Homer will host the Best Western Bidarka Round Robin Rumble this weekend. Wrestling begins at 5 p.m. Friday night with duals. Action on Saturday starts at 10:30 a.m. for an individual tourney which runs until 4:30 p.m. 

This weekend’s action follows trips to Bethel and Kenai, where the Mariners held their own.

For example, McKenzie and Tristen Cook showed how serious they are about wrestling.  For last weekend’s trip to Bethel, they both watched their weight and help fill weights for the Mariners. McKenzie was able to fill the 138-pound weight class.  

When the Mariners arrived in Bethel, there were seven other 138- and 145-pound girls, so the weights were combined. McKenzie earned two pins in route to the finals where she met Hailey O’Brien from Bethel. The match ended 9-4 in favor of O’Brien.

Tristen also looked solid in winning the 160-pound weight class.  He pinned all three of his opponents.
Six other Mariners joined the Cooks in the finals, placing in the top two of their bracket.  

Jared Brant, a junior, beat Brandon Evans from Bethel, a state runner-up, 6-5.  Luciano Fasulo, a freshman, at 120, beat Tristen Evan a defending state champion from Bethel.  Fasulo won 7-3.  He scored a takedown early and was able keep steady pressure on Evan.  

Other champions were Kyle Wells, 182, and freshman Jadin Mann, 285.  Wayne Newman, 106, beat a state place winner, Mathew Hunter from Bethel, before losing to a state champion, Thomas Dyment.  Timmy Woo, 152, lost to Leif Erickson from Nome, 8-5.  

It was a solid showing for the Mariners for the first week of the season.
The other half of the team went to compete in Kenai’s Luke Spruill Memorial Tourney.Dominic Pittman, a freshman, placed second at 138 and Richard Brock, a sophomore, placed second at 285. Brock earned the first win of his career at the tournament.  Tyler Johnson, a sophomore, placed third at 152 pounds.