys like Colton (Cummins), Darren (Foster), Camden (Messmer), Alex (Marx-Beierly) and William (Dapcevich).”

Seven Falcons’ girls reached the medal podium with four claiming Southeast titles.

TMMS seventh grader Haylee Ondreyka pinned Schoenbar’s Ella Kolean for the girls 146-pound title.

“It’s been a good experience,” Ondreyka said. “I’ve only been wrestling for two years. It’s been really awesome to learn and have some good competition over the years…It definitely was a little nerve wracking, especially on my second year but I think I got used to it after a while, just the crowd and all that. It was a little over-stimulating, but it was OK at the end.”

Ondreyka said there are people she has looked up to and who have helped: “Definitely my dad (Dan). He has always been there, just always around me and helping me out, so has my mom (Janelle). My parents have been really helpful.”

The TMMS boys claimed their team title with 297.5 points, Sitka’s Blatchley Huskies were second with 221, Wrangell’s Stikine Wolves tallied 185.5, Haines Glacier Bears 143.5, Ketchikan’s Schoenbar Knights 124.5, Craig Panthers 116, Klawock Chieftains 75.5, Petersburg’s Mitkof Vikings 43, Thorne Bay Wolverines 33, Hoonah Braves 31, Ketchikan Charter 26 and Kake Thunderbirds 5.

Blatchley’s Jene Keith was voted the Outstanding Male Wrestler of the tournament. Keith defeated Klawock’s Charlie Roberts by a 17-10 decision to take the boys 99-pound championship.

“I feel like I have put in all the work and it finally came through,” Keith said. “Coach Mike (Callahan) and my dad (Jason Keith) have really helped me since I was four. Like he’s been my coach since I was four and my dad has been helping me. They are inspiring…I thought this tournament was going to be smaller, but it turned out to be very big. I think my favorite move is probably like a sweep single.”

The TMMS girls won with 139.5 points, Schoenbar was second with 108, followed by Stikine with 73, Haines 68, Blatchley 65.5, Hoonah 58.5, KTN Charter 48, Klawock 43, Craig 38, Mitkof 38, Thorne Bay 21 and Kake 17.

TMMS seventh grader Minali Reid was voted the Outstanding Female Wrestler of the tournament. Reid won by 17-9 major decision over Schoenbar’s Loriel Zapanta for the 106-pound title.

“I feel good,” Reid said. “It is my first time getting first. And it is also my first year.”

Reid said her dad (2000 JDHS grad and 140-pound state champion Gary) inspires her and, “once you’re out there you’re nervous but like once you are wrestling you’re fine and it’s fun.”

Wrestlers hit the mats for many reasons and had a wide range of emotions.

Blatchley eighth grader Payton Bergman won a quarterfinal match and was in tears.

“It means a lot because I have only done it for a year and now I’ve come this far,” Bergman said. She became more emotional when asked who her hero and inspiration are.

“My dad because he’s the coach,” she said sobbing. “He started coaching me when I was really young and I didn’t do it. But now that I do it I really like it…I just want to make my dad happy…Next year is high school and I plan on doing it in high school.”

Her father, 2003 Sitka graduate Dalton Bergman, participated in wrestling, basketball and football for the Wolves. He, too, became emotional when told his daughter idolizes him.

“That’s very nice. I never heard that one from her but that’s awesome,” coach Bergman said. “It means the world to see her out there. I got back into coaching in 2015 when she was about five and I thought she was feisty and I wanted to do it for her. It took many years. She is kind of all sports and it took her a while, and this year she just decided to do it and I was like, that’s what I saw so many years ago. Yeah, that means the world to me…This sport translates so well into and with other sports. I keep trying to tell kids to turn out because it teaches you a lot of skills, interpersonal skills too, and they find that fortitude to keep winning and keep pushing.”

Klawock eighth grader Quintin Bagby defeated Haines’ Evan Knight by 23-5 technical fall for third place at 123 pounds.

“Wrestling’s fun and it’s improving my skills and I’m learning new things and it is just about fun,” Bagby said. “I just started three years ago. It helps with anger. Like I can just get all my anger out on the mat instead of just in public. My friends and my coaches Steve and James (Roberts) help a lot. I want to continue wrestling into high school.”

Klawock teammate Alli Demmert pinned TMMS’ Sinira Tomanogi for third place in the girls 137-pound division.

“To me wrestling means to just have fun,” Demmert said. “To do your best. My coach taught me to do the best I can in every match.”

TMMS eighth grader Jack Pegues pinned Schoenbar’s Rylan Jones at 1:38 for the boys 115-pound championship.

