SNOHOMISH — Sometimes it takes a few matches to realize you’re the defending Class 4A state wrestling champion.
That’s what happened to Lake Stevens on Friday night as the Vikings found themselves trailing Snohomish early 18-0. However, Lake Stevens put together an impressive string of victories — winning eight of the next 10 matches — to finish on top in the Wesco North meet 40-27.
After the meet, one coach was disappointed and the other coach was thrilled. That’s not unusual. What was unusual was that it was the winning coach who was upset, and the losing coach who was excited.
“I think Snohomish really did a good job and came to wrestle,” said Brent Barnes, the Lake Stevens head coach. “They basically out-wrestled us tonight. We got out-wrestled in every phase.”
Well, every phase but the final score.
Meanwhile, Panthers head coach Rob Zabel praised his wrestlers’ efforts, as well as the overall excitement of the night.
“It was a great high school wrestling match,” Zabel said. “An awesome crowd. I love it. At the end of the day it wasn’t the outcome we wanted, but it was a great wrestling match.”
In a hole early, the Vikings got their first points of the night when Shaq Reed won at 220 pounds when Luke Reinhard had to forfeit after the second round because of injury. Three-quarters of the way through the round, Reed slammed Reinhard to the mat and the Snohomish wrestler immediately grabbed his left shoulder. He finished the final 30 seconds before he forfeited and headed to the bench to put ice on his shoulder.
“It’s too soon to tell,” Zabel said of the severity of Reinhard’s injury.
Reed’s victory was followed by back-to-back Lake Stevens pins from Brandon Johnson (285 pounds) and Alex Rodorigo (106), which tied the score at 18 points apiece. Snohomish’s Aidan Kutsch was the winner of a 6-3 decision at 113 pounds to briefly give the Panthers a 21-18 lead, but Dakoda Reynolds (120) pinned Gino Obregon in the next bout to give Lake Stevens a 24-21 lead that it would not relinquish.
“Dakoda Reynolds did a good job turning the corner,” said Barnes, whose Vikings improved to 2-0 in league and 7-1 overall.
“They (the Vikings) are the targets,” Zabel said. “Every year they set the bar. We want to get there. Tonight we got closer.”
Three bouts were decided by one point. At 182 pounds, Snohomish’s Peter St. Marie and the Vikings’ Ryan Olligies were both scoreless going into the final round. The two wrestlers kept falling/crawling off the mat, forcing a restart in the middle. Olligies got a one-point reversal and a two-point takedown, before St. Marie got one point for stalling by Olliges and a two-point reversal. With the score tied, the referee awarded one point to St. Marie on an illegal-use-of-hands call on Olliges, a call Barnes vehemently disagreed with.
“I have no idea” what happened, Barnes said. “You’d have to ask the ref.”
The point gave St. Marie a 4-3 victory and helped the Panthers build an early lead.
Lake Stevens’ Jesse Peterson won perhaps the match of the meet at 126 pounds, scoring a 13-12 decision over Steven Speer. Speer took the lead late in the final round, but Peterson reclaimed it with a two-point reversal in the last 10 seconds to earn the victory and add three points to the scoreboard for Lake Stevens.
The night’s final match was a lot of the same, with Kinsey Johnson pulling out a 9-8 decision over Snohomish’s Tanner Perry, giving the Vikings their final margin of victory.
“Speer had a heck of a match,” Zabel said. “Perry was awesome too.
“These kids have bought in that it doesn’t matter who we’re wrestling, we’ve got to go out and bang heads. We get a little closer everyday.”
Even with the loss, Zabel complimented his wrestlers’ resolve. It wasn’t a victory for the Panthers (1-1 league, 11-2 overall), but it was a close, hard fought meet, which the Snohomish coach said is the next best thing.
“I’m just really proud of the effort they put out,” he said of his wrestlers. “I don’t know what we could have done to change the outcome.”
At Snohomish H.S.
160—Ammon Morrill (S) pinned Cody Vigoren, 3:35; 170—Tristan Baus (S) dec. Blake Sander, 9-5; 182—Peter St. Marie (S) dec. Ryan Olligies, 4-3; 195—Nathan Proffit (S) pinned Anthony Thees, 1:41; 220—Shaq Reed (LS) won by injury forfeit against Luke Reinhard; 285—Brandon Johnson (LS) pinned Mario Rojas, 3:55; 106—Alex Rodorigo (LS) pinned Josh Christianson, 1:24; 113—Aidan Kutsch (S) dec. Zach Cunningham, 6-3; 120—Dakoda Reynolds (LS) pinned Gino Obregon, 3:55; 126—Jesse Peterson (LS) dec. Steven Speer, 13-12; 132—Eric Soler (LS) pinned Greg Eagle, 1:06; 138—Mick Majors (LS) maj. dec. Garrett Pope, 11-2; 145—Grifynn Clay (S) pinned Logan Johnson, 5:25; 152—Kinsey Johnson (LS) dec. Tanner Perry, 9-8. Records—Lake Stevens 2-0 league, 7-1 overall. Snohomish 1-1, 11-2.
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