Published: Sunday, February 11, 2007
Vikings march on
Lake Stevens breezes to 1st; 13 Vikes head to Mat Classic
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Jason Fritz / The Herald
Snohomish's Troy Walker (right) picks up Lake Stevens' Josh Monson during the 135-pound final at the Class 4A Region 1 wrestling tournament on Saturday. Monson won the match 7-3.
SNOHOMISH - Kelly Kubec is the athlete and Brent Barnes is the head coach.
So why were Kubec and Barnes, both from the Lake Stevens High School wrestling team, sitting in chairs on opposite ends of the center mat Saturday, yelling words of encouragement to different wrestlers?
Unfortunately for Lake Stevens' foes, it wasn't a case of a star athlete rebelling.
Instead, it was another example of the Vikings' increasingly impressive supremacy.
Two Lake Stevens competitors clashed for the 103-pound championship at the Class 4A Region 1 tournament at Snohomish High School, one of several highlights during the latest stellar outing for the Vikings.
Zach Zweifel (103), Kubec (130), Josh Monson (135) and Mitch Tipton (140) took first place for Lake Stevens, which piled up 238.5 points to win the team title. Snohomish edged Heritage for second place, scoring 126.5 points, a half-point more than Heritage.
The tourney included 13 teams from the Western Conference and six teams from the Greater St. Helens League of southwest Washington. The top four placers in each weight division qualify for Mat Classic, the state championships to be held Feb. 16-17 at the Tacoma Dome. Fifth-place finishers are state alternates and will participate if a higher placer scratches.
After getting seven wrestlers to state last season, Lake Stevens will send a whopping 13 this year. The Vikings, ranked No. 1 in 4A by Washington Wrestling Report, are seeking their first state team title since 2004. They also placed first in 1990, 2000 and 2001, all under coach Barnes.
"I think today we wrestled a lot better than we did (last weekend) at the district meet," said Kubec, a two-time state champ who won all three of his matches by pin.
The Oregon State University recruit said he hoped his team would reach 15 Mat Classic qualifiers, but admitted 13 is still an impressive feat. "Thirteen's not far off and I'm very pleased with it and pleased with how we wrestled," he said.
Kubec, who has just one loss this season, doubled as an assistant coach for the all-Lake Stevens 103 final, rooting for teammate Jack Stilwell while Barnes coached Zweifel. Zweifel beat Stilwell with a 7-1 decision in a rematch of the district final, also won by Zweifel.
"It's a little strange," said Zweifel, a junior who placed fifth at state last season, "because in regionals you usually don't see teammates wrestle each other."
But Lake Stevens is an unusually loaded team. It contended with three other top-10 teams - No. 5 Evergreen, No. 8 Heritage and Battle Ground, tied for No. 9 - and appears primed to win it all at Mat Classic.
"That's our goal right now," Zweifel said, "and I think we have a good shot at doing it."
Six other wrestlers from local teams won Region 1 titles: Paul Thier of Snohomish (112), Sam Ottow of Monroe (119), Nik Huss of Kamiak (145), Casey Finnicum of Mountlake Terrace (171), Tim Hester of Shorewood (189) and Zak Rydzak of Mariner (215).
Terrace's Finnicum, a junior, had three pins (two in the first round) en route to placing first. He'll head to Mat Classic for the third time. A two-time state placer, he's ranked No. 1 in 4A. "He's more focused this year than he ever has been," Terrace coach Kanoe Vierra said.
Lake Stevens led by 37 points through the first round and continued to pour it on, taking an 81-point lead over Snohomish into the finals.
The tourney featured teams that have won three of the past 4A team state championships (Battleground in 2006, Lake Stevens in 2004 and Heritage in 2003).
Note: Barnes of Lake Stevens and Ron Lampers of Monroe were honored as the 4A Region 1 Varsity Coach of the Year and Assistant Coach of the Year, respectively.
At Snohomish H.S.
Team scores
(state qualifiers in parentheses)
1. Lake Stevens 238.5 points (13), 2. Snohomish 126.5 (7), 3. Heritage 126 (6), 4. Battleground 87.5 (4), 5. Mariner 85 (6), 6. Evergreen (Vancouver) 70 (3), 7. Monroe 63 (2), 8. Kamiak 46 (2), 9. Cascade 46 (3), 10. Mountlake Terrace 42 (2), 11. Edmonds-Woodway 38 (3), 12. Mountain View 37 (2), 13. Shorewood 31 (1), 14. Oak Harbor 30.5 (1), 15. Marysville-Pilchuck 17 (1), 16. Stanwood 13 (0), 17. Skyview 5 (0), Tie-18. Jackson (0) and Prairie (0), 0.