“It feels pretty good,” Pegues said. “I just really like the sport. I like how much competition you have. I just really like wrestling and my friends help a lot.”

TMMS eighth grader Carter Day won by 27-8 technical fall over Hoonah’s Tank Tyler for the 141-pound championship.

“It feels good to be a Southeast champ but I’ve got to make sure I get better at my wrestling,” Day said. “I didn’t wrestle too good in my finals match so I’ve got to prepare for state at Tanana.”

Day said his dad Robert is his inspiration: “He wrestled in high school and he has been pushing me to keep on coming out every year.”

Coaches praised the tournament as well.

“It is just showing the success of the wrestling community,” TMMS coach Jason Hass said. “It is the biggest tournament Juneau has hosted in the past 10 years. There is a sense of pride I think for our whole wrestling community that we got more kids involved in the tournament from all across the region, plus we have this many fans for a middle school wrestling tournament shows that the wrestling in our community is growing exponentially.”

Hass and TMMS coaches and volunteers Reid, Gideon Monette, Joardan Savland, Brandon Frickey and Pete Holson were praised by head coach Ken Brown, who also thanked Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé grapplers Toriana Johnson, Darren Foster and Alex Marx-Beirley “for being at every single middle school practice and giving back to the future of the program.”

Schoenbar assistant Trygve Westergard, a 2000 Kayhi grad said, “I know most of the parents in here I wrestled with. All the Juneau coaches…we’ve all become lifelong friends and hopefully all these kids do the same. They’re going to wrestle against each other and if they stick with the sport for the next five years they’re going to build bonds, and it makes Southeast Alaska one community in a lot of ways because we are all friends. Gary Reid has a key to my house and cars, Remi Privot in Wrangell does…I mean this is an unbelievably experience for these kids to make life-long friends from other towns.”

Added Schoenbar assistant Paxton Potter, “The kids get to travel and see different parts of Southeast Alaska. Some of them have never even left Ketchikan. Being able to do this and perform in front of all their friends and family and experience all the different wrestlers of Southeast gives them a great opportunity to develop into better humans, better young men and women, and enjoy wrestling in the process.”

Schoenbar coach Max Collins said, “It is good for these kids to get started at a young age and develop into their high school years. It’s cool to see how all of our community can get together. Growing up as a wrestler and evolving to a coach it is cool to see how you can run into other people from different towns that you used to have a connection with and rebuild that culture again.”

Tournament director Chris Heidemann said, “The positives of this tournament are the competition and the camaraderie of the sport of wrestling. This is a different group of kids than goes out for most other sports and I think it brings them together in a lot of different ways, and it is great for the communities around Southeast. These kids that are wrestling today will know each other for the rest of their lives.”

Mitkof coach Mike Corl said his mentors were “mostly kids that were my upperclassmen, guys like Scott Peterson, the Egan brothers, Isaac McMurren, some of those guys…Another guy I looked up to is Trevor Killian, his son (Cutter) wrestled in the finals today, and it is crazy to come full circle. I didn’t think I was that old. This tournament is historic. The wrestling community in Southeast is still pretty strong and there is a lot of history, and everybody keeps bringing their kids. It’s been great, a wonderful experience.”

Stikine head coach Jack Carney said the tournament showed wrestling is on an upswing again.

“We had a lull there back in the mid-teens where Southeast wrestling wasn’t what it was back in 2000 to 2010,” Carney said. “We had a lull. And every year for the past six years we have gotten better and better and better. We’re the only region with all four…division one, division two, division three and four, in the whole state. And so we sharpen each other. It is great to see the relationships, it is great to see friends, grandparents that wrestled, and then their kids wrestled and now their grandchildren are wrestling. It’s great to see how big schools and small schools make each other tougher. I just see different programs, like Kake coming, Hoonah coming, and Thorne Bay…programs that maybe were on the edge. Haines, that didn’t have much of a program even six years ago, they are dominant. And Juneau’s club and what they are doing K through 12 is insane, I just love it. I just love the atmosphere. Nothing like Southeast wrestling.

Carney, a 2003 Mt. Edgecumbe graduate and 145-pound state third placer, was coach Mike Kimber’s first state qualifier. Carney met 2002 Iowa State career undefeated grappler Cale Sanderson – now the Penn State coach — at a camp.

“He changed my life,” Carney said. “I looked up to him.”

