MARYSVILLE — Brothers Andy and Lex Duncan both love wrestling, but for different reasons.
Andy, a senior at Cascade High School, said the best thing about the sport is developing friendships with teammates, and even with opponents.
Lex, a Cascade freshman, wasn’t shy to admit that something else hooked him on wrestling. It’s all about being publicly recognized after an individual victory, he said.
“I just like getting my hand raised,” Lex said before laughing.
But on Friday big brother had the last laugh.
Both competing in the 130-pound weight division, the Duncan brothers met in the quarterfinals during Day 1 of the Class 4A District 1 wrestling tournament at Jim Linden Field House.
Instead of scrapping to see who is best, Lex forfeited to his older brother about 20 seconds into the match, as directed by Cascade coach Todd Freeman. It launched Andy to a district semifinal match today against Lake Stevens junior BJ Alewine.
The forfeit also helped the Duncans conserve their energy as they try to take an important step in their postseason journey.
The top five wrestlers in each weight division qualify for the regional tourney Feb. 9 at Skyview High in Vancouver. Andy Duncan has one more chance to win the district title after finishing second the past two years, while Lex can still place as high as third.
Day 2 of the district tourney begins at 11 a.m. today on four mats. Finals are tentatively scheduled for 6 p.m.
Through one day of action — which included three rounds of winners’ bracket matches and three rounds of consolation bouts on six mats — the highest-scoring teams were Lake Stevens (247 points), Snohomish (190.5) and Kamiak (150).
Lake Stevens (No. 1) and Snohomish (No. 6) are both ranked highly in the latest Washington Wrestling Report Class 4A poll. Snohomish beat Lake Stevens Jan. 17 in a league dual meet and won the Western Conference North Division title, but the Panthers aren’t likely to conquer the defending 4A state champs this weekend. Lake Stevens is too deep and racks up lots of consolation-round points with its second-tier wrestlers, Snohomish coach Kevin Judkins said.
The Duncans helped Cascade tally 64 team points, which left the Bruins in 10th place in the 13-team tourney.
During the regular season the brothers switched back and forth between the 130- and 135-pound divisions. Andy, the senior, beat Lex decisively (18-3 by technical fall) the only time they went head to head, in a championship match last month at the Everett Classic.
The brothers occasionally train together — until things get too intense, which Andy said is about 80 percent of the time.
“When we get along we’re all right. We fight a lot when we practice,” said Andy, who has a season record of 30-4.
Lex, who is 22-13 and at 5-foot-9 is 3 inches taller than Andy, said Andy pushes him too hard sometimes. “But I understand he’s just trying to (make) me better,” Lex said.
One problem is there are no surprises when they battle.
“They know each other way too well,” said Freeman, their coach.
“He knows all my moves,” Lex said.
The host team, Marysville-Pilchuck (fifth place, 110 points), finished strong when its top-seeded wrestlers won their quarterfinal matches. Junior Tannon Hillis (215 pounds) and senior Michael Pfeiff (285) both earned pins in their final matches.
The burly M-P teammates combined for five pins in five total bouts; Pfeiff was 3-for-3 and Hillis was 2-for-2 after a first-round bye.
At Marysville-Pilchuck H.S.
Day 1 team scores
1. Lake Stevens 247 points, 2. Snohomish 190.5, 3. Kamiak 150, 4. Mariner 117.5, 5. Marysville-Pilchuck 110, 6. Oak Harbor 108, tie-7. Edmonds-Woodway, Stanwood 99.5, 9. Monroe 66.5, 10. Cascade 64, 11. Jackson 52.5, 12. Shorewood 51, 13. Mountlake Terrace 30.
Today’s schedule
Wrestling begins at 11 a.m. on four mats. Finals are tentatively scheduled for 6 p.m. on four mats.
Writer Mike Cane: mcane@heraldnet.com. Check out the prep sports blog Double Team at www.heraldnet.com/doubleteam.
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