Snowstorms disrupt plans for Alaska wrestling teams ahead of state championships

Rainier Marquez has only been in Anchorage a little over a week, but he’s already closing in on honorary resident status.

Like much of Anchorage, the Unalaska wrestling coach has been getting stuck and unstuck, unsuccessfully searching out sidewalk access and being generally waylaid by a series of disruptive snow storms.

The Unalaska wrestling team arrived in Anchorage on Dec. 6 in preparation for last weekend’s Great Alaska Conference meet in Bethel. One look at the forecast and it was clear staying in Anchorage was a wiser choice than heading home only to return a couple days later for this weekend’s state meet at Alaska Airlines Center.

So Marquez and junior Matheas Lopez, who qualified for the state meet by winning a regional title, have been staying at a Midtown hotel this week as Anchorage has continued to be inundated with snow.

“We don’t see this kind of snow out in Unalaska for sure,” Marquez said.

“It’s definitely tested my driving skills,” he joked.

On Tuesday, the wrestling contingent from Unalaska doubled. Two more wrestlers from the school that earned recently announced at-large bids to state arrived. Their return to Anchorage was a relief for Marquez, who said bad weather had hit Unalaska as well and outgoing flights had a standby list of more than 100 would-be passengers.

“My two at-large bid (wrestlers) flew in (Tuesday),” Marquez said. “Luckily they made it in with no problem, so that was a lot of stress off my back trying to get them back into town because I know that Unalaska is experiencing some pretty rough weather too.”

The team has been able to get some work in after being invited to join South High practices by coach Randy Hanson.

“I know it’s been rough for a lot of other schools, visiting or schools in Anchorage to get practices in because schools facilities have been closed but (Hanson) has been gracious enough to let us in to practice with them, which has been awesome,” Marquez said.

This is finals week in Unalaska, so both the student-athletes and Marquez have been busy prepping and taking tests.

Like much of the Southcentral population, Marquez and team have struggled to get around.

Immediately after returning from Bethel, the team’s 15-person, 2-wheel drive bus got stuck on C Street. Fortunately the wrestlers hopped out and got the bus back on the road.

Then on Monday, Marquez and Lopez had traded in the bus for a smaller vehicle and headed to nearby Legacy Jiu Jitsu for a workout.

“That was tough just because we’re like a block away from the hotel and we like totally could have walked but there’s no access to like the sidewalks so we were better off driving,” he said. “But yeah, we did get stuck. And then we had to have some of the South kids push the SUV.”

Marquez and the Unalaska team aren’t the only ones to have training plans snarled by the snow.

Schools in Wasilla and Palmer have been remote learning all week but on Tuesday and Wednesday after school activities were allowed. At Colony High where the Knights are looking for a fourth straight Division I state title, about 75% of the team was able to make practice Tuesday.

“It’s been a challenge, but it’s something you got to work with,” said Colony head coach Todd Hopkins. “The last three years have thrown all kinds of curveballs at us so we just adapt.”

Another issue has been scheduling conflicts at the Alaska Airlines Center, which will host the state tournament Friday and Saturday. Generally the week of state, teams are allowed access to the floor for practice but due to Thursday’s Bert Kreischer Baked Alaska comedy show at the venue, that has been eliminated.

“Everything’s changed for now,” South’s Hanson said. “They’re kind of scrambling to find all these out-of-town teams places to practice and then weather on top of it.”

Chugiak High School is generally a place where out-of-town teams go to practice leading up to the tournament, but school was once again canceled Thursday after Anchorage received another dump of snow.

“If schools close, I’m not sure what the plan will be,” Hanson said Wednesday.

Due to the lack of access, Alaska School Activities Association announced Wednesday it has granted an extra pound allowance on Friday to wrestlers and a 2-pound allowance on Saturday.

“A lot of kids haven’t got to work out and you know, a lot of them don’t even know what their weight is if they haven’t been here because they don’t have scales at home,” Hopkins said.

In Kodiak, head coach Junior Valladolid safely departed for state with his wrestlers on Thursday morning with no issues.

“Kodiak is one of those places that if you don’t like the weather, you just wait 10 minutes,” Valladolid joked.

His team was also set to practice at Legacy Jiu Jitsu and Valladolid said he brought along some prized Kodiak seafood as a thank-you.

While it’s not the ideal training tactic, Hopkins said there are still ways for wrestlers to stay fit for Friday’s first day.

“A lot of our wrestlers have been out shoveling snow so they’re losing weight in different ways,” he said. “It’s a good money making time for kids right now if they’re ambitious and have a shovel.”