Grapplers see mixed results
February 23, 2009
By Christopher Huber
Nolan Richards, of Skyline, wrestles an opponent in the 130-pound division of the 4A state championships. Richards finished eighth. By Scott Morton
When you put 850 high school wrestlers on 24 mats in the same room and have them wrestle for two days straight, with all of their parents cheering, you have a lot of fun. But you also have a lot of sweat, a lot of joy and a lot of tears.
Wrestlers from Skyline, Issaquah and Liberty high schools experienced a mixture of that Feb. 20 and 21 during the Washington State Mat Classic Wrestling Championships at the Tacoma Dome.The outcome for most of the 17 who made it to state was disappointing, but a few had relative success against the best in Washington.
Skyline’s Alexis Willcher second-time runner up
Skyline High School’s lone female wrestler, Alexis Willcher, pinned her way to the finals Feb. 20 and 21.
In the quarterfinal match, she pinned Sequim’s Sarah Keltonic in 17 seconds.
But it only took determined opponent Jolene Crook-Meyers, of Kentwood, 1 minute, 12 seconds to pin her in the 140-pound title bout.
Despite losing the state championship, Willcher earned second place for the second consecutive year, and placed the highest of any Sammamish-area grappler who participated at state.
“She earned the right to be one of the top seeds going into the tournament, and she proved it by pinning her first three opponents in the first period to reach the finals for the second straight year,” Skyline coach Gus Kiss said in an e-mail.
Eye opener
For Skyline’s boys, state was more of an eye-opening, experience-building exercise.
Senior Nolan Richards (130 pounds) toughed it out to place eighth in state. He pinned his first opponent in 1:18 and fell to Snohomish’s Sam Ottow in 3:18. In the consolation round, Richards pinned Brian Donaldson, of Marysville-Pilchuck, in 3:47 and eventually lost 8-0 to Wenatchee’s Krayson Gates.
“Richards ran into some tough competition his last two matches,” Kiss said.
Junior Anthony DeMatteo (189 pounds) and Danny Christianson (152 pounds) each were eliminated on day one.
“We had a number of underclassmen wrestlers that made the trip to Tacoma to cheer on their teammates,” Kiss said. “I know that by them just attending the tournament that it will motivate them for next year, as it truly is an experience unto itself. Twenty-four mats with six different classifications going on simultaneously and thousands of people cheering, it doesn’t get any better than that.”
Missed it by that much
Issaquah senior wrestler Dalton Baunsgard missed day two by one point Feb. 20. And it came in the final 15 seconds, when Kelso opponent Riley Miller scored two points on a takedown. The move put Baunsgard down 6-5 and sealed the defeat and any hopes for wrestling in the 112-pound semifinals Feb. 21.
“I had really high hopes for top three in state,” he said Feb. 22. “I worked to that goal all year. I’m frustrated with how I did, but I thought about it and have no regrets.
“I put as much in it as I could,” he added. “That last 15 seconds, I knew I wasn’t going to be wrestling anymore.”
Though Issaquah sent five grapplers, the Eagles did not place anyone in the top eight in state rankings. Head coach Kirk Hyatt said all of the boys were disappointed, but he was still happy with winning the KingCo Crest Division in the team’s first season in Class 4A competition.
“The kids worked so hard and I’m just feeling for them right now. They gave everything they had. I’m not disappointed, but it still stings,” Hyatt said. “They showed outstanding resolve against teams we’ve never seen before. We can improve vastly on that. We can hang on to the league.”
As far as possible
Liberty senior Matt Weik made it the farthest of the eight Patriot wrestlers who competed at the Tacoma Dome. He finished eighth in state in the 125-pound weight class after losing 6-4 to Sedro-Woolley’s Trent Morgan. It was a hard-fought match, but it took Weik the first two rounds to warm up.
“I felt it was a good experience, which I could have had earlier in my career,” he said. “I didn’t come out competitive in the first and second rounds. I didn’t go out there ready.”
Nevertheless, Weik said he was happy to finish high school ranked eighth in the state.
“I never thought I would be here when I started wrestling,” he said. “I’m pleased to be here.”
As he helped Weik prepare for the match, Liberty coach Manny Brown seemed satisfied with getting eight to state.
“I’ve never had this many kids before,” Brown said. “A lot of it comes down to, ‘Are you mentally prepared? Are you mentally tough?’ Just getting here is quite an event.”
He said the state tournament experience will greatly benefit the team in the practice room next year. He said most of his grapplers will return for the 2010 season.
“Even just getting here, to see what we can accomplish, is really going to help the room next year,” he said. “It’s been a team effort. Next year, we expect a lot out of our (this year’s) freshmen,” Brown said.
Reach Reporter Christopher Huber at 392-6434, ext. 242, or chuber@isspress.com. Comment on this story at www.issaquahpress.com.
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Hey Chris:
I just want to say that your articles are very interesting. After reading a couple of your articles in the February 23 edition, I came to realize that you’re really good at being a reporter – not only do you report what happened, but you also put your interviewed sources in a good light.
I have to admit, the national (and untrue) bias against reporters that all reporters are just out there to get the latest story, without caring about how they report it has kept me from really appreciating newspapers and reporters for quite a long time. Reading your articles dispelled that myth from my brain. You do your fellow reporters a favor by redeeming them in the public’s (or at least my) eyes.
It is a little ironic, however, that I had to take that risk of opening myself up to criticism. I’ve been avoiding newspapers and their reporters because I’ve been afraid of angering them and getting a horrible article published simply for the author to vent his feelings upon me. You have made me realize that reporters aren’t all bad, and I thank you greatly for it.
I look forward to reading more of your articles, and keep up the good work!
–Austin Briggs, junior and swimmer to the Liberty Patriots High School
Edit: I forgot to mention one thing – that I enjoy reading about my fellow Patriots (like senior Matt Weik), and even some of the Eagles over at Issaquah and Spartans up at Skyline (swimmers Jack Taylor, David Jett, the Marbers, etc.). Thanks for your good work, and again, I look forward to reading more of your articles.
–Austin Briggs