The Tom Sims invitational wrestling tournament was held in Wrangell Friday and Saturday. Six Wrangell boys made it to the championship rounds. Jonah Comstock, 98 pounds, Johnathan Barret, 106 pounds, Ian Jenson,132 pounds and Dawson Miller, 160 pounds, came away with wins.
Senior Sig Decker went up against Sam Nolan of Thunder Mountain in the 145-pound class. It was a heated match, but Nolan scraped by with a 9 to 7 win. Caleb Groshong, weighing in at 220 pounds, was pinned in his final matchup with Cody Weldon of Thunder Mountain.
For girls wrestling, Hannah Brown and Elizabeth Johnson took third and fourth in the 145-pound weight class.
Coach Jeff Rooney said he was very pleased with the results.
“We got a great group of kids who have been wrestling together a long time. I think the world of them, and we’ve been having a lot of fun together,” said Rooney.
He gave a heartfelt sendoff to four seniors prior to the final matchups, and said they are looking down the ranks to fill those spots in the coming seasons.
“We got a few middle schoolers coming up through the ranks there. We’re trying to promote the program here throughout the middle school. We hope to bring in new faces there and do the best we can,” said Rooney.
Five teams were unable to attend due to weather. Wrangell’s team is headed towards Sitka for regionals next weekend. State matches will be held in Anchorage Dec. 16 and 17.