In a whirlwind trip to Juneau that started with a rough ride on a Valentine’s Day Goldbelt catamaran, 17 middle schoolers headed to a wrestling tournament in Juneau earlier this month.
The outgoing sailing was on the same day that a group of Petersburg basketball players made their way into town on rough chop waves that reportedly caused widespread seasickness. Haines wrestling coach Jake Mason said the ride south was not as bad.
And despite a grueling schedule that saw them weigh in and wrestle as soon as they hit the Capital City, out of 230 wrestlers from 11 communities, two of the four girls took first place and three of the boys made it to the finals.
Mason said the girl “wrestled really tough.”
Makayla Henry, who wrestled at 137 pounds, dominated during her matches. Mason said Henry has been working on her double-leg takedown and incorporating it more often.
“She steamrolled everybody,” Mason said. “I don’t think any of her matches went into the second round. [She] took the other girls down and just went straight to their back and pinned.”
Lylah Ray, who wrestled at 129 pounds, took first place in what Mason called a highlight for him, as she has put in a lot of hard work.
“Last year was her first year wrestling and she took a lot of losses,” Mason said. “So she’s just gotten better with every match and she has just improved so much, it’s really cool to see and to get to watch her finally win a tournament.”
Yarona Jacobsen, who wrestled at 90 pounds, took third in that weight class.
Sofia Hedden, who wrestles at 114 pounds, dislocated her elbow during a match and ended up having to get it reset. Mason said she’ll recover quickly but will be out for the rest of the season.
Among the boys, sixth-grader Tyson Combs took second in the 71-pound weight class. Luke Bell took first in the 78-pound weight class, which is his second time winning at regionals.
“He took second in state last year, so he’s kind of on a mission,” Mason said. “He has some tough competition ahead of him at state.”
Canaan Larson took third in the 111-pound weight class and Jonah Wray took scond in the 127-pound weight class.
Mason also highlighted Milo Jensen, who is a first-year wrestler who took third place in the 149-pound weight class.
“He just came in, never wrestled before, just showed some interest and he’s just been doing great,” Mason said.
The team is headed to Fairbanks this week for a Feb. 28-March 1 state tournament.
Southeast Middle School Regional Tournament top three-medal winners from Haines by weight:
BOYS
71 pounds – 1. Jerick Keith, Blatchley; 2. Tyson Combs, Haines; 3. Jacob Cisney, Mitkof.
78 – 1. Luke Bell, Haines; 2. Cameron Caskey, Schoenbar; 3. Sophia Haseltine, Craig.
111 – 1. Jon Carle, Klawock; 2. Liam Hulson, TMMS; 3. Canaan Larson, Haines.
127 – 1. Cooper Smith, Blatchley; 2. Jonah Wray, Haines; 3. Luke Darbonne, TMMS.
149 – 1. Cole Whiting, TMMS; 2. Thomas Slaven, Mitkof; 3. Milo Jensen, Haines.
GIRLS
90 pounds – 1. Nora Lovell, Thorne Bay; 2. Mariah Carney, Stikine; 3. Yarona Jacobsen, Haines.
129 – 1. Lylah Wray, Haines; 2. Ngai Kivalu, TMMS; 3. Kendall Hamilton, Schoenbar.
137- 1. Makayla Henry, Haines; 2. Freya Fenner, Mitkof; 3. Alli Demmert, Klawock.
Klas Stolpe of the Juneau Empire contributed to this story