A year ago, Enumclaw left the Region III wrestling tournament having qualified nine wrestlers for the Class 3A state tournament and well on its way to earning yet another state title.
Some of the faces have changed for the defending state champion Hornets, but at the regional tournament at Bonney Lake High School on Saturday, the results were pretty much the same.
Enumclaw scored 206.5 points to hold off Yelm (194) in the team standings while earning two individual championships.
The Hornets’ Tyke Reid set the tone early in the championship round with a stunning 8-2 decision at 120 pounds over former state champion Andrew Cunningham of Bonney Lake. Teammate T.J. Cormier put an exclamation point on the day with a quick pin to take a title at 195.
“I put it all out there,” Cormier said. “I felt good going out there, and as a senior, I knew that this was my last regional match and I was going to win it. We needed it and I wanted it.”
The end result for Enumclaw was nine wrestlers once again heading to Mat Classic and another real shot at a state title for the Hornets. The top five finishers from regionals advanced to state next week at the Tacoma Dome.
“It’s a great step forward heading toward the state tournament,” Enumclaw coach Lee Reichert said. “We have nine kids going to state and that’s exactly what we had last year when we won a championship. We’re excited about those numbers. We figure we have as good a chance as anyone.”
After the showing Yelm put together Saturday, the Tornados should be excited about their state chances as well. The Tornados sent five wrestlers to the championship round with brothers Darren Harris (106) and Dillon Harris (132) earning titles. A close loss and two defeats by pin in the other three title matches derailed Yelm’s chances at a team title, but Dillon Harris said the team still made a statement.
“We all know that for us to reach our goals, we have to beat Enumclaw,” Harris said. “That’s what we are training for and that’s what we work hard in practice for. We want to win a state title this year and to do that, we have to beat them.”
For all of the drama in the team standings, there was also plenty on the mat. In the 220 final, the Hornets’ Colton Malek and Timberline’s Stone Hart looked to be on their way to overtime as the seconds ticked off in a 3-3 tie. But Malek was called for unnecessarily throwing Hart to the floor as time expired and Hart was awarded the point and the match.
Bonney Lake’s Jake Lueders’ win at 170 wasn’t quite as controversial, but it was no less thrilling. The Panthers senior rallied to tie his match 6-6 with Decatur’s Rowland Gaydosh with 30 seconds remaining, only to fall behind 7-6 when Gaydosh nabbed an escape point. Undaunted, Lueders recorded a takedown with seven seconds to go to steal an 8-7 win and a top berth to state.
“I was thinking before it started that this will be the last competitive match I will ever wrestle at home in this gym,” Lueders said. “I’ve never lost here. When he scored that point, I just knew I had to make something happen. Taking a No. 1 seed into state is a huge thing, but winning here at home one last time was a great feeling.”
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