The season is early but the message is clear: watch out for Juneau-Douglas High School junior Cody Weldon and Thunder Mountain senior Tyler Cole.
Weldon defeated Ketchikan’s defending 195-pound small school state champion Nate Fousel 9-5 on Saturday in Wrangell to win the Tom Sims Invitational championship.
“Weldon beat Fousel decisively,” JDHS head coach John Joeright said. “He wrestled a clean match with the right amount of offense and never let his opponent rest.”
Ketchikan won the team title with 197 points but Weldon’s win pushed the Crimson Bears from eighth place to seventh with 67 points.
Wrangell placed second with 116 points, Craig third with 104 points and TMHS fourth with 95 points and Sitka rounded out the top five with 93 points.
TMHS seniors Tyler Cole and Hunter Boyer led the Falcons.
Cole won the 170-pound championship with a 10-3 decision over Wrangell junior Darren Shilts. Cole pinned Haines sophomore Jerry White and Ketchikan’s Gerik Sherill along the way.
Boyer earned a berth in the 152-pound finals before losing a 3-1 decision to Craig senior Wyatt Patten. Boyer also pinned Ketchikan’s Nolan Meyer, won a decision over Petersburg’s Nathaniel Lenhard 12-4, and pinned Sitka sophomore Kyler Samauang.
JDHS senior Taylor Sutak placed third at 182-pounds with a pin over Ketchikan sophomore Cameron Harris. His only loss was to Wrangell senior Chet Armstrong.
“Taylor Sutak really stood tall this weekend at 182-pounds, down from 220 last season,” Joeright said. “He has a good chance to repeat as a state qualifier.”
This weekend the Crimson Bears and Falcons will host the Brandon Pilot Invitational at TMHS.
TOURNEY WRAPUP
• At 98 pounds, Ketchikan sophomore Payton Stewart pinned teammate Connor McCormick. TMHS freshman Connor Norman placed third, losing by 12-5 decision to Stewart.
• At 106 pounds, Ketchikan Braden Linne pinned Sitka junior Curt Bartlett for the title.
• At 113 pounds, Ketchikan sophomore Vince Tenebro pinned freshman teammate Patrick Rauwolf for the title. TMHS junior Juan Fisher lost to Tenebro by fall. He pinned JDHS senior Adam Murphy for third place.
• At 120 pounds, Mt. Edgecumbe senior Jeffery Slwooko defeated Wrangell sophomore Orion Heller for the title.
• At 126 pounds, Petersburg’s Buddy Stelmach defeated Haines sophomore Cameron Bauer 8-2 for the title.
• At 132 pounds, Hoonah junior Emmanuel Budke pinned Wrangell sophomore Ian Jenson for the title.
• At 138 pounds, Ketchikan’s Max Collins topped Mt. Edgecumbe senior Jeremy Roberts 4-3 for the title.
• At 145 pounds, Thorne Bay senior Tell Tripple pinned Wrangell junior Sam Armstrong for the title. TMHS junior Sam Nolan placed third with a pin over Ketchikan’s Grant Collins.
• At 152 pounds, Craig’s Patten titled 3-1 over TMHS’ Boyer.
• At 160 pounds, Thorne Bay sophomore Titus Tripple won 15-3 over Haines senior Kai Hays for the title. JDHS junior Ethan Goebel placed fourth, losing 3-2 to Sitka senior Joshua Young.
• At 170 pounds, Cole topped Shilts 10-3 for the title.
• At 182 pounds, Sitka junior Joshua Goeden won the title by pin over Armstrong.
• At 195 pounds, Weldon was victorious over Ketchikan’s Fousel 9-5 for title.
• At 220 pounds, Mt. Edgecumb’s Kole Lliaban pinned teammate Sean Orsborn for the title.
• At 285 pounds, Craig senior Liam Price won unopposed.
TEAM RESULTS
1. Ketchikan, 167
2. Wrangell, 116
3. Craig, 104
4. Thunder Mt., 95
5. Sitka, 93
6. Mt. Edgecumbe, 90
7. Juneau-Douglas, 67
8. Haines, 64
9. Petersburg, 52
10. Thorne Bay, 46
11. Hoonah, 43
12-T. Hydaburg, Kake, Klawock, 0
