Daily Sitka Sentinel

Sitka Senior Wrestlers Sweep the Mat in Duel

By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer
    Sitka High’s senior wrestlers owned the mat in a duel against Mt. Edgecumbe Tuesday night at Sitka High.
    “All our seniors won, so that was a successful senior night,” said Wolves’ coach Will Patrick.
    Sid Fleming faced off against and defeated Edgecumbe’s Connor Journey. Fleming’s bout with Journey was the final match-up of the night, and it was a decisive win. Fleming also won the 171-pound weight class at the Anchorage Christian School tournament last month, and he’s ranked first in the state. Fleming has wrestled for a full decade.
    Wolves’ senior Max Johnson (215) faced off in an exhibition against his teammate, Alex Johnson. Max won by fall. He will attend UAF starting in the fall, and coach Patrick said Max’s favorite Sitka wrestling memory was eating a one-pound Snickers bar while Patrick was distracted.
    In the 189-pound weight class, senior John Welsh won another exhibition match, this time against Hunter Littlefield. Welsh has wrestled for eight years, and, according to his coach, hopes to earn a degree in civil engineering.

Sitka senior Trenton Hammock works on pinning Mt. Edgecumbe’s Morgan Allen Tuesday. (Sentinel photo)

    At 160, Trenton Hammock defeated Edgecumbe’s Morgan Allen. Hammock has wrestled for a full 12 years, and will attend UAS.
    And finally, although he didn’t wrestle due to injury, Sitka senior Kyle Remington (160) was also honored. Remington has wrestled for two years, and also plays soccer.
    Aside from the senior performances, SHS coach Patrick noted Jason Young’s match-up against Edgecumbe’s Morgan Allen, at 152 pounds.
    “Their guy (Allen) got the take-down,” Patrick said, “and was leading 3-1 going into the third period and our guy got the escape... Jason scrambled and was able to come out on top.”
    Coach Patrick concluded that “it was the best match of the night.”
    At 112 pounds, Mt. Edgecumbe’s Elson Dock defeated Wolves’ Peter Griggs by fall.
    In the 171-pound weight class, MEHS’ Connor Journey beat Sitka’s Toby Bernhart.
    “(Journey) looked pretty good,” said Mt. Edgecumbe coach Jeff Sato. “This is only his first duel appearance... he looked pretty good, too, and then he wrestled (Sid) Fleming, who is pretty much the best in the state. So I can’t say enough good things about him too, but Connor did a good fight and that was a pretty good match up.”
    Edgecumbe’s Dayton Hoblet dominated the 119-pound weight class, beating Sitka’s Chatham Clark by fall.
    “Dayton looked amazingly good as well,” Sato told the Sentinel after the match. “So he looked really solid in all of his positions too, looking for near fall right away, looking strong on his turns, good transition on defense, and gets the falls when we need them.”
    At 125 pounds, Edgecumbe’s Lloydy Ayojiak defeated Sitka’s Hunter Johnson. Ayojiak picked Johnson up and carried him for several seconds mid-bout.
    Coach Sato said of Ayojiak that “he has a really good pace, so he just has to start believing it.”
    Mt. Edgecumbe’s Emilio Mangrobang beat Sitka’s Hank Maxwell at 135. Mangrobang won by fall. Coach Sato said he was happy with Mangrobang’s work on the mat.

Sitka’s Colton Ewers pins MEHS’ Elston Dock. Ewers won by fall in a decisive match up. (Sentinel photo)

    At 112 pounds, Sitka’s Colton Ewers defeated MEHS wrestler Elston Dock, winning by fall in a short, sharp bout.
    Mt. Edgecumbe’s Destiny Kulukhan fell to Sitka’s Jason Young, in the 152-pound weight class.
    Both teams fly to Juneau for a tournament this coming Friday and Saturday. After that, it’s off to the Region V Championships in Craig, Dec. 13-14.
    “I think it’s a good tune up,” MEHS coach Sato said of the coming Juneau tournament. “Again, I think it’s great for people who want to get some momentum building and get some confidence going into the tournament.”