Anchorage Daily News

After a 24-hour postponement caused by fog-induced travel delays, the Class 4A state wrestling tournament is back on and scheduled to begin today in Ketchikan.

Or so it appeared Friday night.

"I'm cautiously optimistic, I guess," Ketchikan wrestling coach Rick Collins said. "Nothing's a guarantee after the last few days."

The tournament was originally scheduled to begin Friday morning and wrap up tonight with the championship finals and awards ceremony.

But heavy fog over Ketchikan much of Wednesday and Thursday, coupled with an apparent breakdown in the Ketchikan Airport's navigational aid system, prevented all but a few dozen travelers from arriving in time to start the meet on time.

As of Friday night, however, all but the six Anchorage-area teams from Region IV had arrived in Ketchikan. The Anchorage programs were traveling together on a charter flight that was scheduled to depart Anchorage at 9:30 p.m. Friday, and state tournament organizers set a 9 a.m. start time today for the first matches, assuming the Region IV wrestlers arrived.

"We're not going to start the tournament until all the teams are here," said John Andrews, the Alaska School Activities Association's director of special events. "If it has to be another day, fine."

ASAA does not want to carry the tournament over until Monday, because of return travel arrangements and the added cost of a trip that has already drawn fire from some road-system schools because of its expense. But holding the finals on a Sunday, believed to be a first in Alaska state championship competition, may force a number of wrestlers from the mat due to religious or other personal conflicts.

Service High left one wrestler behind Friday for that reason, and other coaches have said they may have parents request their youngsters not wrestle on Sunday.

"It's sad," Service coach Tom Ritchie Jr. said. "The kid worked all year long, and at the pinnacle of his season he's not allowed to wrestle Sunday. His parents didn't want him wrestling one day and then having to forfeit out."

ASAA for years has granted waivers to schools to play Sundays due to weather or transportation problems, but ASAA executive director Gary Matthews said he was not aware of an Alaska state tournament ever having taken place on Sunday.

If the Anchorage delegation arrived in Ketchikan late Friday as scheduled, the tournament will at least be held, which was not certain a day earlier when traveling teams were stranded in Seattle, Juneau, Sitka and Wrangell.

"I never in my wildest dreams thought we'd have a situation like we had," said Collins, a Ketchikan native who has worked for months with a large group of school officials and volunteers to ensure a successful tournament. "It's been a dream of mine ever since I was a kid and flying to Anchorage for the state tournament, thinking it sure would be nice to bring it here one day."

Sunday's wrestling schedule will start at 9 a.m., with finals starting at 5 p.m..

Reporter J.R. Rardon can be reached at jrardon@adn.com.