Wrangell’s high school wrestlers made it big this past season. About 10 of them qualified for state.
They played the most matches compared to previous years, with 560 matches and they won almost 64% of them.
But only one local wrestler, sophomore Jackson Carney, earned the golden medal for a first-place finish in the 140-pound weight class.
“It’s all about being in love with the process,” Jackson said. “You want to enjoy getting there too, not just the result you’re gonna get. So when you think about it in that light, it makes it a whole lot easier.”
He said to win the state champion title, he and his team went to regionals after the regular season. They then qualified to wrestle at the two-day state tournament in Anchorage.
Back at the state tournament, two other Wrangell wrestlers, senior Della Churchill (120-pound division) and junior Cody Barnes (215-pound bracket), took fourth this year and sophomore Everett Meissner (152-pound division) took sixth place.
How Jackson succeeded
At state, there were 16 wrestlers in Jackson’s bracket.
He moved directly into the second round since his first opponent forfeited the match due to an injury. Jackson said he wrestled against regional champion from Bethel, Keegan Thompson, in the second round and the third he competed against Blake Bailey from Cordova.
“He was a tough wrestler,” Jackson said. “He had a good shot and I was able to go out there, take him down, almost pinned him in the first period and then second period, I shot a low single, got right in on him and pinned him. So that was how I got to the finals.”
At the finals, Jackson wrestled someone he previously competed against: Jake Stockhausen from Glennallen. He lost that match previously, but this was a new start.
“I had lost to him at a tournament in Anchorage,” Jackson said. “So we went out there and I was ready. And first period, I made sure he got a stalling call, because he likes to stall and just run away.”
But running away didn’t stall Jackson for too long. He won the match seven to one. After winning four matches in a row, Jackson was the state champion.
‘It helps me to reach my full potential as a human and become a better man’
He said wrestling has been important to him ever since he started at age four. It means more to him than just a sport.
“I feel closer to the Lord above when I wrestle,” Jackson said. “It helps me to reach my full potential as a human and become a better man while I’m at it.”
His coach and father, Jack Carney, said there’s so much to wrestling, not just the physical component. He said there’s a mental edge of never giving up being a good sport. Whether they win or lose, it’s about giving their absolute 100%.
“Life’s not easy. Life’s gonna get harder and harder and harder. People are gonna look up to them, and they’re gonna have to depend on all these young adults that are wrestling when they get older,” Carney said. “It’s just a way of preparing their bodies and their minds to be the best people they can be, people that others can count on.”
He said he grew up in a really small village and didn’t start wrestling until later. He played in college and said it helped him throughout life.
“It gave me discipline. It gave me focus,” Carney said. “It got me around some really high quality people that helped me out in life and so it changed my life for the better. I just hope to do the same thing, helping other kids in life as well.”
He said the mental focus and physical stamina that comes with wrestling also helps the students in other sports as well, like helping Jackson become a better runner for cross country.
From practice to travel, Wrangell Wolves spend considerable time together
Carney said he spends a lot of time with the wrestlers because of practicing and traveling for matches. But he still loves coaching.
“It is a grind, you know, after two months and you’re traveling a bunch of times and sleeping on school floors and stuff like that. But really, there’s a lot more good than bad,” he said. “Watching the kids light up, watching the kids stay focused, watching the kids set goals and then achieve goals. Lots of moments to just give you goosebumps. You’re cheering them on.”
He said a lot of the wrestlers on the team have been in his program for almost a decade, from when they were in middle school. He said next year will be great and there’s always room to continue teaching more.
“If you have a kid or if you have a young person in your life that’s thinking about getting discipline and focusing, wrestling’s are a great thing,” Carney said. “It’s the best thing to get somebody in shape quickly and to improve resiliency.
He said anybody can wrestle, no matter the limitations.
As for Jackson Carney, the state champion, he only has two more years to compete in high school. But he actually wrestles for the majority of the year. He’s committed to teaching the sport to younger wrestlers at the middle school – that season is now happening. He also competes in club wrestling in the spring and wrestling camps in the summer.
After that, he said maybe he’ll get recruited for college.
