The final score may have tipped in Tumwater’s favor — just barely — but Centralia notched four pins on Thursday night in a home EvCo wrestling dual that the Thunderbirds on the third tiebreaker criteria to split a 38-38 stalemate.
“Our guys wrestled with a lot of heart tonight. We are proud of our guys for their effort,” Centralia coach Scott Phillips said. “Our young guys just need to learn how to win the close matches, and when they are not going to win they need to learn how to lose a decision instead of giving up a pin.”
Tiger seniors Joe Finch (195 pounds) and Christian Smith (160) each won by pin on senior night, while Kadin Orr (145) and Mykka McAllister (120) also picked up pins.
Centralia’s varsity boys will wrestle at R.A. Long’s Lumberjack Classic on Saturday, while the Tiger girls will wrestle at Emerald Ridge’s tournament.
Bearcat Grapplers Nearly Shut Out Wolves, 72-5
TUMWATER — Behind six forfeits and five pins, the Bearcats had an easy night with a 72-5 team win over Black Hills here in Evergreen 2A Conference wrestling action on Thursday.
Jacob Knowles (132), Logan Sigler (138), Damon Thomas (145), Michael Mitagi (152) and Drew Alexander (170) all earned victories via pin. TJ Borden (220) was the lone winner for the Wolves, winning by pin.
W.F. West coach Jamie Rakevich praised Michael Anderson (160) for the most competitive match of the night against ranked wrestler Gage Keesee, which Anderson won by decision, 8-2. Anderson was forced to move up a weight class for the match.
"He bumped up to wrestle the kid and controlled the match," Rakevich said. "He wrestled pretty tough against a quality kid. Everybody else just pretty much took care of business."
W.F. West is 7-2 in dual play and will be back at Black Hills High School on Saturday for the King of the Hill tournament, beginning at 9 a.m.
