Wyatt Ahmasuk wins at state wrestling championships
When Wyatt Ahmasuk was in elementary school, he watched his brother Oliver Hoogendorn wrestle for a championship win at states. His brother came second that year, but Ahmasuk was enthralled. He wanted to be as cool as his older brother. Now, as a high school senior, Ahmasuk has realized that dream: He is Alaska’s state champion wrestler in the 189-pound weight class.
It’s a feat that’s all the more impressive because Ahmasuk injured his back just before last year’s state championship and couldn’t compete. His hard work since then culminated when he beat Kaden Hermann of Mt. Edgecumbe in the finals of this year’s championship.
“From not being able to wrestle to being state champ is pretty cool,” said Ahmasuk.
Ahmasuk said his victory felt “surreal” and that it wasn’t until he was hanging his winning bracket on his wall that he felt like he had won.
Ahmasuk kept achieving new goals throughout the season. He was a finalist in tournaments he had not competed at before, and he was the first seed for the state championship, meaning he was predicted to do well in the tournament. He said his semi-final match at State was his most exciting one. He was upside down, almost doing a headstand when he turned his opponent over. He won and advanced to the finals.
“My brother was jumping and screaming. My mom was jumping, my dad was screaming. Big smile on my face,” Ahmasuk said.
The next day was the championship. After weigh-in, he spent time watching his teammates and resting up for the match. He came up with a plan to beat Hermann.
When it was finally time to compete, five people had spelled out “Wyatt” with one letter on each of their chests. Everybody on his team was smiling and cheering for him. There was a five-minute delay, and he walked around, nervous.
Then it was time.
They grappled. He brought Herman up to six feet in the air and then pinned him down. Suddenly everyone was screaming and crying. He was the champion.
“The crowd just went bonkers,” said Brandon Ahmasuk, Wyatt’s father. “Everybody’s screaming, and I’m right at the middle of the mat on the floor, yelling and screaming.” Wyatt told his dad that he could hear his voice over a lot of people.
Wyatt Ahmasuk said his teammates smiled like he’d never seen before. He’d never seen his little brother happy cry before. But at the same time, it hadn’t sunk in yet.
“It was a match with a whole lot of meaning to me, but after I won, it just felt like I won another match,” Ahmasuk said. He celebrated by going to Olive Garden and hanging out with his teammates and his family.
Ahmasuk has been wrestling since first grade, although COVID and his injury have meant a few years off. He also competes in Track and Field, Native Youth Olympics, basketball, and usually cross country running.
“Wyatt has always been super athletic, super outdoorsy,” said Brandon Ahmasuk. “It always made my heart super happy that he found something that he enjoyed.”
Ahmasuk said that his experience running helped him win the championship by building his endurance. Towards the end of a hard match, it’s good to have a big gas tank, he said.
Ahmasuk also thanked the people around him, from supportive family to his coaches and his teammates, who always challenged him.
In an email, Nanook Wrestling Coach Corey Erikson emphasized the importance of the whole team. “Hard working, motivated athletes in the wrestling room creates state placers and state champions. The team can all be proud of Wyatt and take a little credit for his great success.”
Brandon Ahmasuk said that he was “very, very proud” of his son for his hard work and dedication. “It’s not like other sports where you have team members playing right next to you,” he said. “When you’re on the mat, it’s just you.”
Now that winning the state championship is over, Wyatt Ahmasuk is deciding what comes next.
“I told Wyatt that I am proud and happy for him and his state championship and he can certainly celebrate his accomplishment,” said Erikson. “However, if this is the highlight of his whole life then I have failed as a coach. He will certainly continue to work hard, fail, get back up, and succeed and strive towards his next goal no matter what he wants to do later in life.”
Wherever he goes, people are excited to congratulate him. Ahmasuk joked that the recognition would probably been “way cooler” if he were a freshman or a sophomore, but he’s still thinking about what it means.
“I feel like the same person I am two or three weeks ago, just a kid with a big dream. Kind of feels like a lot of pressure,” said Ahmasuk. “At the same time, it feels like I accomplished something big.”
He still enjoys having young people look up to him.
“That’s one of the coolest parts,” said Ahmasuk. “Besides having that paper [which says he won], having all these little kids look up to me that are in middle school, just started wrestling high school.”