Lady Warriors take seventh at Lancer Smith Memorial tourney

by Tommy Wells

Kelly O’Brien and the Bethel Regional High School Lady warriors turned in an impressive effort this past weekend at the Lancer Smith Memorial Wrestling Tournament. The BRHS girls’ 4-person team rolled up 48 points and finished seventh in a meet that featured almost 30 girls’ squads from across the state.

O’Brien provided much of the fireworks for the Lady Warriors during the meet. The BRHS star wrestled her way to a 4-1 record and finished third in the final standings in the 145-pound weight classification.

O’Brien kicked off her outing with a quick win over Region I rival Eve Negovanna of Barrow. She notched her first-round win at the 1:39 mark of her bout. She followed her victory over Negovanna with another quick win in the second round by downing Bartlett’s Carressa Hoover.

After suffering a loss to South Anchorage’s Madison Ellis in the semifinals, she came roaring back. She upended Desarae Matheny in the consolation semifinals and earned a spot in the third-place match against Soldotna’s Amanda Wylie.

Dellarae Charlie and Lindsey Beans-Polk also did well for the BRHS girls. Charlie finished with a 3-2 mark and took fourth in the 106-pound ranks. After winning her first two bouts, Charlie suffered a loss to Kailey Fowlkes of North Pole in the semifinals. She earned a berth in the third-place match with a 5-1 victory over Colony’s Victoria Palin.

Bartlett’s Rachelle Bault edged Charlie in the third-place contest.

Beans-Polk went 3-3 and finish sixth in the 132-pound standings.

Kelsi Madson also competed for Bethel, going 0-2 in the 106-pound division.

Lancer Smith Memorial Tournament Girls division

1. Mt. Edgecumbe, 126.0; 2. Homer, 87.0; 3. North Pole, 82.0; 4. South Anchorage, 66.5; 5. Galena, 56.0; 6. Kotzebue, 55.5; 7. Bethel, 48.0; 8. Palmer, 46.0; 9. Nome, 37.0; 10. Wasilla, 35.0; 11. West Anchorage, 33.0; 12. Bartlett, 30.0; 13. Eielson, 26.0; 14. Lathrop, 26.0; 15. Soldotna, 24.0; 16. Newhalen, 22.0; 17. Nikiski, 22.0; 18. Houston, 21.0; 19. Noatak, 20.0; 20. Service, 20.0; 21. Barrow, 19.0; 22. Dillingham, 15.0; 23. Colony, 12.0; 24. West Valley, 9.0; 25. Kuskokwim Learning Academy, 8.0; 26. Seward, 7.0; 27. East Anchorage, 6.0; 28. Eagle River, 4.0; 29. Ketchikan, 2.0.