The Juneau Tornadoes took home fourth-place honors at the Tanana Invitational Middle School Wrestling Meet on Saturday in Fairbanks.
Jamal Johnson, an eighth-grader at Dzantik’i Heeni Middle School, went undefeated on the weekend to claim the 140-pound title. Johnson and five other Tornadoes reached the finals in their respective weight classes, a performance Tornadoes coach Loren Cummins called “absolutely amazing.” The club sent 15 youth to the meet.
“They wrestled the best they’ve wrestled all year, it was great,” Cummins said.
Cummins coached over half of the team as the Dzantik’i Heeni coach. Cummins said he was happy to see hard work pay off for Johnson.
“He’s the hardest working kid I’ve seen in a long time,” Cummins said. “His work ethic is just the best and I’m happy for him because he deserves this. He works harder than anybody I’ve seen in a long, long time.”
Brothers Colton and Carson Cummins were perfect right up until their respective finals. Colton was the runner-up in the 70-pound bracket after getting pinned by Kenton Cooke of Anchorage in the championship match. In the 84-pound finals, Carson would go down to Joseph Spangler of Wasilla that broke a four-match win streak.
Siblings Thomas Baxter and Cailynn were runner-ups in the 160 and girls 120 brackets. Evelynn Richards would place second in the girls 120-pound bracket.
• Contact sports reporter Nolin Ainsworth at 523-2272 or nainsworth@juneauempire.com. Follow Empire Sports on Twitter at @akempiresports.
The Juneau Tornadoes shows off their medals after competing in the Tanana Invitational, the unofficial middle school state champion meet, on Saturday, March 2, 2019. The Tornadoes placed fourth behind North Pole, Randy Smith (Fairbanks) and Kodiak and had 10 medalists: Brandon Day, Colton Cummins, Evander Elixman (77), Carson Cummins (84), Brycen MacKubbin (98), Eric Tipton (105), Jamal Johnson (140), Sage Richards (148), Thomas Baxter (160), Cailynn Baxter (Girls 97) and Evelyn Richards (Girls 120). (Courtesy Photo | Summer Baxter/Dana Richards)
Juneau Tornadoes eighth-grader Sage Johnson wrestles his way to the 148-pound bronze medal at the Tanana Invitational on Saturday, March 2, 2019. Over 400 wrestlers competed at the two-day meet in Fairbanks. (Courtesy Photo | Summer Baxter/Dana Richards)
