AUBURN — Peninsula High seniors Casey Larson and Randy Nimrick captured titles Saturday during the six-team Class 3A South Puget Sound League wrestling championships at Auburn Mountainview High School.
Larson won the 152-pound division with an 8-3 decision over Enumclaw’s Justin Mitchell. Nimrick defeated Bonney Lake’s Caid Caveness 11-9 to win the 138-pound crown.
Larson and Nimrick, both of whom won state medals in 2012, will try to return to the Tacoma Dome on Feb. 15-16. They can qualify when Peninsula competes this weekend at the Region III championships at Bonney Lake High.
At the SPSL meet, Peninsula scored 181 points and finished fourth. Defending state champion Enumclaw (363) edged Decatur (362.5) for the championship, and Bonney Lake (221) was third.
The top five wrestlers in each weight class qualified for the Region III meet.
Peninsula will send nine wrestlers to the regional, including three first-time participants at that level.
Senior Ryan Valley (132 pounds) was the Seahawks’ third finalist, but an injury forced him to concede the championship match to Decatur’s Isaiah Diggs.
Sophomore Luke Holsinger will return to the regional tourney after his third-place finish at 170. Holsinger pinned Decatur’s Christian Napper-Mercer and Enumclaw’s Jaciel Contreras.
Senior Jake Ricco, a 2012 state participant, captured the fifth and final regional berth at 145. He advanced with victories against Enumclaw’s Tony Reano and Decatur’s Mitchell Garza.
Zach Goddard earned the final spot at 138, beating Auburn Mountainview’s David Boone 1-0 in an elimination match.
The Seahawks’ three first-time regional qualifiers are freshman Chance Stolz (195), freshman Noah Endsley (120) and sophomore Mitch Ludlow (152).
Stolz placed third, pinning Auburn Mountainview’s Kalvin Saxby and earning an 8-3 decision over Auburn Mountainview’s Antonio Corea.
Endsley advanced with a fourth-place finish. He defeated Auburn Mountainview’s Daniel Metcalf and Decatur’s Taras Krysa.
Ludlow also claimed fourth place, defeating Decatur’s TJ Barndt and Auburn Mountainview’s Chandler Wilson.
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