When told that Wrangell senior Della Churchill said Carney was one of her inspirations he replied, “Well, she is one of mine and it is so good having her in her senior project. She’s louder than me. She actually says all my moves about a half a second before I am going to say them so she has been paying attention…All the wrestlers look up to her, especially the girls. They all listen to her. The girls are going up and giving her big hugs. They are asking for her before the match to calm them down. She is helping them with the mental and the emotional aspect of it, so they really like her.”

Upcoming on Saturday, kindergarten through sixth grade athletes will compete in the Juneau Youth Wrestling Club’s Southeast Clash — held at TMMS.

Southeast Middle School Regional Tournament top three medal winners per weight:

BOYS

71 pounds – 1. Jerick Keith, Blatchley; 2. Tyson Combs, Haines; 3. Jacob Cisney, Mitkof.

78 – 1. Luke Bell, Haines; 2. Cameron Caskey, Schoenbar; 3. Sophia Haseltine, Craig.

85 – 1. Logan Sivertsen, TMMS; 2. Karl Lingley, Craig; 3. Baron Stukey, Craig.

92 – 1. Ryder Ritchie, Stikine; 2. Wesley Paulson, Schoenbar; 3. Malachi Harrison, Stikine.

99 – 1. Jene Keith, Blatchley; 2. Charlie Roberts, Klawock; 3. Carsyn Christian, Stikine.

106 – 1. Andrew Erickson, TMMS; 2. Cutter Killian, Thorne Bay; 3. Alex Trimmer, Craig.

111 – 1. Jon Carle, Klawock; 2. Liam Hulson, TMMS; 3. Canaan Larson, Haines.

115 – 1. Jack Pegues, TMMS; 2. Rylan Jones, Schoenbar; 3. Boyd Branch, Blatchley.

119 – 1. Landon Hill, TMMS: 2. Beckham Selvig, TMMS; 3. Lennox Konrad, TMMS.

123 – 1. Hanai Richey, TMMS; 2. Reece Howard, Blatchley; 3. Quintin Bagby, Klawock.

127 – 1. Cooper Smith, Blatchley; 2. Jonah Wray, Haines; 3. Luke Darbonne, TMMS.

133 – 1. Brock Callahan, Blatchley; 2. Jack Conatser, Craig; 3. Hendrick Van Kirk, TMMS.

141 – 1. Carter Day, TMMS; 2. Tank Tyler, Hoonah; 3. Zander Bartlett, Stikine.

149 – 1. Cole Whiting, TMMS; 2. Thomas Slaven, Mitkof; 3. Milo Jensen, Haines.

161 – 1. Koen Hirai, Blatchley; 2. Landon LaDuke, Blatchley; 3. Tommy Rohr-Wickman, Stikine.

175 – 1. Zander Sudnikovich-Remington, Blatchley; 2. Marcus Ostrander, Stikine; 3. Cole Edenshaw, Klawock.

211 – 1. Braeden Lee Antrim, TMMS; 2. Everett Edens, Stikine; 3. Mckinley Nicholas, Schoenbar.

276 – 1. Barron Marexo, TMMS; 2. Jonah Hurst, Stikine; 3. Makhi Williams, Craig.

GIRLS

90 pounds – 1. Nora Lovell, Thorne Bay; 2. Mariah Carney, Stikine; 3. Yarona Jacobsen, Haines.

98 – 1. Leighton Hall, TMMS; 2. Jenna Meissner, Stikine; 3. Adrianna Vickers, Craig.

106.5 – 1. Minali Reid, TMMS; 2. Loriel Zapanta, Schoenbar; 3. Sydney Crim, Schoenbar.

114 – 1. Kyrene Harney, Schoenbar; 2. Jaqueline Fairbanks, Klawock; 3. Adriana Blanton, TMMS.

121 – 1. Selena Pepper, Blatchley; 2. Juliana Ashcraft, Schoenbar; 3. Maddie Boseman, Ketchikan Charter.

129 – 1. Lylah Wray, Haines; 2. Ngai Kivalu, TMMS; 3. Kendall Hamilton, Schoenbar.

137- 1. Makayla Henry, Haines; 2. Freya Fenner, Mitkof; 3. Alli Demmert, Klawock.

146 – 1. Haylee Ondreyka, TMMS; 2. Ella Kolean, Schoenbar; 3. Kylie Wilte, Ketchikan Charter.

156 – 1. Ava Hinchman, Hoonah; 2. Eva Clark, Craig; 3. Charlie Jack, Hoonah.

176 – 1. Phoebe Martin, TMMS; 2. Kyra Hedlind, Schoenbar.

196 – 1. Arabella Nore, Stikine; 2. Pyper Beasley, Ketchikan Charter; 3. Kendall Mulkey, TMMS.

• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@juneauempire.com.