Coming off a fourth place finish at last year’s Mat Classic to earn a team trophy, the W.F. West High School boys wrestling team hit the mat for the first time in a tournament setting and left with a couple of champs.
Race Scalici and Graysen Serl were the lone Bearcats to end up on the podium in winning their weight classes at Saturday’s Edmonds Invite. Orting, going for its fifth straight team title this winter, piled up 298.5 points to win the tourney. W.F. West was ninth with 112 points.
Scalici had three pins, a tech fall and a 9-5 triumph in the quarters at 157-pounds. He pinned Tahoma’s Gavin Wells in 5 minutes, 33 seconds to end his day on top. Serl, at 175, had two pins, a 10-1 major in the finals that was reached thanks to a match-winning takedown in the final 70 seconds to beat Hermiston’s Hayden Larson 8-6 in the semifinals.
Escalera runs through 126-pound bracket at White River Classic
Centralia’s Benito Escalera secured two tech falls and one pin in dominating his weight class to be the lone Tiger to win his bracket on Saturday.
In the finals, he made quick work of Puyallup’s Hunter Burns, winning 16-1 in just under five minutes. He led the Tigers to a ninth place finish in the team standings with 91 points.
Elsewhere, Lafel Denetclaw finished as the runner-up at 144 and he put in extra time to reach the finals. He had a pin and a major, but also pulled out a thrilling 18-11 SV-1 victory in the quarterfinals. Denetclaw dropped in sudden victory to Emerald Ridge’s Tristan Luther.
Elijah Day (165) and Hunter Van Der Hoeff (138) placed second and third, respectively. Day had three pins before getting pinned in the finals while Van Der Hoeff won four straight backside matches to medal.
Andres Cruz (113), Dobah Denetclaw (138) and Zachary King (215) all finished sixth.
Tumwater, Rochester show out at Warrior Wrangle
The T-Birds and Warriors each had at least one champion and several top-three finishers to place second and third, respectively, in the team race on Saturday. Tumwater finished with 176 points and Rochester was third at 161.
Tumwater’s Joseph Argeris recorded four first period pins, including in the finals versus W.F. West’s Brayden Robinson, to claim the 120-pound bracket. Kendrick Porter (144) also secured victory for the Thunderbirds with a pair of decision wins, a pin and an injury default. Porter upended Rochester’s Maddox King 9-5 in the championship match. Hudson Jackson beat teammate Adnan Elyvy via a 56-second pin in the 113 finals.
Nine other Tumwater wrestlers placed in the top-four, including four runner-ups.
For Rochester, Chris Taritos picked up an 11-8 victory in the quarters and a 9-3 win over W.F. West’s Solomon Dennis in the finals. Along with King, Maddox Rodgers (165) and Josh Long (215) also finished second. Lincoln Bernard (113) and Daniel Parker (120) both won multiple consolation bracket matches to garner top-four finishes.
Evan Smith and Lakin Baker each pulled out third place finishes for W.F. West with four consecutive backside wins at 120 and 285 pounds, respectively. Julian Casimiro (150) took fourth for the Bearcats.
Toledo’s Austin Richards (138), Black Hills’ Rashid Farah (126) and Adna’s Alex Richards (126) all placed top-four.
Rainier’s Roberts secures first tournament title
Between Pe Ell and the Mountaineers, only one champ emerged on Saturday and it was the latter’s heavyweight that racked up three pins and a tech fall win at the Ocosta Invite.
Roberts picked up a potential crucial win in the finals against district foe North Beach’s Isaiah White-Frisbee, recording a 23-second pin. Rainier finished fifth in the team race with 105 points while Pe Ell was 10th.
Jayden Manibusan (132) took third while Tyson Mahan (126) and Dominic Cano (190) each placed fourth for the Mountaineers.
For the Trojans, Blake Burnett (190) and Hunter Harris (215) each won their first three bouts by fall before losing in the finals. Ethan Faulkner placed fourth at 144 for the Trojans.
Foss paces Black Hills to top-10 finish
Rorek Foss claimed the 132-pound bracket behind two first period pins and a clutch 11-6 victory in the semifinals to help the Wolves slot into seventh place at Saturday’s Ramrock Invite. They finished the day with 86.5 points.
JJ Oraya was the next highest finisher for Black Hills, taking second at 190. He had a first round tech fall and two straight pins before getting pinned in the finals in 72 seconds. Caleb Stuckert (150) and Max Whitehall (285) both finished fourth.
Hernandez, Deebach place runner-up for Napavine
The Tigers’ two stalwarts of Peyton Hernandez and Tommy Deebach each placed second in their respective weight classes at Saturday’s Bob Jones Invite. Hernandez, a returning state medalist, had two pins, a major decision and a 3-2 triumph in the second round to reach the finals, where he lost to Kentridge’s Alika Angeles 9-3.
Deebach secured two pins and a 9-5 decision victory before getting pinned in the finals to Bonney Lake’s Puletua Wilson. The Tigers placed ninth in the team race with 85.5 points.
