Petersburg’s high school wrestling team competed in their second wrestling tournament of the season in Juneau on Nov. 7-8. By this time last year, the team had competed in more tournaments. Head coach James Valentine said less time on the mat meant some wrestlers weren’t as sure of themselves in Juneau.
“They just didn’t have the confidence in getting into positions,” Valentine said. “Now, once they were there, they knew exactly what to do. They were able to finish shots and do that, but they were not able to just have the confidence to put themselves in these positions, to try the new things that we’re working on.”
Valentine said that the team is mostly freshmen and sophomores, so they’ll need to compete more to get over their nerves.
“We know our struggles, but it just takes time on the mat,” Valentine said.
The highest performing member of the team was junior Eli Anderson, who placed third in the 189-pound weight class and won four out of five matches.
Valentine also highlighted sophomore heavyweight Danny Stocks, who had his first-ever win at the tournament.
The team will be leaving for Ketchikan’s annual Bill Weiss Tournament
this week, and Valentine said that leading up to the tournament, the team was focusing on academics. Most of the team passed grade checks, and Valentine said they were working hard to complete their homework ahead of the competition.
“We’re just trying to also remember that we’re a student athlete, not necessarily just an athlete,” Valentine said. “We all passed grade checks, but that doesn’t mean we can slack.”
The wrestling team will be competing in Ketchikan on Nov. 21-22.
