LAKE STEVENS — The Streak lives.
The Lake Stevens wrestling team passed perhaps its biggest Western Conference North Division test of the season Thursday night by beating Oak Harbor 43-13.
The Vikings, who have not lost a league meet in nearly 11 years, used depth, if not domination to hand Oak Harbor its first loss of the season and keep The Streak alive.
"People were saying Oak Harbor was going to beat us," said Lake Stevens’ Lester Brown who registered one of Lake Stevens’ three pins. "But, we knew we were going to beat them."
The Vikings (3-0 in the division and overall) won four of the first five matches and clinched the victory with freshman Kelly Kubec’s win by decision in the 103 pound match. Kubec capped a string of four straight victories for the Vikings, who won 11 of the 14 bouts.
Though the score was lopsided, many of the matches were not. Only four pins were recorded, and two of them came in the third round. Eight matches were won by a regular decision (seven points or less).
"It’s a sign of a good wrestling match when you don’t have a lot of pins," said Lake Stevens coach Brent Barnes, who has not lost a match since Lynnwood beat the Vikings in early 1993.
"The streak means a lot," said Barnes, whose team is ranked second in the state coaches poll. "The more it grows the more it means. Maybe I make a bigger thing out of it. The kids seem to be relaxed about it."
Or not.
Tony Kubec, who got the Vikings started with an 11-1 major decision at 135, admitted he can’t help but think about past Lake Stevens wrestlers who might be counting on the team to keep the string unbroken.
"A lot of people put a lot of hard work into (The Streak)," said Kubec, who finished third in the state at 130 last season. "You don’t want to be the one to blow it."
The Streak extension project — and the Vikings’ march toward a 14th straight league title — got off to a good start when the Vikings won four of the first five matches.
Brock Austen dominated Chris Wichers during the first half of the 140 match, but Wichers nearly turned the tables. Austen led 4-0, but was taken down twice. His two escape points were the difference in a 6-4 victory.
Tony Nicolas gave the Wildcats (3-1, 6-1) their first points with a 5-2 decision over Blake Tate in the 145 bout.
After Billy Moehrle’s 6-3 decision over Oak Harbor’s Tom Clark, Ricky Bargreen (160) recorded the first pin of the evening to give Lake Stevens a 16-3 advantage. Oak Harbor junior Jeremy Soptich wriggled out of several precarious positions while falling behind 12-1. Bargreen finally got him with 46 seconds remaining in the third round.
Oak Harbor’s Patrick O’Brien won the 171 bout, but the Vikings rallied with four victories in a row for a 31-7 lead with four matches remaining. Though Oak Harbor still had a shot at tying the score at that point, Lake Stevens would have won the tiebreaker (most match victories).
Bobby Pegues recorded Oak Harbor’s lone pin. Lake Stevens’ Clint Osborn made quick work of Nathan Davis, pinning the heavyweight in 44 seconds. Derek Carter (119), Kai VanLeuven (130), Mike Shea (189) and Matt Leonard (215) won for the Vikings.
135—T. Kubec (LS) won by major decision over Tacia, 11-1; 140—Austen dec. (LS) Wichers, 6-4; 145— Nicolas (OH) dec. Tate, 5-3; 152—Moerhle (LS) dec. Clark, 6-3; 160—Bargreen (LS) pinned Soptich (OH) 5:14; 171—O’Brien (OH) maj. dec. Wilbourne, 13-4; 189—Shea (LS) dec. Lange, 6-1; 215—Leonard (LS) dec. Ward, 6-0; 275—Osborn (LS) pinned Davis, :46. 103—K. Kubec (LS) dec. K. Miller (OH), 7-0; 112—Pegues (OH) pinned Tipton, 4:44; 119—Carter (LS) dec. R. Lemme, 9-3; 125—Brown (LS) pinned S. Lemme, 1:14; 130—VanLeuven dec. G. Miller, 8-6 OT; Records—Oak Harbor 3-1 in division and 6-1 overall. Lake Stevens 4-0, 4-0. |
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