By KLAS STOLPE
Sentinel Staff Writer
Two of the best high school wrestlers in the state were on the mats at B.J. McGillis Gymnasium Tuesday night in a dual meet between Mt. Edgecumbe and Sitka.
Unfortunately the two were not in the circle at the same time as Braves’ 285-pound junior Haley Osborne (Nome) and Wolves’ 145-pound senior JD Gagner are, well, 285 pounds and 145 pounds.
Instead, Osborne, the defending state champion, pinned two Sitka opponents in the first period of their matches and Gagner, a two-time state placer and three-time state qualifier pinned a preseason favorite.
“He’s strong,” Sitka 189-pound sophomore Gabe Van Veen said of Osborne.
“He’s big and strong,” Sitka 215-pound Max Johnson added. “I try to stay outside of him and wrestle, be fast and go for a duck under... feels like a 40-pound difference, but I tried my best.”
“That’s about it,” Van Veen said. “That’s all you can do.”
Osborne pinned Johnson 59 seconds into the first period and Van Veen in a cradle with just 16 seconds left in the first period of their match.
“I mainly tried focusing on my technique,” Osborne said. “My technique tonight was not that good, I didn’t like it. I want to improve on that in the future.”
The dilemma facing Osborne is he may not see a similarly skilled wrestler each time he goes out on the mat.
Mt. Edgecumbe junior Haley Osborne (Nome) works on Sitka junior Gabe VanVeen during their 285-pound match in the team’s dual meet on Tuesday at the B.J. McGillis Gymnasium. Referee Jim DiGennaro officiates the action. (Sentinel Photo by Klas Stolpe)
“I guess I just have to try and mentally prepare for it,” Osborne said. “And get as much mat time as I can. I was pushed tonight.”
Gagner, in his first match of the year, had one of the night’s most athletic matches with Mt. Edgecumbe 145-pound senior Joshua Deasis (Juneau).
Mt. Edgecumbe senior Joshua Deasis (Juneau) bridges against a pin attempt by Sitka senior JD Gagner during their 145-pound match on Tuesday at B.J. McGillis Gymnasium. Mt. Edgecumbe and Sitka travel to Juneau this weekend. (Sentinel Photo by Klas Stolpe)
“I felt okay for my first match,” Gagner said. “I had a kind of rough two days, I found out Sunday around noon after my swim meet that I had to make weight today. So I cut about eight pounds in two days which is more than I have ever cut. But I felt pretty good really. I was alright strength wise, it took a little bit out of me but I was fine when I got on the mat. I like that our team has a lot of room to grow and we are already growing. I think we are really going to reel it in here in the next couple of meets.”
Their was no shortage of strength as the two tied up and rolled each other over with Gagner racking up a 10-1 advantage before winning by a pin with 57.4 remaining in the second period.
“I definitely feel like I could have done better,” Deasis said. “He’s a state placer and I just went out there. It felt like I really couldn’t do much but I did all I could do.”
While the advantage went to Gagner, Deasis was game enough to go on the offensive.
Deasis had a nice ankle pick in round one but couldn’t finish the move.
“I need to start working my technique more,” he said. “Putting my shots first before him.”
Sitka’s Sid Fleming, the state’s third place finisher at 152 pounds last season, showed he is feeling comfortable up at 171-pounds by pinning Mt. Edgecumbe freshman Mikey Casey (Sitka) with 6.7 seconds remaining in the first period.
Sitka’s 215-pound sophomore Hunter Littlefield is a true Wolf in sheep’s clothing. Walking out like Ron Howard, the redhead turned into Fonzie when the ref blew the whistle and turned an aggressive move by Mt. Edgecumbe sophomore Jeffery Adams (Mentasta Lake) into an ankle pick and a half nelson and a win by pin just 46 seconds into the first period.
“It was nice,” Littlefield said. “It’s a lot better than last year. My dad just tells me I can be nice to them outside the mat but as soon as you get on the mat he is your enemy.”
