The Wrangell Wolves wrestling team is stepping onto the mat for a new season, which started officially with practices on Sept. 30, with a familiar objective: Defending their state championship and chasing multiple first-place individual finishes.

Following last year’s dominant run that finished with a roster of 26 wrestlers and the first state title ever for the boys team, head coach Jack Carney said the main focus is building on that success by fostering the team culture established over the past decade.

This year, the squad starts the season with 22 wrestlers, though there is the possibility of at least a couple more being added as the season progresses. While the team lost five seniors to graduation, the coach is confident in reloading with four seasoned freshmen who are already stepping up.

“We’re leaning on everybody, and the freshmen have to produce at the state tournament or we’re not going to repeat,” he said. “We’re ranked No. 1. Or there’s a couple rankings out, which don’t mean much, but we’re still ranked No. 1. And, really, it’s getting our freshmen right where they need to be, and they’re starting off strong. They’re taking down seniors. They’re not afraid of anybody, so it’s just keeping the culture going.”

The Wolves are adapting to a shift in leadership with their younger roster additions.

Rather than relying on a single standout voice, Carney emphasized that leadership is distributed throughout the entire room. “Good teams have a leader, bad teams have no leader, and great teams everybody’s a leader,” he said.

Demonstrating that self-sufficiency, he noted that team captains run the practice room entirely on their own, handling everything from warmups to stretching without coaching intervention for the first 15 minutes of each session.

The incoming freshmen have turned heads early in the practice room. He specifically pointed to several young wrestlers making waves against older competition, including Thomas Rohr-Wickman, Michael Barnes and Jayden Daugherty.

“If you’re not careful, he’ll take down a senior and put him to his back, you know, state placers,” he said of Wickman.

Carney added that Barnes is beating kids larger and older than him, while describing Daugherty as one of the “most athletic kids” he has ever seen. A fourth incoming freshman, Carsyn Christian, is recovering from an off-mat injury, but the coach expects him to contribute as another tough competitor once healthy.

On the technical side, the coaching staff is emphasizing neutral position fundamentals, hand fighting and staying disciplined under pressure. He stressed that success on the big stage requires strict attention to positioning.

“The best wrestlers today, they’re position wrestlers,” he said. “And if you stay in position, don’t get out of position when you score, when you go for a shot, you’re going to win.”

Patience is another cornerstone of the team’s training strategy this year, with Carney noting the importance of setting up shots rather than rushing attacks.

“A lot of people think, ‘oh, it’s 15 seconds, somebody better shoot,’” he explained. “Then it’s, ‘Oh, nobody’s shot,’ and boom, I take a bad shot. So when you shoot, make sure the shot’s there, so it’s about the setups.”

The Wolves are eyeing another title at Southeast regionals, which they will host at home this season after receiving special scheduling permission from other teams in the region. Carney hopes the community will turn out to support the team by filling the stands, helping out with the score clock and contributing to event operations Dec. 11-12. 

With a deep lineup featuring returning state placers like Kourtney Barnes, Curtis Harriger, Everett Meissner, Hailey Cook and Cooper Powers, and returning state champion Jackson Carney, the program’s goals remain clear. 

“The goal is another title, 100%, and I’m going to extend that a little bit: multiple state champions,” the coach said.

The team’s first taste of competition will be Oct. 23-24 at the Juneau Southeast Showdown. The first home meet is scheduled for Nov. 20-21 against Petersburg.