Champions learn by winning tournaments and runners-up practice harder for another shot at the title.<\/p>\n
Fifteen crowns were won at Saturday\u2019s Brandon Pilot Invitational at Thunder Mountain High School, and Falcons senior Hunter Boyer put one of the most exciting wins on the mat with an escape as time expired to defeat Craig\u2019s Wyatt Patten 3-2 for the 152-pound crown.<\/p>\n
\u201cGetting that last escape at the end was pretty much all I was hoping for once the third round hit,\u201d Boyer said. \u201cHe beat me last week so we are even now. It\u2019s all good. Constant battles throughout the year are what I am expecting from him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is huge,\u201d TMHS coach Jason Boyer said. \u201cThis just sets the pace because Wyatt won last week and this shows he is not going to be dominant They are going to have a great show every match. They are equal competition and they are going to test each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ketchikan won the team title with 185 points, TMHS was second with 144 and Juneau-Douglas High School finished eighth among 13 schools competing.<\/p>\n
One of the most anticipated bouts of the night was the 195-pound rematch between Ketchikan senior Nate Fousel and JDHS junior Cody Weldon.<\/p>\n
The pair went scoreless after one period and Fousel held a 4-2 advantage starting the final stanza. A Weldon escape made it 4-3 but Fousel had a near fall and then controlled the tempo for a 9-3 decision. Weldon won their last matchup in Wrangell.<\/p>\n
\u201cI learned to not wrestle flat,\u201d Fousel said. \u201cTo wrestle aggressively. I didn\u2019t wrestle hard enough last time. I need to keep improving in everything. There is always room to improve.\u201d<\/p>\n
TMHS senior Tyler Cole won a 6-2 over Wrangell\u2019s Darren Shilts for the 170-pound title. The score was 0-0 after one period and Shilts deferred to Cole who scored a reversal.<\/p>\n
Cole led 4-1 starting the final stanza and added a takedown.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust go out there and have fun,\u201d Cole said. \u201cI love the sport. It is really fun. Win or lose you learn from your match. I was a little faster than him. He looked strong but it is really about the technique. I need to cut the corners more when I take my shots, I was just bending over. I need to be popping my hips in more.\u201d<\/p>\n
TMHS\u2019 Carl Tupou pinned Mt. Edgecumbe\u2019s Sean Orsborn 47 seconds into the second period of their 220-pound match.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just a little tired,\u201d Tupou said. \u201cI used the pancake. It\u2019s my favorite move. Get under the arm and flip him over. I need to explode out more, get out of the reach of their arms and get into position.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the 98-pound weight class, Ketchikan\u2019s Payton Stewart began the championship rounds with a pin over TMHS\u2019 Connor Norman with 58 seconds remaining in the second period.<\/p>\n
\u201cKeeping my weight back was key,\u201d Stewart said. \u201cUsually I get my weight up to much and get bumped to my side. I just go through each match, whatever happens in the match is what I will deal with.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even in a loss there are lessons.<\/p>\n
\u201cI learned to not be on my back so much,\u201d Norman said.<\/p>\n
IN OTHER TITLE MATCHES<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2022 Ketchikan\u2019s Brayden Linne won by 10-1 major decision over teammate Matthew Rodriguez for the 106-pound title.<\/p>\n “We wrestle each other a lot,” Linne said. “We push each other.”<\/p>\n \u2022 Sitka\u2019s Jacob Gagner decisioned Ketchikan\u2019s Vince Tenebro 12-5 for the 113-pound title.<\/p>\n \u201cI was told speed over strength,\u201d Gagner said. \u201cStrength over technique, and that is what I went by the whole match.\u201d<\/p>\n Gagner led 4-2 after one period and 7-2 in the second.<\/p>\n \u201cI was the third seed and he was first seed,\u201d Gagner said. \u201cI am a freshman, he\u2019s a sophomore. I say that is an upset. I am pretty happy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2022 Ketchikan\u2019s Sean Tavares pinned Wrangell\u2019s Orion Heller at 31 seconds for the 120-pound title.<\/p>\n \u201cI was surprised,\u201d Tavares said. \u201cI thought that Orion was going to be a good match for me and I was hoping we could wrestle a bit longer. I guess it didn\u2019t come down to that. He is a good opponent. This was the first time I wrestled him. It boosts my confidence but I still have to keep working too.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2022 Haines\u2019 Cameron Bauer won by 10-2 major decision over Ketchikan\u2019s Troy Harris for the 126-pound title.<\/p>\n \u201cI think key for me was keeping a lot of pressure on him,\u201d Bauer said. \u201cHolding him down. Just working him over as best I could. Giving it my all. I felt pretty confidant going into the match. During the match I work on improving my skills and seeing what I can do to get better each time.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2022 Sitka\u2019s Caleb Suarez won by 16-3 major decision over Wrangell\u2019s Ian Jenson for the 132-pound title. \u201cI feel pretty good,\u201d Suarez said. \u201cThis is my first victory of the season. Now I am looking forward to the rest of it.\u201d<\/p>\n Suarez wrestled at a higher weight class last week and lost in the semifinals.<\/p>\n \u201cGetting the arm in the beginning and getting the back points in the first period was key,\u201d Suarez said. \u201cThat really helped me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2022 Ketchikan\u2019s Max Collins pinned Craig\u2019s Bryan Castle with 1:25 remaining in the match for the 138-pound title.