by Tommy Wells
Alex Madson and Landon Smith made sure everyone penciled them as a player to watch during the 2019 wrestling season this past weekend with a stellar showing at the Battle of the Interior Duals in Fairbanks, Both Bethel Regional High School standouts wrestled their way to five wins against some of the state’s competition at Lathrop High School.
Mute was undefeated 5-0 for the girls, with one win by forfeit.
Madson was the top 103-pound wrestler at the tournament, winning five matches and helping the Warriors reel off a 2-4 record in a meet dominated with large-school programs, including West Valley, South Anchorage and Palmer.
He came up big for the Warriors in a narrow loss to West Valley in their opening matchup by notching an easy win. From there, he reeled off wins over wrestlers from Lathrop, South, North Pole and Palmer.
Landon Smith was also solid for the Warriors, he nailed down five victories, including a clutch decision that helped Bethel upend North Pole, 41-27, in their fifth match. He defeated wrestlers from West Valley, Lathrop, South Anchorage, North Pole, and Eielson in the 112 lb. division.
Nelson Evans was tough in Fairbanks with four wins. Among his big wins was one over Hutchison’s David Atkins. The win helped Bethel break a tie and claim a team win over Hutchison.
Jarvis Evans picked up three wins in the 152-pound division, while Tyler Laraux and Shaun Peter both scratched out two victories. Charles Smith, Simon Snow, Kahliel Martin and Jordan Leinberger also posted wins.
For the BRHS girls, Jaron Mute was stunning. She remained undefeated during the tournament. She downed wrestlers from Palmer, Lathrop, North Pole, and Eielson in the ladies 130 lbs. bracket.
The BRHS girls went 0-2 in their division despite strong outings from Mute, Katherine Small and Rebecca Samuelson. Samuelson posted three victories for the Lady Warriors.
Fiona Phelan and Cadence Cedars also wrestled their way to victories.