Championship matches
(both qualify for Mat Classic)
103-Zweifel (LS) dec. Stilwell (LS) 7-1; 112-Thier (Sn) pinned Do (Mar) 2:30; 119-Ottow (Monroe) dec. Floresca (MT) 8-0; 125-Loos (Her) dec. Pellegrini (LS) 5-4; 130-Kubec (LS) pinned B. Perry (Sn) 3:39; 135-Monson (LS) dec. Walker (Sn) 7-3; 140-Tipton (LS) pinned Alfi (E-W) 1:53; 145-Huss (K) dec. Monk (Ev) 8-3; 152-Starks (Bat) dec. Graika (K) 6-2; 160-Hall (Bat) pinned Reed (Sn) 3:12; 171-Finnicum (MT) pinned Dodge (Ev) 1:11; 189-Hester (Sho) major dec. McGuire (LS) 11-1; 215-Rydzak (Mar) dec. Richardson (Her) 4-2; 285-Stultz (Her) dec. Wooldridge (Ev) 6-1.
Third/fourth-place matches
(both qualify for Mat Classic)
103-Leclaire (Her) dec. C. Elliot (OH) 8-2; 112-Walt (C) pinned Wood (Her) 4:07; 119-Anderson (LS) dec. Garza (MV) 3-1; 125-Duncan (C) dec. Bush (Mar) 2-1; 130-Eacrett (LS) dec. Bui (Mar) 4-1; 135-Link (Mar) major dec. St. Marie (Sn) 17-5; 140-Br. Austin (LS) dec. Hurd (Sn) 4-3; 145-King (LS) dec. Trenda (Bat) 3-0; 152-Siers (E-W) dec. Hendrickson (Mar) 7-2; 160-Lochmann (Mon) dec. Hughes (LS) 11-9 OT; 171-Conner (MV) dec. Lutz (Bat) 1-0; 189-Cunningham (Her) major dec. Johanson (E-W) 14-5; 215-Bl. Austin (LS) pinned Wilder (M-P) 1:59; 285-Kendo (C) pinned Reinhard (Sn) 0:50.
So why were Kubec and Barnes, both from the Lake Stevens High School wrestling team, sitting in chairs on opposite ends of the center mat Saturday, yelling words of encouragement to different wrestlers?
Unfortunately for Lake Stevens' foes, it wasn't a case of a star athlete rebelling.
Instead, it was another example of the Vikings' increasingly impressive supremacy.
Two Lake Stevens competitors clashed for the 103-pound championship at the Class 4A Region 1 tournament at Snohomish High School, one of several highlights during the latest stellar outing for the Vikings.
Zach Zweifel (103), Kubec (130), Josh Monson (135) and Mitch Tipton (140) took first place for Lake Stevens, which piled up 238.5 points to win the team title. Snohomish edged Heritage for second place, scoring 126.5 points, a half-point more than Heritage.
The tourney included 13 teams from the Western Conference and six teams from the Greater St. Helens League of southwest Washington. The top four placers in each weight division qualify for Mat Classic, the state championships to be held Feb. 16-17 at the Tacoma Dome. Fifth-place finishers are state alternates and will participate if a higher placer scratches.
After getting seven wrestlers to state last season, Lake Stevens will send a whopping 13 this year. The Vikings, ranked No. 1 in 4A by Washington Wrestling Report, are seeking their first state team title since 2004. They also placed first in 1990, 2000 and 2001, all under coach Barnes.
"I think today we wrestled a lot better than we did (last weekend) at the district meet," said Kubec, a two-time state champ who won all three of his matches by pin.
The Oregon State University recruit said he hoped his team would reach 15 Mat Classic qualifiers, but admitted 13 is still an impressive feat. "Thirteen's not far off and I'm very pleased with it and pleased with how we wrestled," he said.
Kubec, who has just one loss this season, doubled as an assistant coach for the all-Lake Stevens 103 final, rooting for teammate Jack Stilwell while Barnes coached Zweifel. Zweifel beat Stilwell with a 7-1 decision in a rematch of the district final, also won by Zweifel.
