Peninsula wrestling continues win streak over rival Gig Harbor
With both teams fighting to for wins in league, the wrestling teams of both Peninsula and Gig Harbor took to the mat last Thursday in a double-dual featuring Capital High School.
Ultimately, Peninsula won their match against Gig Harbor with the score of 55-18. As all the schools competed against each other, both the Tides and Seahawks showcased some of their top talent ready to hit the Mat Classic in late February.
PENINSULA TOPS CROSSTOWN RIVAL GIG HARBOR
The Seahawks were in control most of the night as they were able to come into the meet with a little more healthy yet youthful team.
Many young wrestlers on the team stepped up and wrestled to their ability. As the season is winding down, they have a heightened awareness of what these last few matches could mean.
“Some things haven’t been going our way. We focused on it in our practices and the young guys really took to that,” said coach Gary Griffin. “They wrestled tough. They feel the city pride of wanting to beat the cross town rival just like everyone else. I thought it went well for our guys.”
One of the standout matches of the night was sophomore Kylan Sommen winning a big match against Tides’ junior Simon Atwill in the 195 pound matchup.
“Him and I first came out there and shook hands. And I was a little nervous at first because he had a strong grip,” Sommen said. “I just kept trying to go at him, I didn’t let off of him, I tried to keep the pressure up.”
That was the key to Sommen’s victory as his aggression and confidence kept up the pressure during the match. At points, Atwill would snap him down or get on top of Sommen during the match.
But the sophomore eventually worked down his opponent to pin him for the win.
“I didn’t have a great duel record last year, although I was able to get one or two guys,” Sommen said. “[Winning] was a really, really good feeling. I was really happy and upbeat. Beforehand, I was nervous because there’s a lot of pressure with a cross town rival. But I went out there and gave it my all.”
As the Seahawks move forward from this match against the Cougars and Tides, the wrestlers that will be making a push for the Mat Classic are progressing to where they need to be at the right time.
Sommen is one of the young wrestlers hoping to use a match like this to help propel them forward and get into the rhythm for wrestling deep into the Mat Classic.
Then there are the veterans on the team like Luke Golden, Nolan Casey and Brock Allen that are continually honing their already successful skills.
“It’s nice when we can have a match where we are wrestling guys that are a little more at their skill level,” Griffin said. “And then they come out on top, and they are dominant. There’ some proof in our wrestling room and our practice method.”
The Seahawks’ next round of action will also be their last of the season and it will be against Shelton at 7 p.m. Thursday, January 30 at Shelton High School.
GIG HARBOR SHOWS GROWTH
Despite it being a lopsided final score, there was still a high level of competition from the Tides. One of the standout performances from they had was that of senior Trevor Zeitner.
Facing off in the 160 pound match against the Seahawks’ Nolan Casey, Zeitner was able to go all three rounds against his contemporary. Even though he lost, it is a feat he credits to not making stupid moves on the mat.
“Every other time I’ve wrestled Nolan, he’s pinned me in the first round. This time, I went all three rounds so I felt pretty good about that,” he said. “I didn’t win, but I definitely improved since I last wrestled him… I wrestled smarter and cautious because I know what he can do.”
A match like that is also a confidence booster for Zeitner as before this match, he didn’t feel like he was on the same level as Casey.
However, he wasn’t terribly outscored, pushed the match to go all as far as it could and hung on against his opponent. With improvements like that, Zeitner feels that he can go toe-to-toe with some of the best in the state.
“I think I can use [this match] to be like ‘hey, not many people are going to be as tough as this match’,” he said. “I can do better in these matches and not have to be worried about it.”
Being so close to the top has given Zeitner a clear idea of what he needs to do to get to the next level: work on the fundamentals and not do anything crazy.
Zeitner believes that he can and will make a deep run in the postseason as he continues to perfect the things that he can and does well.
“[I] just need to work on things I’m already good at and perfect those,” he said. “Learn things new, but not abandon things that I am really good at right now.”
Up next for the Tides will be the last meet of their season. They will be traveling to Timberline and it will be at 7 p.m. Thursday, January 30 at Timberline High School.
Both teams are expected to participate in Sub-Regionals going from February 7-8, held at Capital High School.
This story was originally published January 30, 2020 at 6:00 AM.