In other matches, 160-lb match MEHS freshman Thomas Tinker (Dillingham) pinned MEHS sophomore Hayden Hunt (Sitka) at 1:36 of the first period; Sitka 112-pound freshman Colton Ewers pinned MEHS sophomore Robert Deason (Anchorage) at 1:24 of the first; and SHS 140-lb senior Kyle England decisioned MEHS sophomore Zane Mahoney (Sitka) 7-6 after three periods. England led 3-1 starting the final period and Mahoney went up 6-3 before losing the lead in the final 30 seconds.
“Zane Mahoney wrestled tough,” Mt. Edgecumbe head coach Mike Kimber said. “He just has a few things he can fix easily. He is coming off an injury and doesn’t have a lot of conditioning in yet, but overall the boys look good. And for some of our girls this was their first chance, and they will get better. There were some good matches. It is early in the season. For most of these kids it was their first match of the season. Most of the Sitka kids have wrestled have wrestled for a long time and most of our kids they wrestled have wrestled for a short time. It’s okay, it’s good, nobody quite, nobody had a melt down. It was a learning experience and the best part is nobody got hurt and everybody learned something.”
MEHS’ 160-lb senior Alex Andrews (St. Michael) pinned SHS junior Thomas Bailey with 57.4 remaining in the first; SHS junior John Welsh pinned MEHS freshman Svenson Paukan (St. Marys) at 1:18 of the first; MEHS 285-lb sophomore Arthur Heckman (St. Marys) pinned SHS freshman Alex Johnson at 1:59 of the first; MEHS 145-lb sophomore Leroy Bradley (Elim) pinned MEHS sophomore Jared Alirkar (Bethel) with 57.5 remaining in the second period; and SHS 112-lb freshman Chatham Clark decisioned MEHS sophomore Robert Deason (Anchorage) 3-1.
Sitka coach Will Patrick said he liked the size of the Wolves roster.
“I like how they get along,” He said. “It’s a big family. I like having young kids and I like to have returning seniors. Sid (Fleming) and JD (Gagner) were really impressive today, they are coming back strong. Kyle England came back in a close match, he got taken to his back and was able to come back and win it in the third period. That was the one thing that really stood out to me was the close matches were the ones that we won. When it came down to two kids that either could beat either, we won those matches.”
MEHS junior Adeline Dyment (Bethel) battles against Mt. Edgecumbe sophomore Alliyah Nay (Wasilla) during their 125-pound match at the B.J. McGillis Gymnasium on Tuesday. (Sentinel Photo by Klas Stolpe)
In girls wrestling action MEHS 119-lb sophomore Dahlia Berns (Old Harbor) pinned MEHS sophomore Marita Hill (Quinhagak) with 1:16 left in the first; MEHS 125-lb sophomore Alliyah Nay (Wasilla) pinned MEHS junior Adeline Dyment (Bethel) with 16.6 left in the first; MEHS 130-lb freshman Maysa Brown (Chevak) pinned MEHS Maliyah Moultrie (Anchorage) with 1:04 left in the second; MEHS 145-lb sophomore Chiara Chase (Anchorage) pinned MEHS sophomore Krine Lonewolf (Wasilla) with 22.2 left in the third; MEHS 160-lb freshman Dakota Magnuson (McGrath) pinned MEHS sophomore Tatyana Hillhouse (Nikolski) with 53.6 left in the first; MEHS 189-lb sophomore Alaina Pete (Brevig Mission) pinned MEHS junior Amaiah Kroto (Glennallen) with 1:06 left in the first; MEHS 189-lb sophomore Natasha Merlino (Koliganek) pinned MEHS freshman Hailee Wallace (Kodiak) with 33.8 left in the first; MEHS 130-lb sophomore Regan Hoblet (False Pass) pinned MEHS sophomore Cheyenne Murphy (Bethel) with 1:40 left in the first; and MEHS 160-lb senior Jaclyn Kernak (Bethel) decisioned MEHS junior Melissa Steven (Bethel) 8-0.
Mt. Edgecumbe and Sitka wrestle at Juneau this weekend.
