By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Sports Editor
Young Sitka wrestlers traveled north and left their mark on a tournament held in Big Lake over the weekend.
Baranof Bruins wrestling club Coach Mike Kimber told the Sentinel that many other Alaska teams overlooked his small squad at first, but that changed as his wrestlers performed well in match after match.
“We did a lot better than I thought we were going to do. Our kids aren’t on Track Wrestling because we don’t use it on our weekly club matches. And we surprised quite a few people and they overlooked us – by the third day they weren’t overlooking us,” Kimber said.
Baranof Bruins wrestlers, from elementary school to high school age, pose for a photo in Big Lake, near Wasilla, after taking tenth place in the Alaska USA Wrestling Championship, May 1. (Photo provided by Mike Kimber)
Held from April 29 to May 1 in the Mat-Su Valley, the Alaska USA Wrestling championships involved several hundred athletes, a massive reduction from pre-pandemic events which could involve thousands.
With only 11 athletes, the Bruins took 10th place in the tournament out of more than two dozen teams. Soldotna’s squad took first with 28 wrestlers on the team.
Formed only seven months ago, the Bruins are a new club, but this didn’t prove to be an impediment at the tournament. A number of the 11 wrestlers, ages 7 to 15, took first, second, or third place in their competitions. The tournament included freestyle, folkstyle, and Greco-Roman style competition.
In folk-style competition on April 29, Jerick Keith took second place at 49 pounds in the 10 and under age group. Finn Hansen claimed third place. At 59 pounds, Joel Hayes took second, and Jene Keith took third at 67 pounds. At 93 pounds Fisher Steinson finished first place, with Sawyer Laduke in fourth. At 103 pounds, Finley Gustin claimed first, and Landon Laduke took second at 135 pounds.
At 67 pounds in the 11-12 age group, JD Keith also took first place.
Silas Ferguson claimed fourth at 165 pounds in the 12-14 bracket.
In the age 15-16 bracket, Aiden Ojala took third at 170 pounds.
The next day the wrestlers competed in Greco-Roman competition, which focuses on the upper body.
In the 10 and under group, Jerick Keith took first place this time, with Finn Hansen in second at 49 pounds. At 59 pounds, Joel Hayes took second, and at 67 pounds Jene Keith claimed fifth. Fisher Steinson finished first at 93 pounds, with Sawyer Laduke in second. At 103 pounds Filey Gustin took the top spot, and at 135 pounds, Landon Laduke took second.
For ages 11-12, JD Keith claimed third at 70 pounds. Aiden Ojala took second in the 170-pound weight class for age 15-16 wrestlers.
The tournament closed with freestyle wrestling on Saturday.
Jerick Keith again took first place at 49 pounds, with Finn Hansen this time in third place.
Joel Hayes finished in fourth at 59 pounds, and Jene Keith took second at 67 pounds. At 93 pounds, Fisher Steinson took second and Sawyer Laduke claimed fourth. Finley Austin scored third at 103 pounds and Landon Laduke took second at 135 pounds.
In the next age group, JD Keith was first this time.
For 15-16, Evander Elixman, a wrestler from Sitka High, finished first at 120 pounds.
Kimber said his wrestlers learn relatively few moves, but they execute them well.
“You can always tell my wrestlers. My wrestlers are very bread and butter wrestlers, and we have a few moves, we try to do them better than anybody else does them,” the coach said.
As the club was founded during the pandemic, Kimber noted some of his athletes were wrestling outside of Southeast Alaska for the first time.
“It was our kids first experience with Greco(-Roman) outside of our gym and most of our kids on that team haven’t wrestled anybody that wasn’t from Southeast,” he said.
While the Big Lake event was a culmination for the season, Kimber said former Mt. Edgecumbe High wrestler DeeDee Creed will keep the club in training over the summer when Kimber’s in the Lower 48.
Kimber coached wrestling at MEHS for years, and specialized in bringing women into a traditionally male-dominated sport.
“My specialty is coaching girls. I really enjoy coaching girls, and we only have two girls in our program and what we’d really like to do - at MEHS I built a culture where it’s good for girls to wrestle and it’s not frowned upon. In Sitka it’s not a culture where girls don’t say, ‘Oh, I can wrestle.’ It’s not the norm in Sitka, it’s an exception. At Mt. Edgecumbe it’s that girls wrestle because girls wrestle,” Kimber said. “There are some great, great female athletes in Sitka that don’t play volleyball and we’d like to snag those kids and get them into the high school and have them wrestle.”
The coach anticipated that when the athletes in his program arrive in high school, the Wolves’ wrestling program will enjoy significant success.
“They’re going to be seasoned, and they’re going to understand how to take a risk… Sitka High’s going to explode and become a powerhouse,” Kimber said.
His daughter, Sydnee Kimber, won her second NCAA wrestling title in Illinois on the McKendree University team back in March, and also earned a chance at the Olympics.
For Mike Kimber, there is more to wrestling than just wrestling.
“I need to thank the parents and wrestlers for buying into our philosophy that we’re teaching more than just wrestling. We stress personal growth. I often ask my wrestlers to answer, ‘What did you do today that makes you a better person than yesterday?’” he wrote in a follow up email.
He noted that without the aid of Mary Ferguson, Jacki Ojala, Anna Hansen, and Marin Marseglia, as well as a number of sponsors, the program could not succeed as it has.
Moving forward, Kimber hopes to build on the Bruins’ success.
“Success breeds success,” he said.