<\/p>\n \u201cStaying aggressive and making shots on him was key,\u201d Collins said. \u201cI like to build myself up in this region because we are making some big trips up to Anchorage soon and I will be seeing better competition.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2022 Thorne Bay\u2019s Tell Tripple decisioned TMHS\u2019 Sam Nolan 6-2 for the 145-pound title. Tripple led 2-0 and 4-0 at the breaks.<\/p>\n Tripple was called for stalling, as he appeared to not be working from the top quick enough.<\/p>\n \u201cKeeping control was key,\u201d Tripple said. \u201cStaying in constant control the whole match. I was sitting on the hips, camping too long so I got the stalling call. It happens. It is good he called it on me now instead of up north when it matters.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2022 Thorne Bay\u2019s Titus Tripple won by 12-0 major decision over Sitka\u2019s Joshua Young for the 160-pound title. <\/p>\n Tripple led 5-0 after one period and 10-0 starting the final stanza.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a pretty good fight, yeah,\u201d Tripple said. \u201cI just wanted to keep up with it. I did my best to do that. Normally I try to go on the bottom because I think I am better down there. Some say I am pretty strong too.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2022 Wrangell\u2019s Chet Armstrong pinned Sitka\u2019s Joshua Goeden with just 12 seconds remaining in their 182-pound title match.<\/p>\n \u201cFundamentals of wrestling,\u201d Armstrong said. \u201cKeep your hips flat to the mat and shoot.\u201d<\/p>\n Armstrong was elated with his win. \u201cI have never taken first before,\u201d Armstrong said. \u201cSo this is a new experience. I need to improve on probably every area but mostly I need to continue working on guarding my legs, because he got some good shots in.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2022 Metlakatla\u2019s Brayden Blandov pinned Craig\u2019s Liam Price with 1:42 remaining in the final period for the heavyweight title. \u201cI\u2019m tired,\u201d Blandov said. \u201cHe\u2019s been good competition for the last four years.\u201d<\/p>\n Blandov has lost only one match to Price, when they were sophomores. The two were tied 2-2 after one period and 4-4 entering the third stanza. Blandov rolled a reversal into the fall.<\/p>\n \u201cHe gave me a run for my money tonight,\u201d Blandov said. \u201cI learned I have to keep my cardio up more and hit the weights more. I am excited for regions. My goal is not only to qualify for state but to place high there.\u201d<\/p>\n The tournament is named in honor of Brandon Pilot, a Crimson Bears freshman who was killed in a car accident in 2000.<\/p>\n THIRD PLACE MATCHES<\/strong><\/p>\n 98 – Wrangell\u2019s Jonathon Barratt earned 3rd and Kayhi\u2019s Connor McCormick 4th in the round robin format.<\/p>\n 106 – Sitka\u2019s Curt Bartlett earned 3rd, Mt. Edgecumbe’s Nelson Jackson 4th, and JDHS’ Adam Murphy 5th in the round robin format.<\/p>\n 113 – Ketchikan\u2019s Patrick Rauwolf decsioned TMHS\u2019 Juan Fisher 3-0.<\/p>\n 120 – Craig\u2019s Seth Packer pinned Haines Charlie Bower at 2:20.<\/p>\n 126 – Sitka\u2019s Harry Hartzog decisioned Craig\u2019s Isaiah Records 6-2.<\/p>\n 132 – Craig\u2019s Drew Marker pinned Ketchikan\u2019s Kadin Hodges at 3:39.<\/p>\n 138 – TMHS\u2019 Deven Mason pinned Mt. Edgecumbe\u2019s Orlin Gologergen at 4:26.<\/p>\n 145 – Wrangell\u2019s Sam Armstrong decisioned Ketchikan\u2019s Grant Collins 10-8.<\/p>\n 152 – Sitka\u2019s Kyler Samauang pinned Haines Zane Durr at 6:59.<\/p>\n 160 – JDHS\u2019 Ethan Goebel decisioned Craig\u2019s Noah Castle 9-3.<\/p>\n 170 – Metlakatla\u2019s Abraham Booth pinned JDHS\u2019 Seth Machakos at 3:46.<\/p>\n 182 – Mt. Edgecumbe\u2019s Arthur Freitas decisioned Metlakatla\u2019s Alonzo Leishlmn 4-0.<\/p>\n 195 – Haines’ Tyler Murphy earned 3rd, Thorne Bay’s Brayden Schwab 4th and TMHS’ Devin Locke 5th in round robin.<\/p>\n 220 – Mt. Edgecumbe\u2019s Kobe Rutherford pinned Wrangell\u2019s Chris Seddon at 2:35.<\/p>\n HWT – Ketchikan\u2019s Brian McClennan 3rd, Mt. Edgecumbe’s Jared Huntington 4th, Metlakatla’s August Leask 5th in round robin format.<\/p>\n POINTS BY SCHOOL<\/strong><\/p>\n Ketchikan \u2014 185 points;, TMHS \u2014 144 Wrangell \u2014 136, Sitka \u2014 122; Craig 119; Haines \u2014 73; Mt. Edgecumbe \u2014 59; JDHS \u2014 58; Thorne Bay \u2014 54; Metlakatla \u2014 53; Hydaburg \u2014 10.5; Pelican \u2014 8; Kake \u2014 0.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Champions learn by winning tournaments and runners-up practice harder for another shot at the title. Fifteen crowns were won at Saturday\u2019s Brandon Pilot Invitational at Thunder Mountain High School, and Falcons senior Hunter Boyer put one of the most exciting wins on the mat with an escape as time expired to defeat Craig\u2019s Wyatt Patten […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":107,"featured_media":12518,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_stopmodifiedupdate":false,"_modified_date":"","wds_primary_category":6,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-12517","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12517","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/107"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12517"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12517\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12518"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12517"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12517"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=12517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}