Top wrestlers from Bethel and across the Yukon-Kuskokwim (Y-K) Delta hit the mats in Anchorage for the ASAA wrestling state championships from Dec. 19 to Dec. 20.
In the end, a private school from Fairbanks called the Student Wrestling Development Program took first place overall among more than 100 teams at state.
Among Division II teams, the Wrangell Wolves took the top spot, with Kenai Central High School taking second and Mountain City Christian Academy taking third.
The Bethel Warriors boys ranked 15th among Division II teams, helped by Bethel sophomore Cole Iverson’s second-place finish in the 119-pound weight class. It was a repeat of 2024, when Iverson took second in the 103-pound weight class as a freshman.
Other notable finishes for the Warrior boys included junior Aidan Crow’s fourth-place finish in the 112-pound weight class, and junior Brandon Ayapan’s fifth-place finish in the 125-pound weight class.
Upriver from Bethel, Aniak junior Ralph Steeves brought home a third-place finish in the 135-pound weight class. Closer to Bethel, Napaskiak freshman Travis Andrew took fourth in the 103-pound weight class.
For the Lady Warriors, junior Riley Boney took fourth in the 138-pound weight class. In the 107-pound weight class, sophomore Claire Dyment also took fourth.
Additional Y-K Delta communities where wrestlers punched their tickets to state this year included Quinhagak, Tuntutuliak, Chevak, Scammon Bay, St. Mary’s, and Akiachak.
