Middle school wrestling teams from all over southern Southeast Alaska flocked to Petersburg this weekend for the Stikine Invitational. Ketchikan Charter School was one of them. It was the team’s first tournament ever and for many of the students, their first season on the mat.
In a small room in the back of the Ketchikan rec center, the Huskies are doing jumping jacks. They are boys and girls of different ages and weight classes with one thing in common: it’s their first year wrestling competitively.
After jumping jacks, the wrestlers split into two lines. They knee walks and somersaults down the length of the room with their coaches following close behind. Next, some of the kids start grappling with each other on the mats.
“Oh man, I’m such a geek for wrestling,” said Hannah Bayles, one of the team’s coaches.
Practices began January 3. But according to Bayles, some of the kids just joined the team and have only practiced a few times. Still, they’re getting on the ferry to Petersburg in the morning.
“We don’t have any fancy speedboats like Wrangell and Klawock and Craig, they get to just zip straight over,” laughed Bayles. “It’s gonna be a long journey. Especially for some of these kids, I think this might be their first time away from home without a parent. So we’ll see what happens.”
Outside of roughhousing with an older sibling, very few of the kids have done this before. Bayles said that for some, wrestling clicked right away. Others have improved significantly over the last month since training began.
“Determination I think is the overall award that I would give this team,” she said. “You know, a lot of these kids have some pretty intense stuff going on at home, have intense stuff that’s going on at school. And the kids who are here right now want to be here.”
Indeed, there is no shortage of commitment to the sport in the room. One wrestler on the team, up until a week ago, was flunking a couple of classes. The school wasn’t going to let them travel for the tournament. But the student turned it around. Bayles said as of last night, they would be on the mat in Petersburg.
It’s also Bayles first year coaching wrestling, and a bit of a full circle moment for her.
“Girls wrestling was not an option for me when I was in high school, but I wanted a wrestler boyfriend,” Bayles remembered. “None of them would date me. So then finally years later, I meet Joey Fama who is our head coach here. He’s been coaching wrestling forever.”
Fama is also her husband. The coaching team is a bit of a family affair. The third coach is Nick Fama, Bayles’ brother-in-law.
“This age group, so much fun. I mean, just everybody’s learning, we got a lot of new wrestlers,” said head coach Joey Fama, who grew up wrestling and has been a coach for nearly a decade. “And it’s fun just to see them come into their form and learn about their bodies and how they move. Plus, middle schoolers want to roughhouse. It’s just natural for them. So giving them a safe place to do that is awesome.”
For Fama, wrestling teaches confidence. Both physical confidence – in middle schoolers becoming comfortable with their own bodies – and mental confidence – that they can overcome hurdles, no matter their size. Though this regional tournament may be the biggest hurdle yet.
“The first one’s always shocking for the kids because they don’t really understand how intense it is. You know, going out there and wrestling six minutes,” said Fama.
Payton McElwain is one of the wrestlers headed to the tournament. It’s her first year wrestling and she said the sport has already helped her beat her toughest opponent: her older brother.
“I can finally throw my brother around,” she bragged. “And he’s not stronger than me anymore. So that’s fun.”
McElwain is confident about her chances this weekend as well.
“I’m really excited for the tournament because I feel like I’m not the strongest, but I’m not the weakest either. So I feel like I’m gonna be able to beat a lot of people. And throw them and learn new moves,” she added.
“I’m probably the weakest on the team and the lightest because I’m like 77 pounds,” her friend Sophia Mackie interjected. “But I feel like I keep getting thrown around because everyone has got like 20 pounds on me. But that’s besides the point. I’m excited for the tournament.”
On the other end of the spectrum is Malachai Leleah. He’s arguably the strongest member of the team. He grew up wrestling with his brothers. Today, to prepare for the tournament, he’s sparring with Coach Fama.
“He’s big, aggressive, you know?” Leleah said of his opponent. “He’s probably what I expect going in Petersburg. Yeah, it’s gonna be competition.”
The team has come a long way in the last month, said Leleah, echoing Coach Bayles.
“I think our team is somewhat prepared. But there’s definitely going to be some flaws throughout the season. But I think our team is pretty ready,” he assured. Adding that whatever happens in Petersburg, they’ll be ready.
The next morning, they boarded the ferry. Roughly 60 wrestlers competed in the invitational. Thanks in part to the girls of Ketchikan Charter School, this was the first year that the Stikine Invitational had enough girls for its own division.
11 out of the 13 wrestlers that went to Petersburg placed in the top four of their weight division. And four wrestlers took second place – Malachi Leleah, Abby Benson, Ethan Benson and Pyper Beasley.
