Cedarcrest freshman perseveres

DUVALL — Cedarcrest freshman wrestler Carlos Toledano got the idea in his head that he was going to make the 2A Region I tournament and nothing was going to stop him.

Toledano had his nose bloodied three times, twice requiring athletic tape wrapped around his face to keep the gauze in his nose, a busted lip, a leg cramp and asthma, but the 119-pound freshman kept battling and upset two-time district champion Garret Varnell of Sultan in triple overtime to win an individual title at the Cascade Conference 2A sub-regional tournament Saturday at Cedarcrest High School.

Cedarcrest, the Cascade Conference regular season champion, took home the team title with 318 points. Sultan finished second with 248.

The 119-pound class turned in the day’s most thrilling match by far as Toledano scored a late escape to tie the score at 8-8 with 32 seconds remaining in the third period. Varnell, a Sultan junior, scored a two-point near fall with 39 seconds to go to grab an 8-7 lead before Toledano’s escape.

The match remained deadlocked after one overtime period and a 30-second second overtime.

Toledano, face wrapped with athletic tape, scored an escape with 21 seconds remaining in the third overtime and held off a late charge by Varnell for the win.

“We talked about intensity and having the mental strength and smarts to win the third round (of overtime),” Cedarcrest head coach Eric Pedeferri said of Toledano’s match. “He was definitely the underdog and he wrestled out of his mind today.”

Toledano, one of only two freshman to make it to the championship round, pinned South Whidbey senior Colton Vaughn in 5 minutes, 37 seconds of their first-round match when it looked as if Toledano’s breathing trouble and a leg cramp would spell disaster. But the freshman, who said he has seven years of wrestling experience under his belt, scored a reversal and a pin for the upset.

Steven Speer, a Lakewood sophomore who beat Toledano earlier in the season, fell victim to a pin in 4 minutres, 37 seconds.

“I just really, really wanted to get to the finals,” Toledano, who had a 3-2 league record this season, said of making it through a trifecta of difficult matches.

Cedarcrest had 10 wrestlers reach the championship finals. Sultan had seven and Archbishop Murphy saw three wrestlers reach the finals.

Justin Atkinson, a Sultan senior, scored an overtime takedown for a 13-11 decision in the 140-pound class and fellow senior John Frymire earned a comeback win against South Whidbey’s Van Morgen in the 152-pound final.

Frymire found himself trailing 12-7 following a Morgen reversal, near fall and another reversal, but the senior, one of 12 total to make it to a final match, used a quick move to gain the advantage and pinned Morgen, a junior, in 4:38.

In another exciting match, Granite Falls senior Ryan Teter survived a late push from Archbishop Murphy sophomore Connor Kruse for a 4-3 decision.

Despite some strong individual wrestlers, the other Cascade Conference schools couldn’t keep up with Cedarcrest’s depth.

Trailing Cedarcrest and Sultan were Granite Falls in third with 189 points, Archbishop Murphy (152), South Whidbey (149) and Lakewood (121).

Curtis Chittenden, another Red Wolves freshman, won by pin at 3:28 in the 103-pound class.

“We have young guys at the lighter weights and older, experienced guys at the heavier weights,” Toledano said of the undefeated Red Wolves depth.

Toledano and Cedarcrest will be put to the test again next Saturday as the team hosts the 2A Region I tournament.

“We’ve got a young team,” Pedeferri said. “Next weekend is a whole new clean slate … we’ve gotta get after it again.”

At Cedarcrest H.S.

Top three finishers to regional. Fourth-place finishers face a regional qualifying match against the No. 5 seed from the Northwest Conference.

Championship finals

103—Curtis Chittenden (Cedarcrest) pinned Chris Jenkins (Granite Falls) 3:28;

112—Jeremy Wattam (Archbishop Murphy) dec. Steven Leverett (Sultan) 9-5;

119—Carlos Toledano (Cedarcrest) dec. Garret Varnell (Sultan) 9-8 (3 OT)

125—Clinton Jenkins (Granite Falls) dec. Gibson Lisk (Cedarcrest) 8-5;

130—Kyle Weaver (Sultan) pinned Ben Coomer (Cedarcrest) 3:35;

135—DJ MacKenzie (Sultan) pinned Ben Jacobson-Ross (South Whidbey) :55;

140—Justin Atkinson (Sultan) dec. Dalton Webb (Cedarcrest) 13-11 (OT);

145—Cam Wade (Archbishop Murphy) dec. Cody Paxman (Cedarcrest) 6-5;

152—John Frymire (Sultan) pinned Van Morgen (South Whidbey) 4:38;

160—Ryan Teter (Granite Falls) dec. Connor Kruse (Archbishop Murphy) 4-3;

171—Jed Kenney (Cedarcrest) dec. Chris Monell (South Whidbey) 10-4;

189—Tim Hagreen (Cedarcrest) pinned Danny Parrish (Sultan) 0:23;

215—Evan Schreurs (Cedarcrest) pinned Ryan Saparto (Archbishop Murphy) 0:40;

285—Robbie McNair (Cedarcrest) dec. Juneau Wilson (Lakewood) 5-1.

Third-fourth bouts

103—Cam Wheeler (Lakewood) dec. Colin Farrell (Archbishop Murphy) 9-5;

112—Nick Decker (Cedarcrest) dec. Bryce MacDicken (Sultan) 4-0;

119—Colton Vaughn (South Whidbey) dec. Steven Speer (Lakewood) 24-11;

125—Mike Lemke (Granite Falls) pinned Tim Callaghan (Archbishop Murphy) 3:39;

130—Evan Thompson (South Whidbey) dec. Daniel Miller (Archbishop Murphy) 10-8;

135—David Huckabone (Sultan) pinned Waylon Gwyther (Lakewood) 2:44;

140—Eli Grady (Cedarcrest) dec. Josh Linscott (Lakewood) 12-7;

145—Josh Hooper (Cedarcrest) Aaron Nech (Lakewood) 10-8;

152—Andrew Jackson (Granite Falls) dec. Patrick Monell (South Whidbey) 11-7;

160—Martin Vakamoce (Cedarcrest) pinned Daniel Childers (South Whidbey) 4:23;

171—Brandon Todd (Archbishop Murphy) pinned Sean Hackworth (Lakewood) :26;

189—Tommy Eadie (Granite Falls) pinned Dakota Creed (Archbishop Murphy) 4:15;

215—Dakota Thomas (Grtanite Falls) pinned Travis Givler (Lakewood) 2:48;

285—Adam Schilling (Sultan) pinned Haslam Douglas (South Whidbey) 1:52.