Wrestling Roundup: Orting dominates, Tahoma has strong showing from boys and girls program
Wrestlers from all over the area descended onto their respective regional tournament sites for their chances at qualifying for the Mat Classic next week.
Some wrestlers dominated their competition, some lost back to back matches and no longer were in the tournament. Some schools lit up the scoreboard and some left regionals without scoring a single point.
Five area high schools came away with tournament wins: Tahoma High School won the 4A Region One Tournament, Sumner won the 4A Region Three Tournament, Silas won the 3A Region Three Tournament, Orting won the 2A Region Two Tournament, and W.F. West won the 2A Region Three Tournament.
The Cardinals had arguably the best showing of all the winning programs. Seven of their wrestlers came in first place in their weight class, including a couple of seniors in Matthew Gore (145) and Hunter Sonnenberg (195).
“We had a really good day, everything almost went to the perfect plan. The kids really performed to their abilities,” said Orting coach Jody Coleman. “I think our focus is on the Mat Classic. The whole week, we’ve been talking about finding a way to advance, and to get through the tournament. These boys have been really battle tested. When they come in through the door, they put it all on the line and are gritty.”
Other top placers for the Cardinals were freshman Dominic Thomas (106), freshman Michael Fritz (113), sophomore Alan Salguero Jr. (120), sophomore Quentin Harding (126), junior Bryan Dickerson (132), and junior Apollo Cruz (138).
Including those who came in first place, the Cardinals had 21 wrestlers place in the top six of their weight classes for a combined total of 367 points. For perspective, North Kitsap came in second with 145.5 points.
However, Tahoma had the best day for wrestling program overall. The boys won their respective regional, and the girls also shone.
In the 3A/4A Region Two Tournament, the Bears placed fifth as a team with 111 points. Wrestlers like senior Lafeyia Eldrige (115) and sophomore Katherine Petersen (235) won their respective matches. Others like sophomore ZaLane Hulitt came in second and still qualified for the Mat Classic.
“Tahoma did well because they come from a wrestling community. They bond over being together,” said Bears coach Chris Feist. “This group has been training for so long and we have a phenomenal booster club to put together the stuff we needed to get to travel. We often find top level competition and have wrestled in tougher tournaments. They always expect to win. We have a positive mindset in our training, and the younger kids feed off of that.”
Here are some other highlights from the regional tournaments:
4A BOYS
In the 4A Region One tournament, Kentridge and Kennedy Catholic placed in the top four with 131.5 and 128 points respectively. The Chargers had several top placers: junior Jaheem Zakka won the 132 weight class over teammate senior Auwechehon E Williams IV, senior Lono Ohumukini took the 138 weight class, and senior Jacob Barney won in the 152 weight class.
The Lancers also had a trio of first place finishers: seniors Mathias Collins (160) and Shane McConville, and junior Emanuele Collins (170).
Three 4A SPSL schools took the top three spots in the 4A Region Three tournament. Sumner was the top team, scoring 181 points, and South Kitsap came in second with 152.5 points. Graham-Kapowsin finished third in the tournament with 131 points.
The Spartans had four top finishers: junior Elias McDonald (120), senior Jeremiah Jr Schliesman (126), junior Cody Miller (145), and senior Drake Thompson (152) who defeated teammate senior Hank Herrick in the championship match.
Three Wolves topped the podium in freshman Brennen Williams (113), senior Mitchell Neiner (138), and senior Phillip Chobot (182). For the Eagles, only two won their respective weight classes: junior Devan Carter (160) and junior Ronnell Parker-Borrero (195).
Other local top finishers include junior Curtis Carlisle from Rogers in the 106 weight class, senior Johnathon Gressett from Curtis in the 220 weight class, and sophomore Jesse Mains from Emerald Ridge in the 285 weight class.
4A/3A GIRLS
For the 3A/4A Region Two Tournament, Spanaway Lake was crowned the team champions with a total of 194 points scored. Behind them in second place was Federal Way with 148 points. Chief Sealth finished in third place with 137 points.
The Sentinels had one first place wrestler: junior Reminess-Rose Kaleopa in the 170 weight class. Senior Cheyenne Wakeham from Federal Way was their lone top finisher as well, as she took home the 140 weight class title.
There was a larger variety of schools providing weight class winners in this regional tournament. For instance, Auburn produced two winners. Junior Quinn Tongue won the 100 pound weight class and junior Mary Rush won the 120 weight class.
Kent Meridian’s senior Chyna Hillegas took home the 105 pound weight class title, and Mount Tahoma’s junior Zeta Lee won in the 110 pound weight class. Senior Ezra Veloria from Decatur won in the 135 pound weight class as well.
