ARLINGTON — With wins expected to be hard to come by in a rough-and-tumble Wesco 3A North Division, getting off to a good start in league play was paramount for Everett and Arlington on Thursday night.
The Seagulls weathered an early flurry from the Eagles but settled in to win going away in the league opener for both squads, as Everett won eight of the last 10 bouts in a 46-24 victory.
After Everett 195-pounder Anthony Brown, ranked second in Washington Wrestling Report’s rankings for Class 3A, got the Seagulls off to a quick start with a second-period pin of Arlington’s Andrew Roundy, the Eagles took 15 points from the next three bouts to reclaim the lead.
Freshman Gavin Rork, the top-ranked wrestler in Class 3A at 126 pounds, pinned Everett’s Joel Delgadillo to start the run, and Arlington (5-4 overall, 0-1 league) led 12-6 when second-ranked Jeremy Nygard accepted a forfeit at 132.
Arlington’s Clayton Hunter put together a dominant performance from the top position to upset Patrick West at 138 pounds, but it was all Everett from that point.
Arlington’s Parker Spady controlled Brett Allred for two-plus periods in their bout at 145 pounds, but Allred caught Spady for a third-period pin to get the Seagulls (8-1 overall, 1-0 league) going in the right direction.
“With Brett getting beat the way he was, being able to get that pin was a big win for us,” Everett coach Brien Elliott said.
The Eagles clung to a 15-12 lead heading into the most anticipated bout of the evening, as fifth-ranked Cooper McAuslan of Arlington took on sixth-ranked Christian Bagdadi.
Bagdadi, the shorter but stronger of the two wrestlers, took a 2-0 lead late in the first period with a single-leg takedown of the longer, leaner McAuslan.
The lead widened to 3-0 in the second period as Bagdadi escaped McAuslan, who started the round from the top position.
Later in the period, Bagdadi used his strength to lift McAuslan off the mat and take him down for a 5-0 advantage heading into the final two minutes.
Bagdadi fended McAuslan off for the 5-0 decision that tied the match at 15, and the Seagulls cruised from there.
“I knew it was going to be a tough match, but I went out and tried not to give up easy points,” Bagdadi said.
Elliott said that the gameplan was for Bagdadi to attack the long legs of McAuslan and keep his emotions in check.
“They’re both emotional wrestlers, but we wanted to stay technical,” Elliott said. “We shot the legs well and stayed offensive.”
Arlington coach Rick Iversen said Bagdadi executed his plan to perfection against McAuslan.
“He wouldn’t let Cooper get any big moves, and stayed in great position the whole match,” Iversen said. “We couldn’t get anything we wanted. It was a very smart match by a great athlete.”
Riley Oakes took a 7-4 decision from Everett’s Jake Leonard at 160 pounds to give Arlington an 18-15 lead, but the Seagulls won six of the last seven bouts — four by pinfall — to salt the match away.
“They took away all of our big moves and took us to our back way too often,” Iversen said. “I’ve said all year that Everett and Marysville Pilchuck are the two top teams in the league, and I still feel that way.”
Marysville Pilchuck also won its Wesco 3A opener, defeating Oak Harbor 45-26 on Thursday. Elsewhere in the league, Stanwood beat Marysville Getchell 50-30 in Marysville.
At Arlington H.S.
106—Stephon Erosa (E) maj. dec. Brantly Stupey (A) 12-0; 113—Sean Underhill (E) pinned Danny Herrera (A) 4:30; 120—Christian Evanger (A) pinned Ryan Arboleda (E) 3:31; 126—Gavin Rork (A) pinned Joel Delgadillo (E) 5:14; 132—Jeremy Nygard (A) won by forfeit; 138—Clayton Hunter (A) def. Patrick West (E) 6-5; 145—Brett Allred (E) pinned Parker Spady (A) 4:46; 152—Christian Bagdadi (E) def. Cooper McAuslan (E) 5-0; 160—Riley Oakes (A) def. Jake Leonard (E) 7-4; 170—Aldo Yeo (E) pinned George Spady (A) 5:05; 182—Jasen Bergesen (E) def. Gabe Green (A) 6-1; 195—Anthony Brown (E) pinned Andrew Roundy (A) 2:57; 220—Cash Hatem (E) pinned Melecio Muniz (A) :20; 285—Ric Stewart (E pinned Tristan Emery (A) 1:17. Records—Everett 1-0 league, 8-1 overall. Arlington 5-4, 0-1.
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