LAKE STEVENS — Last week after his wrestlers completed a grueling, sweat-soaked practice, Brent Barnes talked about dedication.
Barnes, head coach of the Lake Stevens High School wrestling team, praised the squad’s 11 seniors, who were preparing to wrestle in their home gym for the final time. The seniors endured four years of intense training and constantly made sacrifices for the good of the team and the community, Barnes said.
It was never easy. But in the end the hard work, frustration and pain were worth it, Barnes said in the team’s muggy practice room. He encouraged Lake Stevens freshmen to follow in the seniors’ footsteps.
“It’s all about the trip and the road you travel,” said Barnes.
His comment had two meanings. First, there’s the journey of going from a timid youngster to a confident, championship-caliber senior. The second, more literal translation refers to Lake Stevens’ tradition of traveling to find the best competition.
This season Lake Stevens, the two-time defending Class 4A state champion, competed in prestigious out-of-state events in Idaho (Tri-State Invitational), California (El Cajon Invitational) and Pennsylvania (NHSCA Final Four). Barnes’ teams have always traveled, but this season was busier than most.
“We knew that with the 11 seniors we were going to have a pretty decent team and so we stepped it up a little bit more,” said Barnes, whose Vikings are ranked No. 1 in 4A by Washington Wrestling Report.
Using planes, trains and automobiles, the Vikings logged more than 8,000 miles on out-of-state trips this season. They racked up plenty of honors, including a team title and three individual championships (Josh Heinzer, Jack Stilwell and George King) at the Tri-State Invite; a second-place team finish and one individual champ (King) at the El Cajon tournament; and a 2-1 record in dual meets at the high-profile Final Four in Easton, Pa.
The most recent trip was to the Jan. 17 Final Four, where Lake Stevens’ first opponent was Blair Academy (N.J.), the No. 1 team in the nation according to Wrestling Insider Newsmagazine. Lake Stevens endured a humbling 50-6 loss against Blair, but the Vikings bounced back and beat Easton (Pa.) and No. 19 High Point (N.J.).
The experience taught Barnes a lot about his team’s character. “They’re pretty resilient,” he said. “That’s a tough thing to do to get beat as bad as they did (by Blair), but they never stopped fighting.”
It’s unusual for Lake Stevens, which has won six state team titles since 1990 and is ranked 34th in the nation by HSWrestling.net, to be intimidated before a meet. But that’s apparently what happened against Blair Academy.
“When we were warming up, we were a little bit timid and you could see that we weren’t so sure of ourselves, and that doesn’t happen very often,” said Barnes. “So it’s nice to put our team in that situation and see how they react.”
King and Heinzer, 2008 individual state champs, both lost matches against Blair Academy wrestlers. King, a 152-pounder, lost a 3-1 decision versus Blair’s Adam Hogue, ranked 19th in the country. King was tied 1-1 until he gave up a takedown with about 20 seconds to go. It was a good lesson for King, Barnes and King agreed.
Same for Heinzer (112 pounds), who lost 7-2 against Blair’s Evan Silver, ranked sixth nationally. “Just wrestling a kid like that, it shows you what you need to work on,” Heinzer said.
The Lake Stevens trips aren’t just about wrestling. The Vikings see new places and soak up unusual surroundings. During the Pennsylvania trip they went to New York City and Philadelphia, making stops at Times Square and Independence Hall.
“We saw lots of history,” Lake Stevens senior Jack Stilwell said.
The wrestlers observed steel factories and noticed how much older buildings are on the East Coast.
“To see that with their own eyes is such a great learning experience for them,” Barnes said.
The voyages have become part of a varsity wrestler’s journey at Lake Stevens — a prize for sticking with it.
“It’s your reward for working hard and getting to go compete somewhere really cool, and then after that you get a little vacation,” said King.
Lake Stevens pays for trips with a combination of fundraising (mostly done by coaches) and money from wrestlers. Athletes who went on the California and East Coast trips paid $500 total, Barnes said. Fundraising profits, from things like selling concessions at football games, covered the rest.
“When it’s all said and done,” Barnes said, “they know that you gave them your time and put together something (special) for them and they’re pretty appreciative.”
Writer Mike Cane: mcane@heraldnet.com. Check out the prep sports blog Double Team at www.heraldnet.com/doubleteam.
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