Thunder Mountain High School’s wrestlers finished first among boys and second overall during the Southeast Showdown on its home mats this weekend, with four TMHS students taking first place in their weight categories.
A total of seven TMHS Falcons wrestlers took place in finals matches, the same as last year’s tournament at the school under the name of the Brandon Pilot Invitational Wrestling Tournament. While Ketchikan High School finished first overall in this year’s tournament when both boys and girls results were tallied, for the boys-only Falcons team to finish ahead of the Ketchikan boys was nonetheless an achievement, said Adam Messmer, head coach for TMHS wrestling, which includes all of the wrestlers from Juneau’s high schools.
“Ketchikan’s beat us at regionals in the last 15 to 16 years,” he said. “So it’s a good indicator, I guess. That would be a positive sign that we have a team that’s competitive.”
Ketchikan High School’s Hunter Cowan tries to pin Hoonah City School’s Lawrence Howland during the matchup in the 140-pound division of the Southeast Showdown at Thunder Mountain High School on Saturday (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
This year’s team is young, Messmer said, but many of the new wrestlers for the Falcons have plenty of experience.
“A lot of them even though they’re freshmen are pretty experienced because they were in the wrestling club and they’ve been wrestling pretty much since they were four or five,” he said. “And then you have the junior wrestling club that started this year… So, yeah, we have a pretty young team and they’re pretty locked in and having fun with it, so that’s exciting.”
Eight regional high schools participated in the tournament, beginning Friday with round-robin play before bracket matchups on Saturday. Ketchikan prevailed with 441 team points, followed by Juneau with 414.5, Mt. Edgecumbe High School with 360 and the remaining schools well behind.
Meg Thompson of Ketchikan High School, top, and Hayden Nanang of Mt. Edgecumbe High School battle to make the final rounds of the Southeast Showdown at Thunder Mountain High School on Saturday. Thompson finished second and Nanang third in the girls 114-pound division. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
The lightest 112-pound weight division saw the most heavyweight performance for the Falcons as they ranked among three of the top four finishers. Landyn Dunn won the division by defeating teammate Camden Messmer who finished second, with Gavin Holt finishing fourth after losing to RJ Cadiente of Ketchikan High School in their third-place match.
Other TMHS wrestlers winning their divisions were Hayden Aube at 145 pounds, Carvin Hass at 160 pounds (who defeated teammate Alex Marx-Beierly) and Liam Hart at 189 pounds. Also making the finals for the Falcons, but losing his match to finish second, was Jed Davis at 125 pounds.
Tournament play continues during the coming weekends for TMHS, including one at Mount Edgecumbe this weekend followed by the Monster Bash Duals at Anchorage South High School, where Messmer said his team will get a fuller sense of the statewide competition that lies ahead.
They wrestle different styles and stuff,” he said, referring to schools further to the north. “And in Southeast we keep wrestling the same guys. I’m not saying they’re not good, but most guys kind of have a certain style of wrestling. And if you just get used to wrestling that same wrestlers over and over again you’re not really honing your skills.”
