Bearcats take down Tigers in Swamp Cup Dual

By Dylan Wilhelm / dylan@chronline.com
Posted 12/19/24

The W.F. West boys wrestling team dominated the Swamp Cup Dual Meet against Centralia on Wednesday night, running away with a 56-15 victory.

Ryker Jensen (106) kicked the night off by pinning …

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Bearcats take down Tigers in Swamp Cup Dual

Posted

The W.F. West boys wrestling team dominated the Swamp Cup Dual Meet against Centralia on Wednesday night, running away with a 56-15 victory.

Ryker Jensen (106) kicked the night off by pinning his opponent in just 63 seconds, and the Bearcats never looked back.

Grayson Serl (165), Kage Homan (190), and Tucker Land (215) all pinned their opponents later in the dual, while Gabe Alvarado (126), Race Scallici (150), and Andrew Snyder (175) all won via tech fall.

It was the first time out this winter for Land and Homan, who were both on the football team that played into late November.

“It was good for them to get out on the mat,” W.F. West coach Jamie Rakevich said. “It was good to see some of our young guys do really well too in Ryker, John (Alexander) and Gabe.”

Alexander won the match of the night at 120 pounds, going toe-to-toe with Centralia’s Jose Alatorre.

Alatorre took an early lead with a pair of takedowns, but Alexander had a takedown of his own in the final few seconds of the first period.

He took the lead with another takedown in the second, and Alatorre tied the match at 10 with another takedown early in the third.

Both wrestlers traded escapes to tie the game at 11, and in the final 20 seconds, Alexander came up with the final takedowns to win.



Centralia’s Ronin Blair and W.F. West’s Talon Meredith were locked in a tight battle in the 285-pound bout, and another close finish seemed imminent before Meredith went down with an injury.

Blair led at the time of the injury, overcoming an early 8-3 lead with a pair of takedowns to take the lead.

“That was a really big win for him,” Centralia coach Scott Phillips said.

Dobah Denetclaw (144) and Henry Matias (132) also came away with wins. Denetclaw defeated Liam Land by decision, and Matias came away with Centralia’s lone victory by pin on the night.

“We’re pretty happy with him getting a win there,” Phillips said of Matias. “He’s super fast, super athletic, and he works super hard … We feel like he’s always got a swinger’s chance because he’s so athletic.”

The Tigers will be back in action Saturday at the Pat Alexander Invite in Tumwater. Four varsity girls — Jocelyn Navarro, Eva Reinitz, Ramona Reinitz, and Luna Martinez-Arevalo — will be at the Reno Tournament of Champions in Reno, Nevada.

The Bearcat boys will also be in Tumwater Saturday, and after that, they’ll head north for the Orting Invite.

“We just got to see where we’re at,” Rakevich said. “It’ll be really good to test the waters and see where we’re at … For better or worse, wrestling really comes down to that one weekend in February, and that’s kind of where we’re just gonna keep building to.”