Tahoma remained on top and Kentridge broke through during Friday and Saturday’s sub-district wrestling tournament at Auburn High.
Tahoma, which won the South Puget Sound League North Division, walked away with the team title, racking up an eyepopping 394 points, well ahead of second-place Auburn at 266. The gap between first and second was the widest since 2008, and the second biggest of the last 10 years. In the process, the Bears advanced 15 wrestlers to the Region III tournament, and crowned five champions.
“In the 10 years I’ve been at Tahoma, this is the high for us,” said Tahoma coach Chris Feist, noting the numbers the Bears were able to advance. “I try and not make a big deal about it … it’s what we do. We go wrestle as hard as we can, give a high-five and a butt slap and that’s it.”
Tahoma received titles from Steven Hopkins (119), Jesse Vaughn (125), Dan Haniger (135), Tanner Mjelde (145) and Matt Hopkins (160).
The top four wrestlers in each weight class earned berths to this weekend’s Region III tournament in Shelton. The top four finishers in each weight class at the regional tournament advance to state, which is slated for Feb. 18-19 at the Tacoma Dome.
Like the Bears, Kentridge also had ample reason to give high-fives. The Chargers advanced eight wrestlers to the regional tournament. It will be the most Kentridge wrestlers to compete at the regional tournament in more than a decade.
“It’s awesome,” said first-year coach Todd Lantz. “We had a really good tournament. We feel really good about it.”
The last time Kentridge pushed more than two wrestlers to the state tournament was 1997, when it advanced three. With Saturday’s performance, the Chargers could be on the brink of big things. State veteran Jeff Seid led the way for Kentridge, securing the crown at 171 with an 11-3 major decision of Kentwood’s Lucas Kelley. Nick Aliment (125) and Andrew Weitzel (215) added second-place finishes for the Chargers.
“I’ve been pretty sick the last couple of days and (Saturday) morning, it seemed full blown,” Seid said. “It’s going to take a lot more than sickness to keep me down.”
Meanwhile, Kentwood star Ruben Navejas was – as usual – in fine form, winning the 112-pound title with ease. Navejas, the favorite to win the state title this season, improved to 35-0.
Like Kentridge, Kentwood also advanced eight to the regional tournament.
“Once you get into the tournament, you have an idea of who you’re going to take and who you’re not going to take (to regionals) and who has a chance,” said Kentwood coach Ken Sroka. “There are a couple of guys I thought I was going to take, that I should’ve taken, but that I won’t be taking.”
Navejas was slated to compete against teammate Hayden Peterson for the 112-pound championship. Peterson, who suffered a knee injury two weeks ago, chose to sit out the championship match for precautionary reasons.
“He came up to me and said he’d rather ice it,” Sroka said. “If he wanted to wrestle, I can’t take that away from him. He made that decision.”
Navejas and Peterson weren’t the only teammates paired up against one another in the finals. Kentlake’s Colton Marlowe outlasted teammate Sean Farr 8-5 for the 130-pound title. The two Falcons highlighted the day for Kentlake, which also advanced eight to the regional tournament.
And while several Falcons continued to fly high, so did Kent-Meridian’s Big Three – Josh Smith (140), Luke Barzie (189) and Jean Claude Atkinson (285). Smith pulled one of the biggest surprises of the tournament, grabbing the title with a 23-13 victory over Mount Rainier’s A.J. Antoigue.
Smith, who has three older brothers who also wrestled at Kent-Meridian, entered the tournament as the No. 4 seed in his weight class. The sophomore standout, however, upset Auburn’s Adam Garcia in the semifinals, working a pin in 4:20
“I knew that was going to be my toughest match of the tournament,” said Smith, who has missed part of this season with an injured rib. “I just went out there and tried my hardest.”
ALSO: Kentwood’s Sophia Chi (103) and Cassidy Meyers (119) along with Kent-Meridian’s Jaclyn Nagy (285) were the top local placers at the girls sub-regional tournament and all will advance to regionals this weekend. Kentwood also received a fourth-place finish from Sam Mosucci. Kent-Meridian’s Izzy Kasabit (145) chipped in a third-place finish while teammate Heaven Hamilton (171) place fourth for the Royals.
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