Killan Hammock of Sitka High School, top, after suffering a nose injury, tries to pin Gunner Niere of Thunder Mountain High School during their third-place match in the Southeast Showdown at TMHS on Saturday. Niere won the match to claim third place in the 135-pound division. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
RESULTS (TEAM)
1. Ketchikan High School, 441.0
2. Thunder Mountain High School, 414.5
3. Mt. Edgecumbe High School, 360.0
4. Wrangell Wolves, 212.0
5. Sitka High School, 120.0
6. Petersburg High School, 86.0
7. Hoonah City Schools, 47.0
8. Thorne Bay High School, 10.0
Gavin Holt of Thunder Mountain High School, top, tries to pin RJ Cadiente of Ketchikan High School in their third-place match in the Southeast Showdown at TMHS on Saturday. Cadiente won the match to claim third place in the 112-pound division. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
RESULTS (BOYS)
112 pounds
1st Place – Landyn Dunn of Thunder Mountain
2nd Place – Camden Messmer of Thunder Mountain
3rd Place – Rj Cadiente of Ketchikan High School
4th Place – Gavin Holt of Thunder Mountain
119 pounds
1st Place – Boomchain Loucks of Wrangell Wolves
2nd Place – Franz Fermoyle of Mt. Edgecumbe High School
3rd Place – Kyan Stead of Wrangell Wolves
4th Place – Tristan Ridgeway of Thunder Mountain
5th Place – Joseph Webster of Thunder Mountain
6th Place – Bay Twaddle of Sitka High School
125 pounds
1st Place – Titan Linne of Ketchikan High School
2nd Place – Jed Davis of Thunder Mountain
3rd Place – Evan Andrew of Mt. Edgecumbe High School
4th Place – Jack Styles of Ketchikan High School
5th Place – Gerred Garrison of Hoonah City Schools
6th Place – Gage Keller of Thunder Mountain
7th Place – Quintin Mccoy of Thunder Mountain
8th Place – Colton Cummins of Thunder Mountain
130 pounds
1st Place – Gage Massin of Ketchikan High School
2nd Place – Jackson Carney of Wrangell Wolves
3rd Place – Elden Andrew of Mt. Edgecumbe High School
4th Place – Oliver Abel of Thunder Mountain
5th Place – Ben Houser of Wrangell Wolves
6th Place – Felix Hesson of Thunder Mountain
7th Place – Sam Davis of Sitka High School
8th Place – Justice Collins of Thorne Bay High School
12th Place – Sanjeev Putta of Ketchikan High School
135 pounds
1st Place – Sampson Oliver of Ketchikan High School
2nd Place – Kai Davis of Sitka High School
3rd Place – Gunner Niere of Thunder Mountain
4th Place – Killan Hammock of Sitka High School
5th Place – Jaeger Hubert of Thunder Mountain
6th Place – Castor Demers-isidore of Mt. Edgecumbe High School
7th Place – Andy Anderson of Mt. Edgecumbe High School
8th Place – Bryce Smith of Ketchikan High School
12th Place – Dashel Huskey of Hoonah City Schools
12th Place – Aljhan Millendez of Ketchikan High School
12th Place – Xavier Thibault of Thunder Mountain
140 pounds
1st Place – Hunter Cowan of Ketchikan High School
2nd Place – Alexander Gilley of Ketchikan High School
3rd Place – Marlin Cox of Thunder Mountain
4th Place – Lawrence Howland of Hoonah City Schools
5th Place – Kelvin Jiang of Ketchikan High School
6th Place – Charles Kroscavage of Ketchikan High School
145 pounds
1st Place – Hayden Aube of Thunder Mountain
2nd Place – Tanner Caulum of Petersburg
3rd Place – Cayden Harney of Ketchikan High School
4th Place – Justus Darbonne of Thunder Mountain
5th Place – Ethan Vankirk of Thunder Mountain
6th Place – Ataas Chief of Mt. Edgecumbe High School
7th Place – Franklin Jimmy of Sitka High School
8th Place – Jesse Albecker of Ketchikan High School
152 pounds
1st Place – Keegan Hanson of Wrangell Wolves
2nd Place – Carlos Sandoval of Mt. Edgecumbe High School
3rd Place – Torian Dull of Mt. Edgecumbe High School
4th Place – Jorge Sandoval of Mt. Edgecumbe High School
