By KLAS STOLPE
Sentinel Staff Writer
The Alaska School Activities Association Wrestling State Championships begin Friday at Anchorage’s Alaska Airlines Center, and some of Southeast Region V’s best grapplers are seeded among the top of their peers across all weight classes.
Most notably are the top seeded bookends in the weight brackets at the lightest, 103-pound Ryan Rooney from Wrangell, and at heaviest, where Mt. Edgecumbe’s Haley Osborne is undefeated at 285 pounds. The two are the lone Division I/II boys grapplers from Region V with the top seed distinction. Sitka senior Jacob Gagner is Southeast’s top hope for the 140-pound title and is seeded third.
The top six seeds in each weight class are in better positions in the bracketed tournament. There are 14 weight brackets and each weight bracket will have 16 wrestlers competing.
Also among the top six in DII are Sitka’s Colton Ewers (103, 4th), Wrangell’s Jonah Comstock (112, 4th), Craig’s Zach Giron (125, 4th), Mt. Edgecumbe’s Lloydy Ayojiak (130, 3rd), Petersburg’s Kayden Geelan (135, 6th), Mt. Edgecumbe’s Leon Evon (145, 4th), Sitka’s Gavin Hammock (145, 5th), Wrangell’s Hunter Wiederspohn (152, 3rd), Petersburg’s Kole Sperl (160, 4th), Sitka’s Reilly Holden (160, 5th), Wrangell’s Dillon Rooney (189, 3rd), and Haines’ Wesley Verhamme (285, 5th).
On the girls side, Mt. Edgecumbe’s Brystel Charlie is the top ranked 135-pounder.
Other girls top-six seeds include Wrangell’s Liana Carney (103, 2nd), Mt. Edgecumbe’s Celeste Katcheak (119, 6th), Petersburg’s Ruby Massin (125, 2nd), Mt. Edgecumbe’s Maysa Brown (130, 6th), Ketchikan’s Hayley Gilson (135, 4th), Mt. Edgecumbe’s Anya Pingayak (145, 2nd), Mt. Edgecumbe’s Alaina Pete (189, 2nd), Mt. Edgecumbe’s Natasha Merlino (189, 3rd).
The Southeast DI boys in the top-six include Ketchikan grapplers Degan Linne (103, 5th), Patrick Rauwolf (119, 3rd), Kolin Houthoofd (119, 4th), Matthew Rodriguez (125, 3rd), Andy Collins (140, 3rd) Brayden Linne (145, 2nd), Richard Stuart (152, 6th), and Brandon Wieber (189, 4th); and Thunder Mountain’s Nick Tipton (171, 6th) and Derek Mason (215, 3rd).
Matches on Friday go from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and from 5 to 8 p.m. Matches resume Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
State Championship finals are Saturday from 6 to 9 p.m.
In Region V tournament action last weekend at Juneau , Sitka 140-pound senior Jacob Gagner reverses on Craig’s Timber Patton.(Sentinel Photos by Klas Stolpe)
In Region V tournament action last weekend at Juneau, Mt. Edgecumbe 285-pound undefeated junior Haley Osborne pins Sitka’s Gabe VanVeen (Sentinel Photos by Klas Stolpe)
In Region V tournament action last weekend at Juneau, Mt. Edgecumbe 135-pound senior Brystel Charlie takes down Ketchikan’s Hayley Gilson.
The three won their respective Region V titles. Charlie and Osborne are seeded first and Gagner third in the ASAA State Wrestling Championships beginning Friday at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage. (Sentinel Photos by Klas Stolpe)
