On Wednesday, March 26, more than 100 wrestlers from four middle schools on the North Olympic Peninsula converged at Port Angeles High School for the end-of-season league championship. Some 31 athletes represented the East Jefferson Rivals with four champions on the boys team and four champions on the girls team.

Winners for the boys team included Dane Moore, Key Matter-Williams, Brayden Tuttle and Athen Carpenter. The girls team winners included Katalena Perka, Leighton Dunn, Kindle Iverson and Elizabeth Camacho. Kindle Iverson of Quilcene, a seventh grader, also won the tournament’s Outstanding Female Wrestler award.  She completed her season with an undefeated record.

The girls team won first place with 103 points, besting the second-place Port Angeles team by over 25 points in a dominating result. The boys earned fourth place, narrowly missing out on third-place Sequim by half a point. 

“Both our teams were very competitive at our last event. The boys’ side had a 10% point differential between the second- and fourth-place teams, so we were right there,” said coach Jim Wilcox. “We had a ton of girls try the sport this season, and this group pushed one another very hard at practice all season long.”

The team had an award ceremony on March 27. Athletes gathered for a cupcake party and helped put away mats for the season.

Team awards were given to the following individuals:  Most Inspirational went to Ty Haddenham and Ayla Brayton;  MVP went to Dane Moore and Kindle Iverson; and the Coach’s Award went to Theo Fields and Leighton Dunn.

All the coaches urged every junior high-aged athlete to attempt another spring sport in April, as well as to check out the summer weight training program offered by coach Brooks Kubik at the PTHS weight room this  summer.

Ryan White is a coach at Port Townsend High School.