5th Place – Shanen Mitchell of Thunder Mountain
6th Place – Noah Hilson of Ketchikan High School
7th Place – Mason Hieber of Thunder Mountain
8th Place – George Lee of Mt. Edgecumbe High School
12th Place – William Massin of Wrangell Wolves
12th Place – Mitchell Sachsenmaier of Sitka High School
12th Place – Kendall Bernhardt of Sitka High School
12th Place – Michael Jones of Thorne Bay High School
160 pounds
1st Place – Carvin Hass of Thunder Mountain
2nd Place – Alex Marx-Beierly of Thunder Mountain
3rd Place – Samson Smith of Mt. Edgecumbe High School
4th Place – Amook Bullock of Ketchikan High School
5th Place – Kaden Duke of Petersburg
6th Place – Casey Styles of Ketchikan High School
7th Place – Jason Lorig of Ketchikan High School
8th Place – William Dapcevich of Thunder Mountain
12th Place – Wyatt Kenny of Thunder Mountain
12th Place – Colton Collins of Thorne Bay High School
171 pounds
1st Place – Richard Didrickson of Mt. Edgecumbe High School
2nd Place – Jonas Anderson of Petersburg
3rd Place – Jackson Jim of Thunder Mountain
4th Place – Easton Berger of Thunder Mountain
5th Place – Tyler Oudekerk of Thunder Mountain
6th Place – Aticaz Anania of Thorne Bay High School
189 pounds
1st Place – Liam Hart of Thunder Mountain
2nd Place – Colin Elliot of Ketchikan High School
3rd Place – Merrick Hartman of Thunder Mountain
4th Place – Dane Evans of Sitka High School
215 pounds
1st Place – Paul Thompson of Ketchikan High School
2nd Place – Aiden Ojala of Sitka High School
3rd Place – Silas Ferguson of Sitka High School
4th Place – Denali Schijvens of Thunder Mountain
5th Place – Cody Barnes of Wrangell Wolves
6th Place – Brian Burns of Ketchikan High School
7th Place – Quinton Quigley of Thorne Bay High School
8th Place – Edwin Solomon of Mt. Edgecumbe High School
285 pounds
1st Place – Angus Olsen of Petersburg
2nd Place – Dylan Petersen of Sitka High School
3rd Place – Darren Foster of Thunder Mountain
4th Place – Kyle Carter of Thunder Mountain
5th Place – Ian Heath of Ketchikan High School
Tristan Ridgeway of Thunder Mountain High School, right, and Lakell Deinhardt of Peterburg High School clean the wrestling mats during a break in the Southeast Showdown at TMHS on Saturday. Ridgeway finished fourth in the 119-pound division of the tournament. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
RESULTS (GIRLS)
107 pounds
1st Place – Hailey Cook of Wrangell Wolves
2nd Place – Sarah Nanuk-jones of Mt. Edgecumbe High School
3rd Place – Gabrielle Bueno of Ketchikan High School
114 pounds
1st Place – Naveah George of Mt. Edgecumbe High School
2nd Place – Meg Thompson of Ketchikan High School
3rd Place – Hayden Nanang of Mt. Edgecumbe High School
4th Place – Mj Jasper of Ketchikan High School
120 pounds
1st Place – Della Churchill of Wrangell Wolves
2nd Place – Summer Boling of Ketchikan High School
3rd Place – Minh-thu Vo of Ketchikan High School
4th Place – Breana Nelson of Mt. Edgecumbe High School
126 pounds
1st Place – Julia Biagi of Ketchikan High School
2nd Place – Krista Howland of Hoonah City Schools
3rd Place – Makenna Beans of Mt. Edgecumbe High School
4th Place – Dana Roberts of Mt. Edgecumbe High School
138 pounds
1st Place – Tahira Akaran of Mt. Edgecumbe High School
2nd Place – Abigail Henson of Ketchikan High School
3rd Place – Audrey Bahnke of Mt. Edgecumbe High School
4th Place – Isadora Oliver of Ketchikan High School
145 pounds
1st Place – Maelyn Westedahl of Mt. Edgecumbe High School
2nd Place – Opriann Lomack of Mt. Edgecumbe High School
3rd Place – Sarah Weyhmiller of Ketchikan High School
165 pounds
1st Place – Mia Wiederspohn of Wrangell Wolves
2nd Place – Vanessa Johnson of Wrangell Wolves
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com or (907) 957-2306.
