Nome’s Starr Erikson won the State Wrestling Championship in her 112 weight class over the weekend. She was the only undefeated wrestler from Nome-Beltz this season, among 11 other Nanooks who joined her at states.
Coach Charlie Cross spoke on her impressive performance:
“She started the state tournament at 19-and-0 and pinned every competitor she faced… (she was) one of the more dominant performances in Alaska wrestling this year. Starr Erikson is just excellent. And we’re really proud of her performance, not just at States but all season and every day in practice.”
Nanooks Ben Cross and Caleb Evatt each took home second place for their respective weight classes.
Ben Cross met a particularly challenging opponent once again, Aengus Bancroft from Glennallen. Bancroft ended up taking home first place.
“They’d met four times previously. Saturday night was Bancroft’s night. He won 10-6 in a pretty good match, so Benjamin finished the season 21-and-2. It was a great competition and Bancroft’s first win over Ben. So he definitely earned it.”
Overall, Coach Cross says he’s pleased he took 12 wrestlers both to regionals and states. Back in Nome following the state championship, he reflected on the season as a whole:
“Our team shirt says ‘my blood, my sweat, your tears.’ … They all dropped a few tears, I’m sure of it. But their hard work really did pay off. They’re all a lot better for their relentless pursuit of this sport. And I’m just really pleased with every one of them.”
That’s it for the Nanooks for this year. The wrestling season will start back up next fall.
Image at top: Nome’s Starr Erikson won first place for her weight class at the 2018 State Championship in Anchorage. Photo: Charlie Cross, used with permission.
