This past weekend, Nome-Beltz hosted the 2015 Northern Conference Wrestling tournament. Last year’s tournament was spread out over two days, so to fit in every match, the events kicked off promptly at 9am.
Over 20 teams from around the region traveled to Nome for the tournament, all the way from the Arctic city of Barrow to the small village of Buckland. With the chance to qualify for states for the top two boys and the top girl in each weight class on the line, the crowd was noisy and the wrestlers nervous.
But Nome’s head coach Dudley Homelvig didn’t display any of those nerves while previewing his team.
“We’ve got a bunch of rookies, but we’ve got some real experienced guys as well,” Homelvig explained, adding, “it’s kind of a combination.”
While the experience of his team varied widely, he described them as a “good bunch of kids to work with.”
That good bunch of kids proved their worth at this weekend’s tournament, earning eight first place finishes and two second place finishes in separate weight classes. Nome-Beltz will send 10 wrestlers to states, eight from their boys team and two from their girls team.
Overall, Kotzebue took home the most points from Saturday’s Northern Conference tournament, followed by Barrow in second and Nome rounding out the podium in third.
The state wrestling tournament will take place in Anchorage on December 18th and 19th.
