Freshman Charlie Bower earned his best result of the wrestling season last weekend in Juneau, landing a runner-up finish at 106 pounds.
“That shows a lot of improvement,” said co-coach Dennis Durr. “He’s really come a long way since the beginning.”
Bower went 3-1 for the Glacier Bears, who were seventh of 11 teams. Durr noted Haines topped small schools Hoonah, Wrangell, Pelican and Skagway in the scoring, and trailed squads with larger enrollments – champion Mount Edgecumbe, Petersburg, Ketchikan, Thunder Mountain, Sitka and Juneau-Douglas.
“We lost a couple of really close matches by a point or so,” said co-coach Andrew Cardella. “It’s just going to have to go the other way at regionals. That could be the last tournament for a lot of people.”
Senior Walker Blair (152 pounds) placed third, losing a one-point match in the semifinal. Sophomore Kai Hays (160 pounds) was fourth in his return to action following an injury, and sophomore Zane Durr (145 pounds) finished fifth.
Freshman Mori Hays (138 pounds) and sophomore Tyler Murphy (170 pounds) each picked up a win at the competition, but did not place.
The Glacier Bears again were short-handed due to injury or illness, facing squads with dozens of wrestlers.
“We were in the middle of the pack again, but we had a really small team,” coach Durr said. “We did pretty well, if you compare us to the other 2A schools.”
Referring to next month’s regional tournament, Durr said “realistically, we’re hoping to advance three or four guys” to state.
Cardella said the final practices of the season will aim to “solidify technique” and “keep everything fresh in their head.” Conditioning also will be an emphasis, he said, to help the Glacier Bears stay strong in the third.