Sophomore wrestler Jackson Long unofficially placed first in the 189-pound weight class Saturday at a Petersburg tournament. The competition was a round robin event, so places are not officially awarded. Long lost the least number of matches.
Long won five matches and lost one to a Ketchikan athlete. At regionals, he will not compete against wrestlers from large schools like Juneau or Ketchikan.
Long said his dad would get him a present if he got a pin. Long got five pins, so his dad bought him prime rib.
“I felt like a winner,” said Long. “I spent a lot of time on my back, but I always fought off and pinned the guy.”
Freshman Hayden Jimenez unofficially placed third in the 103-pound weight class. Jimenez won three matches and lost two.
Jimenez said he’s trying to put on weight for future tournaments. He said he’s currently 91 pounds, so he’s wrestling much heavier athletes. By gaining weight, Jimenez thinks he will be more competitive. There is no weight class for students under 90 pounds.
Jimenez said he beat a high school junior. “It felt really good,” said Jimenez. “I was surprised I was able to do that.”
Jimenez hurt his shoulder while wrestling Juneau’s Colton Cummins. He said he tore his rotator cuff after Cummins put him in a double-arm bar and then rolled Jimenez on his back. Jimenez said he will be taping his shoulder for the remainder of the season.
Junior Galen Allen was supposed to wrestle in the 171-pound weight class, but he was moved up to 189 because no one was in his weight class. Allen won four matches and lost three.
Allen and Long wrestled each other at the tournament. Allen said he’s wrestled Long many times in practice. He said he knew which moves to expect. “This gave me an advantage,” said Allen, “but I also knew Jackson (Long) would beat me in the end.” Long pinned Allen to win the match.
Sophomore Douglas Adams competed in the 189-pound weight class. Adams lost all five of his matches. He said he is trying to lose weight so he can move down to the 171-pound weight class, where he expects to be more competitive.
Haines will host a wrestling tournament this weekend. The tournament is open to the public and masks will be required. The competition begins Friday at 3:30 p.m. and Saturday at 9 a.m. Athletic Director Lynzee Swinton said about 20 athletes from Thunder Mountain, Juneau and Petersburg will be competing. The senior class will be providing the wrestlers and coaches with breakfast and lunch both days. The junior class is providing dinner both nights.