Wrestling teams from several high schools in Southeast Alaska were in Petersburg Dec. 6 and 7 for the last invitational tournament before regional championships.
It was senior night on Saturday, and the last time graduating students on Petersburg’s wrestling team took the mat under the spotlight in their home gym.
“It’s emotional for me,” said James Valentine, head coach of Petersburg’s wrestling team. “I’m still happy just to be part of their lives. And hopefully I made an impact, and hopefully wrestling made an impact.”
This graduating class was the first that Valentine coached throughout all four years of their high school careers.
“This group of seniors, for me, means a lot, because they grew with me,” Valentine said. “They’re the ones that went through the ups and downs with me.”
Event-goers celebrated Petersburg’s seniors before the night’s matches, and then the high school gym went dark. Only a spotlight illuminated the wrestling mat, setting the stage for the final matchups of the two-day round-robin style tournament.
Petersburg senior Kaden Duke and his opponent from Metlakatla didn’t hesitate to go head-to-head when their match began.
Duke won that match, and afterward said it was fun to wrestle under the spotlight for one last time in front of his home crowd. It was not the first time he faced off against the other wrestlers who competed in the tournament.
“In Southeast, everybody’s very close because the small teams,” Duke remarked, sporting a fresh mat burn right between his eyes. “Everyone grew up around each other, everyone grew up wrestling each other.”
Duke was confident about his competition for the night. To him, the tournament was about trying new techniques and applying weeks of practice to his matches.
“In Southeast … there’s so much respect between everybody. It’s kind of different from everywhere else, really,” Duke said. “Sportsmanship’s really important in Southeast, and to me, in general.”
The next destination for the wrestlers is Haines for regional championships. Qualifying members of the team will then go to state championships in Anchorage Dec. 20 and 21.
Duke is currently seeded second in the state for his weight class.
“I’m definitely excited for what’s coming up. And I’m hoping I can come to win that state championship that I’ve been wanting to get so bad for my last four years in high school,” Duke said.
Petersburg senior Angus Olsen wrestled the last match of the night. It was the first time he lost to his opponent from Sitka, but it showed him he still has room for improvement.
“No matter who you are on that mat, there’s always opportunity to learn from it,” Olsen said. “And that’s the beauty of it.”
He looks forward to competing in Haines with the other wrestling teams.
“I think regionals really says something about Southeast and its camaraderie, because everyone comes together. It’s everyone from every single team, not just who’s made it to state. And I think that’s really beautiful because every team is there, everyone’s wrestling, everyone’s competing and trying to do their best to go to state,” Olsen explained. “It’s really nice to see, so I’m excited.”
Although Petersburg senior Markus Anderson was off the mat this season healing an injured knee, he still worked to improve with his team as a coaching assistant.
A lifelong wrestler, Anderson is proud of sticking to the sport throughout the years.
“It’s hard to explain, I just love the sport. I mean, there’s nothing like going out on the mat and beating your opponent,” said Anderson. “The hard work and the effort you have to put into it [is] something I admire.”
During this final stretch of the season, Petersburg’s team set out to improve as regionals approached.
“Hopefully, we can … sharpen just the little that we got to, and then go to regions and have a good showing,” he said.
Recordings of Petersburg’s wrestling invitational are available online with a paid subscription to the NFHS Network.
The Southeast Region 5 wrestling championship takes place in Haines this weekend, Dec. 13 and 14.