"It's a little strange," said Zweifel, a junior who placed fifth at state last season, "because in regionals you usually don't see teammates wrestle each other."
But Lake Stevens is an unusually loaded team. It contended with three other top-10 teams - No. 5 Evergreen, No. 8 Heritage and Battle Ground, tied for No. 9 - and appears primed to win it all at Mat Classic.
"That's our goal right now," Zweifel said, "and I think we have a good shot at doing it."
Six other wrestlers from local teams won Region 1 titles: Paul Thier of Snohomish (112), Sam Ottow of Monroe (119), Nik Huss of Kamiak (145), Casey Finnicum of Mountlake Terrace (171), Tim Hester of Shorewood (189) and Zak Rydzak of Mariner (215).
Terrace's Finnicum, a junior, had three pins (two in the first round) en route to placing first. He'll head to Mat Classic for the third time. A two-time state placer, he's ranked No. 1 in 4A. "He's more focused this year than he ever has been," Terrace coach Kanoe Vierra said.
Lake Stevens led by 37 points through the first round and continued to pour it on, taking an 81-point lead over Snohomish into the finals.
The tourney featured teams that have won three of the past 4A team state championships (Battleground in 2006, Lake Stevens in 2004 and Heritage in 2003).
Note: Barnes of Lake Stevens and Ron Lampers of Monroe were honored as the 4A Region 1 Varsity Coach of the Year and Assistant Coach of the Year, respectively.
At Snohomish H.S.
Team scores
(state qualifiers in parentheses)
1. Lake Stevens 238.5 points (13), 2. Snohomish 126.5 (7), 3. Heritage 126 (6), 4. Battleground 87.5 (4), 5. Mariner 85 (6), 6. Evergreen (Vancouver) 70 (3), 7. Monroe 63 (2), 8. Kamiak 46 (2), 9. Cascade 46 (3), 10. Mountlake Terrace 42 (2), 11. Edmonds-Woodway 38 (3), 12. Mountain View 37 (2), 13. Shorewood 31 (1), 14. Oak Harbor 30.5 (1), 15. Marysville-Pilchuck 17 (1), 16. Stanwood 13 (0), 17. Skyview 5 (0), Tie-18. Jackson (0) and Prairie (0), 0.
Championship matches
(both qualify for Mat Classic)
103-Zweifel (LS) dec. Stilwell (LS) 7-1; 112-Thier (Sn) pinned Do (Mar) 2:30; 119-Ottow (Monroe) dec. Floresca (MT) 8-0; 125-Loos (Her) dec. Pellegrini (LS) 5-4; 130-Kubec (LS) pinned B. Perry (Sn) 3:39; 135-Monson (LS) dec. Walker (Sn) 7-3; 140-Tipton (LS) pinned Alfi (E-W) 1:53; 145-Huss (K) dec. Monk (Ev) 8-3; 152-Starks (Bat) dec. Graika (K) 6-2; 160-Hall (Bat) pinned Reed (Sn) 3:12; 171-Finnicum (MT) pinned Dodge (Ev) 1:11; 189-Hester (Sho) major dec. McGuire (LS) 11-1; 215-Rydzak (Mar) dec. Richardson (Her) 4-2; 285-Stultz (Her) dec. Wooldridge (Ev) 6-1.
Third/fourth-place matches
(both qualify for Mat Classic)
103-Leclaire (Her) dec. C. Elliot (OH) 8-2; 112-Walt (C) pinned Wood (Her) 4:07; 119-Anderson (LS) dec. Garza (MV) 3-1; 125-Duncan (C) dec. Bush (Mar) 2-1; 130-Eacrett (LS) dec. Bui (Mar) 4-1; 135-Link (Mar) major dec. St. Marie (Sn) 17-5; 140-Br. Austin (LS) dec. Hurd (Sn) 4-3; 145-King (LS) dec. Trenda (Bat) 3-0; 152-Siers (E-W) dec. Hendrickson (Mar) 7-2; 160-Lochmann (Mon) dec. Hughes (LS) 11-9 OT; 171-Conner (MV) dec. Lutz (Bat) 1-0; 189-Cunningham (Her) major dec. Johanson (E-W) 14-5; 215-Bl. Austin (LS) pinned Wilder (M-P) 1:59; 285-Kendo (C) pinned Reinhard (Sn) 0:50.
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