<\/a>Team leader Kyle Carter (right) mentors younger teammate Miles Godkin (left) during tournament warm ups. (Courtesy Photo \/ Jason Hass)<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
JYWC coach and board member Jason Hass said the three-day-long tournament spends each day focusing on a different style of wrestling such as folkstyle, Greco-Roman and freestyle.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
“The gist of all three styles are the same-take your opponent off their feet and secure (pin) their back to the mat,” Hass said. “However, each style involves different technique, body positioning, rules, and scoring. It’s always amazing to see how seamlessly our wrestlers can transition between the three styles. This is part of what makes this tournament so much fun.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
<\/a>Sage Richards (JYWC) takes down Thomas Welled (Pioneer Grappling Academy) at the USA Wrestling Alaska State Championships at the Menard Center in Wasilla from May 3-7. (Courtesy Photo \/ Dana Richards)<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
This year, the JYWC had three wrestlers go undefeated and win gold in all three styles; Nixie Schooler in the girls 14U 97-pound bracket, Landon Hill in the boys 14U 87-pound bracket and Darren Foster in the boys 14U 250-pound bracket. In total, the JYWC took 55 wrestlers from ages 5 to 18 to the tournament, which according to Hass is the most wrestlers the club has ever taken.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
“This was also the first full season our club has been able to use our brand new wrestling club facility,” Hass said. “Having our own place to practice has allowed us to have more convenient practice times and a sense of pride in ownership of our own facility-some place we can call our own. These increasingly large participation numbers bode well for the future successes of our local wrestling programs. This tournament marks the end of a season, but the beginning of something very special.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
<\/a>Landon Hill pins Jack Hughes (Mid-Valley Wolves) at the USA Wrestling Alaska State Championships at the Menard Center in Wasilla from May 3-7. (Courtesy Photo \/ Mel Hastings)<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
Placing in the top three spots spots in their respective age and weight brackets for folkstyle were Andrew Erickson, Caleb Scussel, Josh Beedle, Landon Hill, Camden Messmer, Landyn Dunn, Jed Davis, Jaeger Hubert, Xavier Thibeault, Ethan VanKirk, Weldon Zemlicka, Darren Foster, Sage Richards, Kyle Carter, Abigail Dolan and Nixie Schooler.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Placing in the top three spots spots in their respective age and weight brackets for Greco-Roman were Stevie Fairchild, Caleb Scussel, Landon Hill, Caleb Aube, Camden Messmer, Jed Davis, Jaeger Hubert, Ethan VanKirk, Ivan Shockley, Weldon Zemlicka, Judah Haven Marr, Darren Foster, Yanis Ivanov, Sage Richards, Kyle Carter, Nixie Schooler and Caelih Willet.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t