MILL CREEK — Layla Silveus was not where she wanted to be.
After building up a 7-1 lead through the first period of the District 1 4A Girls Wrestling 105 Championship at Jackson High School on Friday, the Lake Stevens junior found herself in the bottom position against her opponent, Glacier Peak’s Lily Palatnikov. Following an escape and a takedown, Palatnikov cut it to 7-6 with just 25 seconds left in Period 2.
But Silveus was not keeping track of the points. All she knew was that the district title was on the line, and that she needed to get back on top.
“I’m not the best at bottom,” Silveus said. “But my thought was that, ‘It’s districts. I don’t care how I feel. I just got to get off bottom.’ … I was just trying to find something.”
With time ticking down in Period 2, Silveus spotted an opportunity to attempt a Peterson roll, hooking Palatnikov’s leg and rolling to regain her position on top. Silveus scored two points for the reversal, and quickly picked up a four-point near fall right before time expired to turn her one-point lead into a 13-6 margin entering Period 3.
Even with the upper hand, Silveus focused on wrestling smart but not too conservatively. She attempted a few shots, pushing thew pace and picking up three more points on a near fall with 21 seconds left. When time expired, she secured her district title with 16-7 major decision. Had she not executed in that pivotal moment in Period 2, it very well could have gone the other way.
“I saw Peterson, so I took it and I rolled, and it worked,” Silveus said. “And I was like, ‘Wow, I’m glad that I took that chance,’ because it was risky. But at the end of the day, you have to take those chances.”
The chances paid off for the Vikings all night, as seven different wrestlers picked up individual titles en route to the program’s second straight team District 1 Championship with 374.5 points. Glacier Peak (274) and Arlington (182) rounded out the top three teams, with Mariner (181) finishing just one point back in fourth.
In addition to Silveus at 105, Lexie Borden (120), Lily Ganal (135), Kylee Wicklund (145), Jillian Hradec (155), Afebia Aemere (170) and Tiffany Perez-Guerrero (190) each won the title in their respective weight classes for Lake Stevens.
The Vikings had the most wrestlers qualify for the tournament with 24, but they dominated across the board. In addition to the seven individual weight-class champions, 11 other wrestlers placed in the top four of their respective weight classes to earn individual qualifications to Mat Classic XXXVII from Feb. 19-20. Lake Stevens generated 42 total pins across the tournament — 12 more than second-most Glacier Peak (30) — and averaged 15.6 team points per participant, which was the second-highest among the seven teams.
The only team with a higher team point-per-wrestler was Mariner (16.5), which punched (er, wrestled) well above its weight with 181 points scored by just 11 participants. The Marauders had three individual champions — Belyini Pascasio-Umana (100), Isabela Alvarez (115) and Jannethzy Cortes-Hernandez (140) — and five more top-four finishers.
Of Lake Stevens’ 18 top-four finishers on Friday, 11 were underclassmen, including six freshmen. With an expanded coaching staff, the Vikings had the manpower to bring them along quickly and get them wrestling their best at the right time. A prime example is Jocelyn Heist, who was unseeded entering the 125 bracket but placed fourth. The sophomore did not even consistently get into the varsity lineup until midseason, but ultimately proved the program’s overall depth following some initial growing pains.
“It was awesome to see because you got a bunch of kids who— they didn’t do the scrambles this year, so we don’t have a bunch of kids that get a lot of mat time, unless they wrestle varsity,” Lake Stevens coach Krys Dupree said. “(…) (Heist) started getting matches, and she was losing almost every single one, and then she just went to town. So it’s been really cool to see how (the younger wrestlers buy in.) Like, ‘Okay, if I listen, and I take everything (the coaches are) saying to heart, and ask questions, I’m going to get better.’”
Heading into Mat Classic, Dupree said the goal is for the team is to repeat last year’s top three finish. With an infusion of high-performing youth among decorated upperclassmen, the Vikings believe they can do it, but they plan to take things one match at a time.
“It doesn’t matter who you’re going against. It matters just match-by-match,” Silveus said. “Whatever is ahead doesn’t matter. You stay in that one match, and you think about that one match, and think about what you’re going to do. I think that will help us get a higher placement than we did last year.”
— — — — — —
District 1 4A Girls Wrestling Tournament
At Jackson H.S.
Team Scores: 1. Lake Stevens— 374.5; 2. Glacier Peak— 274; 3. Arlington— 182; 4. Mariner— 181; 5. Jackson— 120.5; 6. Kamiak— 66.5; 7. Cascade— 63.
Championship Rounds: 100— Belyini Pascasio-Umana (M) pinned Bella Reyes (J) 0:25; 105— Layla Silveus (L) maj. dec. Lily Palatnikov (G) 16-7; 110— Cameron Erdmann (G) pinned Fatima Salami (J) 0:28; 115— Isabela Alvarez (M) pinned Halle Boyland (L) 2:35; 120— Lexie Borden (L) pinned June Webb (J) 3:33; 125— Araxi Crew (A) pinned Tiffany Twitchell (A) 0:17; 130— Eliana Shreve (G) maj. dec. Mariana Morales-Joffre (A) 11-1; 135— Lily Ganal (L) pinned Payten Masten (A) 1:30; 140— Jannethzy Cortes-Hernandez (M) pinned Lillian Burgess (K) 1:37; 145— Kylee Wicklund (L) tech. fall Marissa Denke (G) 18-0; 155— Jillian Hradec (L) dec. Mariam Crew (A) 4-1; 170— Afebia Aemere (L) pinned Samantha Wilner (G) 2:59; 190— Tiffany Perez-Guerrero (L) pinned Ujin Ugedei (M) 0:56; 235— Isabelle Mendoza (G) pinned Airianna Gilbraith (M) 3:27.
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