A rivalry to savor

The wait is nearly over.

This week two rival teams will finally settle something they’ve thought about since long before the season began.

Zak Rydzak is ready. After the Mariner High School senior finished on the losing end of a football game against Kamiak – Mariner’s Mukilteo School District counterpart – in late October, Rydzak craves revenge on the wrestling mat. He and the Marauders will get their chance when Mariner plays host to Kamiak at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Mariner gym.

“We’ve been talking about this match all season,” said Rydzak, a senior who last season placed seventh in the state in Class 4A at 275 pounds. “Since Week 1 we knew that (the division title) was gonna come down to this.”

It’s certainly shaping up that way.

Mariner, the defending Western Conference South Division dual-meet champion, is 7-0 in division duals and Kamiak is 6-0. If Kamiak gets past Edmonds-Woodway (4-1) tonight, the regular-season finale on Thursday will determine the league championship.

Even if the stakes weren’t so high, a Kamiak/Mariner event always generates plenty of emotion.

“It’s a classic cross-town rivalry,” Kamiak coach Dan Hanika said. “We’re always each other’s Super Bowl regardless of the records we have.”

“It’s gonna be huge. It’s a big deal to both programs,” said Mariner coach Otto Olson.

Thursday will also be a big night in the Wesco North. Lake Stevens (6-0 in division) will shoot for its 18th straight league title, but a strong Everett team stands in its way. Everett, ranked No. 4 in the Washington Wrestling report 3A state poll, was 6-0 entering its Monday meet against Snohomish.

Lake Stevens, which placed second at the prestigious Dream Duals in Spokane on Saturday and is ranked No. 1 in 4A, is expected to beat Arlington (1-4) on Wednesday.

In the South, both coaches expect the Mariner/Kamiak meet to be close. The 112-pound match should be entertaining. It features Mariner senior Woo Song Do and Kamiak sophomore Colton Kuselik. Last season Do beat Kuselik in the divisional finals and went on to qualify for the state meet.

Kuselik is one of several Kamiak grapplers who performed well at the Lynden Invite on Saturday. Kuselik and senior Sam Wilkins (160) took first place, and 10 Kamiak athletes placed third or better in their respective weight classes. Kamiak’s varsity squad won the team title.

Do, a Mariner co-captain, hopes to help the Marauders prolong their string of success against Kamiak. Mariner has won four of its last five duals against the Knights, including a 46-21 triumph last season.

But which team will prevail on Thursday?

“We’d just like to show that we’re the better team, and I really believe that we are the better team. If we perform well, it should be a good match,” said Do.

“I know that they’re conditioned and well-coached and they’re gonna be ready to go,” Kamiak’s Hanika said of Mariner. “It’s gonna be a fun night and a packed house.”

Kamiak plans to send a rooter bus full of students, Hanika said. Meanwhile, Mariner’s Do wants to rally plenty of support for the home team. “We hope we can get the whole student body to come out and support us. It’s gonna be a great match,” Do said.

One key absence for Kamiak is Skylar Graika (152 pounds), a senior co-captain who injured his knee in practice just before Christmas and is likely out for the season. Last season Graika defeated two wrestlers who went on to place third in the state.

The 215-pound match will probably pit Mariner’s Rydzak against Kamiak’s Tyler Emry. The powerful seniors were linemen on their respective football teams. It could be an explosive competition.

“They’re pretty tough, hard-nosed kids,” Hanika said. “It’s gonna be fun to watch them bash it off.”

Rydzak seeks payback on the wrestling mat after losing against Kamiak 19-7 in football on Oct. 27. The game was far from a blowout, but it felt like one to him.

“After getting beat that bad in front of as many people as we had show up,” Rydzak said, “it would be really nice to stomp ‘em.”