Lynnwood’s Detschman places seventh

Published 9:28 am Friday, February 22, 2008

TACOMA

After facing tougher than expected competition at state, Lynnwood’s Tanner Detschman placed seventh in Class 3A at 160 pounds.

Detschman, a senior, captured seventh by injury default over Chris Myers of Arlington. He placed seventh at state last year at 152 pounds.

Detschman had hoped for a higher place, but said he was surprised by the level of competition.

“I think the style of wrestling this year is so much better,” he said.

Detschman made it into the medal round by pinning Colby Grant of Sumner in 2:46. An 11-3 loss to Dillan Claire of Enumclaw dropped him into the seventh-place match.

Detschman started strong with a pin of Auburn’s Dylan Rutledge in 5:39.

He lost a close 6-4 match to Carter Nell of Eastmont in the quarterfinals to drop into the consolation bracket.

Lynnwood coach Carl Wilkins said one of the biggest challenges for Detschman this year was getting pushed in practice. Lynnwood only had 16 wrestlers this year and few at the higher weights.

Royals’ junior Stephen Takashima opened with a 10-5 win over Kario Wallin of Enumclaw at 135 pounds. He wrestled Jake Rodriquez of East Valley of Spokane to a 5-5 tie after two rounds in the quarterfinals, but ran out of gas in the final round and lost 11-8.

His tournament ended with a 13-4 loss to Nathan Shortt of Arlington.

Takashima, a junior who made his first trip to state, missed three weeks earlier in the season with a knee injury.

“It’s amazing he was able to work through that and come back as strong as he did,” Wilkins said.

Edmonds-Woodway’s two entrants to state, 189-pounder Rudy Johanson and 135-pounder Steven Alfi, both went two-and-out. Both are juniors and they hope to return next year.

Johanson, the fourth-place wrestler at regionals and a returning state participant, got pinned in the first round by Grant Haschak of Lake Washington in 5:15. Logan Bowman of Central Valley eliminated him by pin in 5:40.

“Rudy, again, a lot of matches are won by that one move that goes in one person’s favor,” Edmonds-Woodway coach Mike Hanchett said. “It teeters back and forth.”

Alfi, a 135-pounder, lost by pin at the 2:16 mark to Jared Sterling of Rogers in Puyallup.

His tournament ended when Tyson Riehle of Ferris pinned him in 4:08.

“In the case of Steven he ran into two really tough kids,” Hanchett said.

NOTES

SO LONG: Kevin Judkins, Snohomish High School’s head wrestling coach, received the Washington State Wrestling Coaches Association’s Class 4A Coach of the Year Award Feb. 15 during Day 1 of Mat Classic, the state championships at the Tacoma Dome.

Judkins, who is retiring from coaching, was given a plaque commemorating the honor before the evening session began. Snohomish wrestlers immediately surrounded their coach and congratulated him.

“It’s nice because it’s voted on by your peers,” said Judkins, Snohomish’s sixth-year coach who this season guided the Panthers to a Western Conference North Division dual-meet championship and runner-up finishes at district and regional tournaments. Judkins was previously Lynnwood’s head coach.

The award was a surprise for Judkins, and so was seeing his former high school wrestling coach in the Tacoma Dome. Bryce Cook, Judkins’ coach at Woodway High about 30 years ago, snuck up behind Judkins after the award ceremony and shook his hand.

Cook had a huge influence on Judkins, a 1979 Woodway graduate who has coached wrestling for 26 years.

“I owe him everything,” said Judkins, a six-time Wesco coach of the year and three-time regional coach of the year.

Judkins is worthy of all the honors, Cook said: “He deserves all of it.”

Judkins isn’t the only local head wrestling coach calling it quits after this season. Sultan’s Wes Fischer, who brought three competitors to Mat Classic, said his 17th season guiding the Turks will be his last. Also, Shorewood’s Arnie Moreno, in his 10th season as the Thunderbirds’ head coach, said he will retire.

In a perfect world, Fischer, who is the head coach and owner of the Snohomish County Vikings football team, would have gone out in style with a state championship.

But the 61-year-old coach saw his 20-year run end without any titles — team or individual — after Sultan’s three state qualifiers fell short of the finals.

Fischer announced earlier this year that this would be his final season. He cited a variety of physical problems, as well as the presence of a qualified successor in Mike Pine, as his reasons for stepping down.

“I’ve only had one state champion,” he said, referring to 2003 champion Ryan Conley, “but I’ve had some second placers that I’m equally proud of.”

Fischer received a plaque Feb. 16 from the Washington State Wrestling Coaches Association. Honored for his overall commitment to the sport, the former Snohomish High wrestler and longtime wrestling official was given the award during a ceremony before the championships finals. Fischer coached a total of 25 years and officiated for 31 seasons.

BACK IN ACTION: Back in action: Ed Aliverti made good on his promise. After missing Mat Classic last year while recovering from pancreatic cancer, the highly honored announcer and Edmonds resident vowed to return in 2008. Indeed, he was back this weekend, sharing announcing duties and chatting with longtime friends. Aliverti’s booming voice and his rendition of “God Bless America” before the finals has been associated with Mat Classic since it began 20 years ago.

The Everett Herald contributed to this story.