Haines High School junior Zane Durr emerged from a competitive Region V wrestling tournament last weekend in Wrangell, punching his ticket to state.
Durr, seeded fifth, tallied a 4-1 record to place third at 145 pounds, losing only to the top seed. The top four wrestlers in each weight class qualified for this weekend’s state meet in Anchorage.
“We had one guy qualify, but we had six guys who came within one match of going to state,” said coach Andrew Cardella. “We were close to having a majority of the team.”
Eight Glacier Bear grapplers competed in Wrangell, against a field that included large schools Ketchikan, Juneau-Douglas and Thunder Mountain.
Ketchikan took the overall title, followed by Wrangell and Craig. Haines finished 11th in the 16-team field.
Cardella said Durr was “probably in the toughest weight class” at the event.
Durr will be one of 16 wrestlers in the 145-pound class at Bartlett High School this weekend. Matches run Friday-Saturday. His father and wrestling coach, Dennis Durr, also made the trip this week.