Greg Eley didn\u2019t feel like wasting time Saturday afternoon.<\/p>\n
So he didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
Kentlake High\u2019s 160-pounder, one of the area\u2019s top wrestlers, ripped through his first three opponents in the Panther Classic at Snohomish High, needing all of 6-minutes, 39 seconds to dispatch his first three opponents and earn a berth in the finals.<\/p>\n
Once there, Eley changed directions, but the same victorious results followed in a 13-11 decision over Beamer\u2019s Ben Draeger.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe got to the finals and took care of business,\u201d said Kentlake coach Pete Reardon. \u201cI think it is a real confidence booster. At the other tournaments we\u2019ve been to, he placed third. Third at Decatur, third at U-High (Northwest Classic) and third at Vashon.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eley highlighted an impressive weekend for local wrestlers. Austin Carrillo (145) was the only other Kentlake wrestler to join Eley atop the podium. Like Eley, Carrillo registered three pins and finished with an 8-4 decision over Kamiak\u2019s Anthony Jackson in the final.<\/p>\n
\u201c(Carrillo) was pretty dominant,\u201d Reardon said.<\/p>\n
The duo\u2019s performance helped the Falcons take fourth in the 16-team tournament with 146 points. Snohomish walked away with the team crown, amassing 215.5 points followed by Kamiak at 162. Kentwood continued to impress, finishing in third with 161 points.<\/p>\n
Kentwood sophomore Ruben Navejas, who took fifth at state last year, was the lone Conqueror to bring home a title. Navejas dominated the 103-pound weight class in typical fashion, collecting four pins en route to the title.<\/p>\n
Navejas put away Glacier Peak\u2019s Joe Bratz in 4:25 for the title.<\/p>\n
It was the second title in eight days for Navejas, who also won the 103-pound crown a week earlier at the Pacific Coast Invitational at Hudson\u2019s Bay High in Vancouver.<\/p>\n
Hayden Peterson (112) and Cody Quinn (145) added second-place finishes for the Conquerors. Peterson lost by major decision in the finals to Ares Carpio of Beamer. Quinn dropped a 5-3 decision to Olympic\u2019s Brandon Yeik in the championship match.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
K-M crowns 3, takes second<\/p>\n
Kent-Meridian couldn\u2019t have done much better at last Saturday\u2019s Liberty Invitational.<\/p>\n
The Royals crowned three champions \u2013 Jesus Valdez (103 pounds), Andrew Smith (140) and Nick Hall (285) \u2013 en route to taking second place at the eight-team tournament.<\/p>\n
Liberty won the tournament with 175 points followed by Kent-Meridian at 157.<\/p>\n
Valdez proved to be in a hurry, whipping through all three of his matches in pinning fashion. Valdez worked over Foss\u2019 Andrew Hahn in the finals in 1:38 and wrestled a grand total of 4:20 in his three matches combined.<\/p>\n
Smith didn\u2019t have quite the same speed, but did post the same results. Smith outlasted Liberty\u2019s Noel Wright in the finals, 11-4.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Hall, who has blossomed into one of the area\u2019s top heavyweights, throttled River Ridge\u2019s Dillon Duval in 1:27 in the championship match. Hall wrestled just two matches during the one-day tournament, both of them resulting in pins.<\/p>\n
K-M\u2019s Nick Lemmon (160) also earned a berth in the championship match, where he fell to River Ridge\u2019s Michael Fukimori, 11-4.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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