MARYSVILLE — For Richard Reed, wrestling has become more than a sport. It’s an outlet for grief and a tool he uses to honor lost loved ones.
Reed, a Snohomish High School senior, won the 160-pound championship Saturday during the Class 4A District 1 tournament at Jim Linden Field House.
Following his victory — a 4-1 decision over Jake Welch of Lake Stevens — Reed stood tall and pointed to the ceiling with both hands.
“This year has been really hard for me,” Reed said after winning a district title for the second consecutive season.
In December Reed’s grandpa, John Reed, passed away. The painful loss came almost a year after one of Richard Reed’s close friends, former team manager Hannah Zylstra, died in a car accident. Clearly, Reed had plenty of inspiration.
“Those two will never have a chance to be here again. I wrestle for them,” said Reed, who received loud cheers from several members of Zylstra’s family who attended the meet.
Competing with a separated sternum, Reed was one of five individual champions for Snohomish, ranked No. 6 in Class 4A by Washington Wrestling Report. The others were Sam Ottow (125 pounds), Stefan St. Marie (135), Brad Perry (140) and Spencer Caraballo (215).
Top-ranked Lake Stevens had four champs, one less than Snohomish, but the Vikings used superior depth to win the team title. Lake Stevens scored 472.5 points to overcome Snohomish (345), Kamiak (233) and Mariner (209).
The top five wrestlers in each weight division qualified for the regional tourney Feb. 9 at Skyview High in Vancouver. Sixth-place finishers will wrestle a winner-to-regional, loser-out match against third-place finishers from District 4.
Lake Stevens, the defending 4A state champ, led all teams with 17 top-five placers, while Snohomish had 12. In four weight divisions (103, 135, 140 and 160) Lake Stevens had two top-five finishers.
“Our (second-tier) kids did a great job this weekend. I’m really proud of the way they performed,” Lake Stevens coach Brent Barnes said.
Josh Heinzer (103), 2007 state champion Zach Zweifel (112), Brandon Austin (130) and George King (145) placed first for Lake Stevens, which is loaded in the low and middle weights.
Snohomish went 4-for-4 in championship finals versus Lake Stevens. At 135, Snohomish’s St. Marie preserved his undefeated record (34-0) with an 11-9 decision against Josh Monson. St. Marie avenged a loss against Monson in last year’s district semifinals.
“He’s always been on my mind. … He’s a great wrestler,” St. Marie said of Monson.
Kamiak had two winners: Colton Kusilek (119) and Collin Munoz (171). In one of the most intense finishes of the day, Kusilek scored a two-point takedown with about 2 seconds to go and won a 6-5 decision over Lake Stevens’ Jack Stilwell, a state runnerup last season.
“It’s huge,” Kusilek said. “But it’s just the first step. Now we have regionals.”
In the 152-pound final, Monroe’s Jake Murray battled a familiar opponent. He squared off against Mariner’s Daniel Link for the third time this season.
“He pretty much knew exactly what I was doing,” said Murray, who hung on for a 4-3 decision and improved his record to 27-3.
Cascade brothers Andy and Lex Duncan both qualified for the regional tourney at 130 pounds. After going 3-0 Friday, Andy, a senior, went 1-2 Saturday and placed fourth. Lex, a freshman who forfeited to Andy in the quarterfinals, finished fifth.
At Marysville-Pilchuck H.S.
Final team scores
1. Lake Stevens 472.5, 2. Snohomish 345, 3. Kamiak 233, 4. Mariner 209, 5. Stanwood 167, 6. Marysville-Pilchuck 164, 7. Edmonds-Woodway 163.5, 8. Oak Harbor 158.5, 9. Monroe 102, 10. Shorewood 91.5, 11. Jackson 89.5, 12. Cascade 85, 13. Mountlake Terrace 37.
Regional tourney qualifiers
Top-five placers in each weight division qualify for the regional tourney Feb. 9 at Skyview High in Vancouver. Sixth-place finishers will wrestle a winner-to-regional, loser-out match against third-place finishers from District 4.
Championship matches
103-Heinzer (LS) dec. Martinez (OH) 5-0; 112-Zweifel (LS) pinned Donaldson (M-P); 119-Kusilek (K) dec. Stilwell (LS) 6-5; 125-Ottow (Sno) dec. S. Anderson (LS) 8-2; 130-Austin (LS) dec. Alewine (LS) 6-3; 135-St. Marie (Sno) dec. Monson (LS) 11-9; 140-B. Perry (Sno) dec. Eacrett (LS) 8-5; 145-King (LS) pinned Regan (K); 152-Murray (Mon) dec. Link (Mar) 4-3; 160-Reed (Sno) dec. Welch (LS) 4-1; 171-Munoz (K) dec. Colin (Stan) 8-4; 189-Hester (Shore) dec. Elliot (OH) 10-8; 215-Caraballo (Sno) dec. Britton (Sno) 10-8; 285-Pfeiff (M-P) dec. Reinhard (Sno) 6-4.
Third/fourth-place matches
103-Rodrigo (LS) pinned Hutchinson (E-W); 112-Duran (Stan) dec. Zimmerman (OH) 8-5; 119-Mead (J) dec. Bascom (Stan) 9-8; 125-Tiongco (Mar) dec. Kinsman (Stan) 7-1; 130-L. Perry (Sno) dec. A. Duncan (C) 6-2; 135-Pellegrini (LS) dec. Jacobson (K) 9-3; 140-J. Anderson (LS) dec. Tuttle (OH) 9-4; 145-Garcia (Sno) dec. Souza (LS) 6-4; 152-Jensen (Shore) pinned Emmel (LS); 160-Vazquez (Mon) dec. Mahn (LS) 6-0; 171-R. Coffman (Mar) pinned Reilly (OH); 189-Johanson (E-W) pinned Kenagy (Mon); 215-Hillis (M-P) injury default over Kroshko (Mar); 285-Teuber (LS) pinned Brill (Sno).
Fifth/sixth-place matches
103-Vulliet (E-W) dec. Bratz (Sno) 8-4; 112-Kalmey (Sno) dec. Reeves (LS) 11-5; 119-Cardwell (OH) dec. VanWyhe (Sno) 2-0; 125-Salazar (K) pinned Deweese (E-W); 130-L. Duncan (C) dec. Semple (K) 10-5; 135-Alfi (E-W) dec. Fina (Stan) 3-1; 140-Bush (Mar) dec. Dabling (MT) 10-3; 145-Yee (Mar) dec. Barquist (Stan) 8-0; 152-Klein (M-P) major dec. Asefaw (E-W) 13-4; 160-Do (Mar) pinned Ahmad (C); 171-Bittinger (J) pinned Murphy (E-W); 189-Kopet (Sno) pinned Brown (LS); 215-Nigg (K) pinned Marson (K); 285-St. Marie (J) dec. Ratuniyauravu (Mar) 4-1.
Writer Mike Cane: mcane@heraldnet.com. Check out the prep sports blog Double Team at www.heraldnet.com/doubleteam.
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