The Floyd Dryden Middle School wrestling team hosted nine other schools from around Southeast Alaska this past weekend for the Southeast Wrestling Tournament.
It was the first Southeast Wrestling Tournament held in five years, according to FDMS wrestling coach Ken Brown. The Juneau School District lifted a travel ban on middle school athletics last April.
FDMS came in second place behind Ketchikan, who posted 312.5 points in the two-day meet. Floyd Dryden accumulated 201.5 points, ahead of Wrangell (181.5 points), Petersburg (164 points) and Dzantik’i Heeni (158.5 points).
Ketchikan, which brought 30 wrestlers to the tournament, recorded 61 pins as a team and saw 14 of its members place in the top-3 of their weight class.
Degan Linne from Ketchikan was named the tournament’s most outstanding wrestler.
Eight of the 18 weight class champions crowned at the meet hailed from one of the two Juneau middle schools. Colton and Carson Cummins, Jamal Johnson and Thomas Baxter represented Dzantik’i Heeni well with individual titles. Floyd Dryden’s Kadin Messmer, Blaze Darbonne, Ashton Schaa and Mathias Wiederspohn won their respective weight classes.
Coach Brown was proud of the heart his wrestlers showed throughout the tournament. Eleven of his 13 wrestlers placed in the top-6 of their weight classes.
“I told the kids straight up, I don’t care if you win or lose, it’s how you win or lose,” Brown said.
Darbonne, who pinned Ketchikan’s Ruby McCue in the first round of his 127-pound finals, will hold on to the memory of the wrestling tournament.
“I was really proud of myself for how well I did,” Darbonne said. “I think I’ll remember the fun times and the good feelings when you stand up there in first place, everyone’s cheering your name.”
• Contact sports reporter Nolin Ainsworth at 523-2272 or nolin.ainsworth@juneauempire.com.
Ketchikan’s Degan Linne wrestles Wrangell’s Ryan Rooney in the 105-pound finals at the 2018 Southeast Wrestling Tournament at Floyd Dryden Middle School. (Courtesy Photo | Ken Brown)