Lincoln’s Kayla Riddick also had a big win at the tournament. She won in the 145 pound weight class to help represent some 3A talent. Speaking of 3A talent, sophomore Tru Willis from Silas took home the 190 pound weight class. Finally, Kentwood’s junior Sarah Wright took first in the 155 pound weight class.
For Region Three, the 4A SPSL had a big impact as three of the top four teams were from that conference. Curtis came in first with 155 points, Yelm was in second with 135, and Graham-Kapowsin came in fourth with 108 points.
Three Curtis wrestlers claimed their top spots in their respective weight classes: juniors Sierra Wangen (130) and Clarissa Wangen (155), and freshman Ryley Nager (170). A few other 4A SPSL teams had wrestlers finish in first in their respective weight classes.
They are: Puyallup’s senior Praline Werner (100), Graham-Kapowsin’s freshman Flor Parker Borrero (140), and South Kitsap’s senior Monica Kaiser (145).
The 3A SSC also had a few top wrestlers in the region three tournament as well. River Ridge senior Isabella Moore won in the 105 weight class, Central Kitsap junior Daytona Starter won in the 110, Yelm junior Madisyn Erickson won the 120 weight class, and North Thurston senior Annika Lee won in the 135.
3A BOYS
The 3A Region One Tournament was dominated by non local schools. Stanwood and Ferndale finished first and second by team points with 245 and 151 respectively.
However, Yelm also scored 151 points and tied for second with Ferndale. Capital finished fifth with 130 points to show some more local representation.
Even individually, non local schools were pushed out of the top spots by wrestlers from schools like Arlington. However, Capital found the top of the podium in region one.
The Cougars had three winners on the day: sophomore Kadyn Hagerty won the 106 weight class, and juniors Maverick McEwen in the 160 weight class and Ezekiel McEwen in the 170.
Only two other 3A SSC schools had a winner. Gig Harbor’s sophomore Jonah Edmund won in the 113 pound weight class, and North Thurston’s senior Aidan Anderson won in the 285 weight class.
The 3A PCL had a bit of a better showing. The overall team winners were Silas in first place with 213.5 points, Kent-Meridian in a close second at 196.5 points, and Auburn Riverside in third at 153.5 points. Local teams filled the top six spots on the leader board.
The Royals came away with the most top finishers in the tournament with four, while the Rams had two. For Kent Meridian, the winners were freshman Adonai Garza (120), junior Jackson Esemann (145), senior Yasar Faizi (152), and sophomore Jessie Neff (170).
Silas’ finishers were sophomore Emanuel Carter, who defeated his older brother, senior Elijah, for the 126 pound weight class crown, and senior Charles Larsen in the 195 weight class.
There were several other single school top placers as well. Auburn Riverside’s sophomore Chance Hanson won the 106 weight class, Spanaway Lake’s senior Logan heath won the 113 weight class, Thomas Jefferson’s senior Kayle Bearson won the 132 pound weight class, Auburn’s freshman Bryce Rowland won the 138 weight class, and Lincoln’s junior Navarre Dixon took home the 182.
2A BOYS
Orting dominated the 2A Region Two tournament. They blew the doors off the competition by scoring 367 points. North Kitsap came in second with 145.5, and White River came in third with 115.5.
Only two local wrestlers came home with a weight class title who weren’t on Orting’s roster, and both are from Enumclaw.
The Hornets’ senior Zeke Luchi won in the 285 weight class and senior Westin Triplett won in the 160 pound weight class.
Things were a bit more spread out in the 2A Region Three tournament however. W.F. West came away as the team winner with 253.5 points, Washougal came in second with 139.5, and Aberdeen in third with 131.5.
Seven first place finishers came from W.F. West in the tournament: senior Damian Hernandez (113), senior Cristo Parriott (138), senior Blake Ely (145), sophomore Tucker Land (170), senior Waylen Land (182), junior Andrew Penland (220), and senior Andrew Matagi (285).
1A BOYS
The top three teams in the 1A Region One tournament were nonlocals: Mount Baker with 209 points, Blaine at 157, and Klahowya in third with 145.5. Vashon Island finished fourth as the top local team with 137.5 points.
Vashon also had two wrestlers win their weight classes: junior Colin McIntyre in the 132 weight class and Michael Ryland in the 138 pound weight class.
Life Christian Academy also had just two local wrestlers win their brackets as well: eighth grader Elijah Miller in the 106 weight class and freshman A.T. N`uu in the 195 weight class.