Back-to-back pins get Sultan started toward Cascade Conference wrestling championship
Published 9:35 pm Saturday, February 7, 2009
GRANITE FALLS — The excitement came early and often in the championship round of the 2A Cascade Conference sub-regional wrestling tournament Saturday evening at Granite Falls High School.
Following a relatively quick pin by Sultan’s Steven Leverett in the 103-pound class, Leverett’s teammate Garret Varnell brought the crowd to its feet with an exciting closing-seconds pin in the 112-pound class.
Varnell trailed 5-2 in the third period of his match against Archbishop Murphy’s Jeremy Wattam before he scored a reversal and took advantage of an opening when Wattam was about to shoot for a takedown.
“I knew I was down three and had to get some reversal or near-fall points,” Varnell said.
Varnell added that he anticipated Wattam’s lunge and was able to roll him for the pin.
“I knew when he bounced back that he was going to lunge forward,” Varnell said. “That’s when I caught his head and got him under me.”
Varnell’s pin came with 13.2 seconds remaining in the final period of the match.
Another thrilling match followed in the 119-pound class. The match saw Cedarcrest’s Omar Arredondo and Clinton Jenkins of Granite Falls tied 6-6 with less than 10 seconds to go.
That’s when Arredondo, seemingly unfazed by the ticking clock, quicky shot at Jenkins’ waist and won takedown points and an 8-6 decision with fewer than 5 seconds on the clock.
Cedarcrest and Sultan, the Cascade Conference co-champions, showed why they finished at the league’s top. The schools qualified 22 wrestlers for the 2A Region I tournament Feb. 14 at Blaine High School. Fourth-place wrestlers can also advance with a pig-tail win over the No. 5 wrestlers from the Northwest Conference.
“Cedarcrest and Sultan are pretty tough, collectively,” said Tony Helgeson, the head coach of Granite Falls and 2009 Cascade Conference coach of the year.
Helgeson continued to say that last season the conference qualified 16 wrestlers for the state tournament and he is optimistic about the possibilities this year.
“This year I’m hoping we can do better,” Helgeson said. “Right now, I can think of more than 16 wrestlers that can get in (to state).”
Helgeson stayed realistic though adding that “the North is pretty damn tough.”
In the heavier weight classes, Sultan’s Travis Turner (145 pounds) sparked the crowd with a near win as the buzzer sounded. Turner and opponent Caleb Smith of Archbishop Murphy were tied 1-1 as the clocked ran down. Turner swung Smith to the mat and appeared to have enough for takedown points as time ran out, but the referee awarded no points and the match went to overtime. Turner pinned Smith 22 seconds into the overtime period.
In the following match, Jason Mueller (152 pounds) of Lakewood earned a come-from-behind 9-7 win over Sultan’s Colt Kaminski. Mueller trailed 6-2, but earned takedown, near fall and reversal points for the win.
The wrestlers gave the crowd plenty of action and Helgeson believes the quality of Cascade Conference wrestling is on the upswing.
“Every year I see it getting better,” Helgeson said. “We’re becoming more and more competitive.”
At Granite Falls HS
Team scores—Sultan 316, Cedarcrest 307, Granite Falls 232, Archbishop Murphy 138, South Whidbey 115, Lakewood 112
Championship bouts
103—Leverett (Sultan) pinned Ch. Jenkins (GF) 1:41; 112—G. Varnell (Sultan) pinned Wattam (AM) 5:47; 119—Arredondo (CC) dec. Cl. Jenkins (GF) 8-6; 125—Gorman (CC) maj. decision MacKenzie (Sultan) 12-1; 130—M. Varnell (Sultan) dec. Baehm (AM) 9-0; 135—Wade (AM) dec. Carroll (CC) 8-2; 140—Webb (CC) dec. Paxman (CC) 3-2; 145—Turner (Sultan) pinned Smith (AM) 0:38 OT; 152—Mueller (L) dec. Kaminski (Sultan) 9-7; 160—McKeever (L) dec. Kenney (CC) 7-1; 171—Bray (Sultan) dec. Broyles (SW) 10-2; 189—Romero (SW) pinned Poyner (GF) 2:29; 215—Jones (GF) dec. Monell (SW) 6-1; 285—McKibben (GF) dec. K. Kruse (AM) 12-6.
Third-fourth
103—Werner (CC) dec. Short (GF) 9-5; 112—Lisk (CC) pinned Berquist (CC) 3:43; 119—Weaver (Sultan) pinned Speer (L) 1:41; 125—Lopez (GF) pinned Thompson (SW) 1:38; 130—Atkinson (Sultan) dec. Coomer (CC) 9-5; 135—Gilbertson (GF) pinned Morgen (SW) 5:35; 140—Zesbaugh (Sultan) pinned Jackson (GF) 3:32; 145—Koons (CC) pinned Huckabone (Sultan) 3:20; 152—Teter (GF) pinned Vakamoce (CC) 2:53; 160—C. Kruse (AM) pinned McKamie (L) 2:51; 171—Hagreen (CC) pinned Poyner (GF) 3:12; 189—Vanvalkenberg (CC) pinned Ritter (CC) 3:42; 215—Clair (Sultan) pinned Givier (L) 2:22; 285—Bigelow (Sultan) pinned Kinloch (SW) 2:14.
