For some of the Haines sports teams, the season is just getting started. For another, it’s ending on a high note.
The Haines Glacier Bears wrestling team ended their spectacular season in stellar fashion. After a triumphant Region V tournament in Juneau that saw 7 of their 8 members advance to state finals, the Glacier Bears did not walk away empty handed. After braving a fierce winter snow storm in both car and boat to reach the tournament in Anchorage, all 7 wrestlers placed in the top five in their weight categories to earn the Glacier Bears 2nd overall in the Division 2 category.
The team was also awarded the Best Sportsmanship award and Coach Andus Hale was named Coach of the Year. As their schoolmates watched from screens back home, Colton Combs and James Stickler both placed 5th, Jackson Long took 3rd, with Nolan Wald, Leo Wald, and Hayden Jiminez taking second place in their weight class. Dalton Henry made history by winning 1st place in the tournament, making him only the second wrestler in Haines school history to win a championship.
Following the awards ceremony, the team battled through the weather again and returned home safely in time to enjoy the holiday break. KHNS will follow-up with the wrestling team after they take a much earned rest.
Though the wrestling season has ended, the highschool basketball season is just getting heated up. Haines hosted Skagway High school, Thunder Mountain, and Juneau Douglas High Schools for a weekend of hoops. The girls team dominated the tournament, going 4 and O against the rival schools. With an overwhelming victory under their belts, the girls team spent part of the week before Christmas raising money for the Salvation Army at IGA and Olerud’s stores.
The boys team is in the beginning of a rebuilding year. Sporting a first-year coach with no seniors or returning starters, the boys team has plenty of energy but lacks experience. While losing their first game of the season at St. Francis, the team bounced back and captured their first win of the season at the beginning of the month.
Against the other three schools this past weekend, the boys team went 2 and 2 in a tightly contested series of games. The next scheduled games are January 5th and 6th for the Don Hather tournament in Skagway.
