MOUNTLAKE TERRACE – It seemed ironic when the entire Kamiak wrestling team tumbled to the Mountlake Terrace High School gym floor moments after the Knights were announced as the Western Conference South Division champions on Saturday.
After all, sightings of any Kamiak wrestler kissing the floor were rare during the two-day tournament. That changed when assistant coach Tracy Regan knocked his wrestlers down like bowling pins after the Knights edged Everett – winner of the last three south titles – by 31/2 points to win Kamiak’s first-ever division championship.
Everett won a meet-best six individual titles among the 14 weight classes. Kamiak, which scored 360 points, won just two titles, but will send 19 grapplers to the Feb. 5 district meet at Everett High School. The top five finishers in each class qualified for the district meet. Everett will send 15. Mariner, which finished a distant third with 224 points, qualified 11.
“This was a great team effort,” said Kamiak head coach Dan Hanika, whose team finished second in the division dual-meet standings. “All 28 kids. Every one of them contributed. You get all the kids working together, working hard and doing the right things – on the mat and in the classroom – and good things happen.”
Saturday accentuated a magnificent turnaround by the Kamiak wrestling program. Three seasons ago, the Knights finished eighth in the dual-meet standings. They lost only once this season when Everett beat them 39-24 on Dec. 16. Kamiak champions John Baldwin (103 pounds) and Tyler Cannon (152) – both juniors – played major roles both in the turnaround and in Saturday’s championship.
Cannon, who was seeded third in his weight class, scored 291/2 points by himself. He pinned his first-round opponent in 33 seconds and won his second-round match by a 15-0 technical fall. Next up was No. 2 seed Kody Cundy, a Mountlake Terrace wrestler Cannon had not been able to compete against during the regular season because of injury. Cannon won by a 13-3 major decision. Then came top-seeded Jeremy Pautler of Edmonds-Woodway. Cannon lost 1-0 to Pautler during the season but stunned him 14-2 this time around.
“I expected them to be pretty tight matches,” Cannon said. “I’m pretty happy.”
Unlike Cannon, Baldwin was expected to win his class. But, after finishing third despite being the No. 1 seed a year earlier, Baldwin knew nothing was going to be handed to him. After his first-round bye, Baldwin pinned his next two opponents to set up a match with Everett’s Bryce Johansen. His 10-4 victory in the title bout gave Kamiak six points that would have gone to Everett had he lost.
“I was very hungry,” Baldwin said. “All of my coaches have basically been rubbing (last season) in my face. It made me practice harder, and it paid off.”
For Everett, twin brothers Bryan and Michael Irwin won titles at 130 and 135, respectively. Everett’s Cole Anderson, who stunned Baldwin in a 103 semifinal last year, won the 119 championship. Tom Swankosky (119), Justin Boyce (189) and Kenny Hudson (215) also won for the Seagulls.
Mariner’s Mohammad Mustafa (171) and Chris Miller (275) won titles. Casey Finnicum won at 160 to help Mountlake Terrace finish fourth. Kai Bruno led Meadowdale to a fifth-place finish by winning the 125 division.
Shorewood got championships from Brian Jensen (140) and Mitch Zemenak (145).
Team scores
1. Kamiak 360, 2. Everett 356.5, 3. Mariner 224, 4. Mountlake Terrace 191, 5. Meadowdale 169.5, 6. Shorewood 133, 7. Edmonds-Woodway 84, 8. Jackson 71.
Championship matches
(Both to district meet)
103-Baldwin (Kam) dec. Johansen (Ev) 10-4; 112-Anderson (Ev) dec. Gentry (MT) 12-5; 119-Swankosky (Ev) pinned Yee (Mar) 4:32; 125-Bruno (Mead) pinned Munro (Kam) 5:04; 130-B. Irwin (Ev) dec. Kintner (Mar) 8-6; 135-M. Irwin (Ev) pinned Reeder (Mead) 4:44; 140-Jensen (Shw) maj. dec. N. Huss (Kam) 11-2; 145-Zemenak (Shw) dec. Malone (Ev) 8-5. 152-Cannon (Kam) maj. dec. Pautler (E-W) 14-2; 160-Finnicum (MT) dec. Ch. Munoz (Kam) 5-2; 171-Mustafa (Mar) won by injury default over Linaas (MT); 189-Boyce (Ev) dec. P. Burns (Ev) 8-1; 215-Hudson (Ev) dec. Stannard (E-W) 5-2; Miller (Mar) dec. Huss (Kam) 11-4.
Third-fourth matches
(Both to district meet)
103-Yun (Shw) dec. Do (Mar) 12-7; 112-Bush (Mar) dec. Birkett (Ja) 9-2; 119-Ogden (Ev) dec. Leverkuhn (Kam) 604; 125-Covert (Ev) dec. Jensen (Shw) 7-0; 130-Norton (Mar) dec. Rich (Kam) 7-6; 135-Beck (Ev) dec. Co. Munoz (Kam) 8-5; 140-Brady (MT) dec. Zyph (Ev) 6-2; 145-Korbein (E-W) dec. Nijem (Jack) 10-7; 152-Cundy (MT) pinned Jennings (Mead) 2:23; 160-Stiger (Ev) dec. Coleman (Mar) 10-8; 171-P. Huss (Kam) won by injury default over Klumper (Kam); 189-Jerome (MT) dec. Balderson (MT) 1-0; 215-Michaels (Kam) dec. Rydzak (Mar) 4-0; 275-Gallaway (Kam) pinned Harbison (Mead) 3:39.
Fifth-place matches
(Winner to district meet, loser is alternate)
103-Arbanasin (Kam) won by injury default over Trieu (E-W); 112-Perrin (Mead) pinned Floresca (MT) 3:31; 119-Voice (Kam) maj. dec. Primacio (Mead) 12-0; 125-Bui (Mar) dec. Link (Mar) 5-3; 130-Morton (Kam) maj. dec. Daeley (Mead) 11-2; 135-Hendrickson (Mar) pinned Ryder (MT) 2:22; 140-Forester (Mead) dec. K. Burns (Ev) 4-1; 145-Wallace (Kam) won by injury default over Wilkins (Kam); 152-Zuzula (Ja) dec. Wyman (Shw) 11-7; 160-Wagner (Shw) dec. Olson (E-W) 7-6; 171-Anstett (Ev) dec. Hester (Shw) 6-4; 189-Ko (Kam) dec. Hadley (Kam) 13-6; 215-Carey (MT) maj. dec. Warner (Ja) 11-2; 275-Raby (Ev) dec. Miyasoto (MT) 7-0.
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