Published: Sunday, February 4, 2007
Lake Stevens tees off
The No. 1-ranked Vikings finish with five champions and score a total of 486 points to win the District 1 crown.
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Elizabeth Armstrong/ The Herald
Lake Stevens assistant coach Dean Width (right) embraces Vikings wrestler Alex Pellegrini after Pellegrini beat Cascade's Andy Duncan in sudden death in the 125-pound final on Saturday. Pellegrini, who had lost to Duncan earlier in the season, started a streak of four straight Lake Stevens wrestlers to win titles.
MARYSVILLE - It was the wrestling equivalent of a baseball team smashing four straight home runs.
But instead of rounding the bases, Lake Stevens High School wrestlers kept ascending to the most coveted spot on the podium.
Lake Stevens had four straight individual champions from the 125- to 140-pound weight divisions and showcased incredible depth to overwhelm the competition Saturday during the final session of the Class 4A Northwest District Wrestling Tournament at Jim Linden Field House.
Lake Stevens, ranked No. 1 in the Washington Wrestling Report 4A poll, had five champions among its 18 top-five placers and scored a whopping 486 points to run away with the team title. Snohomish was second (319) and Kamiak took third (239).
Lake Stevens built a commanding 46-point lead over Snohomish after the first session on Friday and kept rolling until the end.
"When you score 300 points in a tournament and you're still 150 points behind, it says how good that team is. Everyone else is just chasing second place behind Lake," Snohomish coach Kevin Judkins said.
The top five finishers in each weight division qualify for the regional tourney Feb. 9-10 at Snohomish High School. Sixth-place finishers will wrestle a winner-to-regional, loser-out match against third-place finishers from District IV.
Lake Stevens teammates clashed for the 103 title to kick off the finals, with Zach Zweifel pinning Jack Stilwell. The Vikings' rampage began at 125 when Alex Pellegrini rallied for a 7-5 overtime decision over Cascade's Andy Duncan. After Kelly Kubec (130) had a first-round pin, Josh Monson (135) and Mitch Tipton (140) won by decision.
Pellegrini, who recently battled a knee injury, was a pleasant surprise, Lake Stevens coach Brent Barnes said. But here's a scary thought: Barnes said his team could have performed a bit better.
"We didn't do everything we wanted. You always have a few disappointments," Barnes said.
Still, Barnes said the Vikings positioned themselves well for regionals, where they'll contend with a trio of gifted squads: No. 3 Evergreen, No. 5 Heritage and No. 6 Battle Ground.
Snohomish and Kamiak both had two champions. Paul Thier (112) and Richard Reed (160) placed first for Snohomish. Thier, a senior, finished the tourney with three straight pins.
"I was pumped up, ready to go. I was just really motivated," said Thier, a four-year varsity competitor hoping to make his first trip to state.
"He's come in second (place) at a lot of tournaments ... so for him to win here, it just reflects on how hard he's been working this year," said Judkins, Thier's coach.
Kamiak's champs were Nick Huss (145) and Skylar Graika (152). Graika, who returned Friday after missing a month with a knee injury, grimaced through the pain and ground out a 6-3 decision against Mariner's Corey Hendrickson.
"(Graika) didn't have a lot left in his tank, but he was going on heart. That's a position he's used to being in," Kamiak coach Dan Hanika said.
In the semifinals Graika beat Monroe's Joe Hanika, the Kamiak coach's son, with a 5-0 decision. The wrestlers later shook hands and posed for a photo near the podium. Hanika placed fourth.
Before the Graika-Hanika match, coach Hanika stepped away from the mat and switched to dad mode as a Kamiak assistant coached Graika. Coach Hanika said Kamiak purple flows through him, but family ties run deeper.
Notes: The following coaches were honored as Northwest District Coaches of the Year: Otto Olson (Mariner High head coach), Luke Winsor (Kamiak assistant) and Matt Krier (Voyager Middle School) for the Wesco South; and Barnes (Lake Stevens head coach), Ron Lampers (Monroe High assistant) and Tony Stapleton (Centennial Middle School) for the Wesco North.
But instead of rounding the bases, Lake Stevens High School wrestlers kept ascending to the most coveted spot on the podium.
Lake Stevens had four straight individual champions from the 125- to 140-pound weight divisions and showcased incredible depth to overwhelm the competition Saturday during the final session of the Class 4A Northwest District Wrestling Tournament at Jim Linden Field House.
Lake Stevens, ranked No. 1 in the Washington Wrestling Report 4A poll, had five champions among its 18 top-five placers and scored a whopping 486 points to run away with the team title. Snohomish was second (319) and Kamiak took third (239).
Lake Stevens built a commanding 46-point lead over Snohomish after the first session on Friday and kept rolling until the end.
"When you score 300 points in a tournament and you're still 150 points behind, it says how good that team is. Everyone else is just chasing second place behind Lake," Snohomish coach Kevin Judkins said.
The top five finishers in each weight division qualify for the regional tourney Feb. 9-10 at Snohomish High School. Sixth-place finishers will wrestle a winner-to-regional, loser-out match against third-place finishers from District IV.
Lake Stevens teammates clashed for the 103 title to kick off the finals, with Zach Zweifel pinning Jack Stilwell. The Vikings' rampage began at 125 when Alex Pellegrini rallied for a 7-5 overtime decision over Cascade's Andy Duncan. After Kelly Kubec (130) had a first-round pin, Josh Monson (135) and Mitch Tipton (140) won by decision.
Pellegrini, who recently battled a knee injury, was a pleasant surprise, Lake Stevens coach Brent Barnes said. But here's a scary thought: Barnes said his team could have performed a bit better.
"We didn't do everything we wanted. You always have a few disappointments," Barnes said.
Still, Barnes said the Vikings positioned themselves well for regionals, where they'll contend with a trio of gifted squads: No. 3 Evergreen, No. 5 Heritage and No. 6 Battle Ground.
Snohomish and Kamiak both had two champions. Paul Thier (112) and Richard Reed (160) placed first for Snohomish. Thier, a senior, finished the tourney with three straight pins.
"I was pumped up, ready to go. I was just really motivated," said Thier, a four-year varsity competitor hoping to make his first trip to state.
"He's come in second (place) at a lot of tournaments ... so for him to win here, it just reflects on how hard he's been working this year," said Judkins, Thier's coach.
Kamiak's champs were Nick Huss (145) and Skylar Graika (152). Graika, who returned Friday after missing a month with a knee injury, grimaced through the pain and ground out a 6-3 decision against Mariner's Corey Hendrickson.
"(Graika) didn't have a lot left in his tank, but he was going on heart. That's a position he's used to being in," Kamiak coach Dan Hanika said.
In the semifinals Graika beat Monroe's Joe Hanika, the Kamiak coach's son, with a 5-0 decision. The wrestlers later shook hands and posed for a photo near the podium. Hanika placed fourth.
Before the Graika-Hanika match, coach Hanika stepped away from the mat and switched to dad mode as a Kamiak assistant coached Graika. Coach Hanika said Kamiak purple flows through him, but family ties run deeper.
Notes: The following coaches were honored as Northwest District Coaches of the Year: Otto Olson (Mariner High head coach), Luke Winsor (Kamiak assistant) and Matt Krier (Voyager Middle School) for the Wesco South; and Barnes (Lake Stevens head coach), Ron Lampers (Monroe High assistant) and Tony Stapleton (Centennial Middle School) for the Wesco North.
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