Utqiaġvik wrestlers win 2 state titles and help grow local program

Utqiaġvik wrestlers who won two state titles last weekend have been inspiring youths to pick up the sport.

Seniors Uatahouse Tu’ifua and Manusiu Muti won their divisions and repeated as ASAA state champions. Tu’ifua finished the season undefeated and won his third state championship at the 285 lb. division. Muti won her second consecutive state championship in the 235 lb. division.

“They both have huge determination to just do everything the right way, perfect technique, strength,” Utqiaġvik wrestling coach Herman Reich said about the athletes. “They are what a coach dreams about.”

For Muti, the win did not come as a surprise. She said she was focused on trying new moves and felt calm.

“I sort of came into this season with high expectations for myself,” she said. “I went into each and every match ready to dominate and so I did. I took notes each time and tried to better myself.”

[Dominant performances, heartwarming storylines highlight 2023 Alaska state wrestling tournament]

Muti has grown tremendously in her wrestling career, Reich said. During her freshman year, she didn’t win a single match, but she was determined to keep getting better, despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“She went from not winning a single match to being in the finals in her sophomore year, and then after that, winning two (state tournaments) straight,” he said. “That’s pretty amazing.”

Tu’ifua said he was happy about his win — and about becoming the first-ever four-time state finalist from Utqiaġvik. During his matches, he said, he tried to remain humble and never give his opponents a chance to think that they dominated him.

“I was just very excited to make history this year,” Tu’ifua said. “It really feels amazing, just ending off my high school wrestling career undefeated and with another trip to the state championship and just finishing it off with the win.”

For both of the athletes, this was their last high school championship. After graduating high school, Muti is considering pursuing wrestling at the college level.

“This sport can really make a future for me and my family and that’s something that keeps me pushing,” Muti said.

Tu’ifua said he plans to focus on football in college, but he is grateful for what wrestling has given him.

“The sport really taught me to be disciplined and just continue working hard,” Tu’ifua said. “There’s no one really to blame for your losses and all that stuff. It’s just you out there.”

Since Tu’ifua and Muti joined the Utqiaġvik wrestling team, the program has grown significantly — in part because of their attitude and success, coach Reich said. From bringing about three wrestlers to state and regional tournaments a few years back, Reich said he now has 18 athletes on average — a significant improvement, especially for a basketball town like Utqiaġvik.

“When they came into the scene, they started taking everything seriously, and everybody just kind of followed behind them,” Reich said about Tu’ifua and Muti. “Then their success started gaining attention, and now, a lot more people are starting to come in.”

For Muti, inspiring more youths — especially girls — has always been a goal. Reich said Muti has been helping train middle school girls and encouraging them to stick with practice.

[One of Utqiaġvik’s state champion wrestlers wants to inspire other girls to take up the sport]

“Wrestling provides you with not only physical strength but mental strength and endurance. ... It builds (up) your confidence — which is something important for girls to have in themselves,” Muti said. “I’m actually starting to see some of that confidence in the group of girls I had this season and it brought me so much joy to see that.”

This year, the Utqiaġvik wrestling team is losing three seniors, including Muti and Tu’ifua. Next year they will lose two more. But the program has big sophomore and freshman classes, Reich said, and that makes him optimistic.

“Barrow’s future is just getting started,” he said.