Lake Stevens’ Soler reaches semifinals at Buchanan Invite
Published 8:35 pm Friday, January 8, 2016
CLOVIS, Calif. — Lake Stevens senior wrestler Michael Soler advanced to the semifinal round of the prestigious Doc Buchanan Invitational on Friday.
Soler, a three-time state champion, is the third seed in the 32-man bracket at 170 pounds.
He pinned his first two opponents before earning a 12-10 decision in his quarterfinal match.
His semifinal opponent will be Joe Grello of Bergen Catholic (N.J.), the second-ranked team in the U.S. according to Intermat.
Grello, a Rutgers commit, is ranked 11th nationally.
Elsewhere for the Vikings, Jake Douglas and Trysten Perales reached the quarterfinals of the 138- and 145-pound brackets, respectively, but lost via decisions.
Douglas, the fifth seed at 138, wasn’t able to overcome two first-period takedowns in his quarterfinal and lost 5-3 to fourth-seeded Chris Sandoval of Pueblo County (Colo.).
Perales, the ninth seed at 145, was dealt a 12-2 major decision by top-seeded Zander Wick of San Marino (Calif.), a Wisconsin commit ranked fifth nationally.
Gut Check Challenge
BREMERTON — Darrington’s Mason McKenzie reached the quarterfinals of the 220-pound weight class at the Kitsap Sun Pavilion.
The Loggers’ two-time defending 2B/1B state champion faces Clarkston’s Dylan Beeler in Saturday’s semifinal round. Beeler, a junior, has won a pair of 2A state titles for the Bantams.
McKenzie is only the Darrington wrestler at the event.
