LAKE STEVENS — Brent Barnes and the Lake Stevens wrestling team are hoping December defeats will turn into February victories as the seven underclassmen in the Vikings’ lineup learn and improve.
The Vikings saw a bit of that growth — along with the typical brilliance of their established stars — in a 40-33 defeat at the hands of visiting Tahoma on Thursday night in a raucous home dual meet.
“We’re trying to get better every time we step on the mat,” Barnes said. “It’s important to get our young guys exposure in these types of matches, and Tahoma is a really good team.”
Lake Stevens’ seven underclassmen went 2-5 against the Bears, but the two victories nearly bookended a Viking comeback.
The match started at 106 pounds, and the Bears took a 7-0 lead after the first two bouts, as Lake Stevens sophomore Jake Bennett and freshman Riley Headland suffered defeats via decision and major decision, respectively.
The match was in real danger of getting away from Lake Stevens early, but freshman Kyle LeCoursiere gave the Vikings a huge jolt — and electrified the crowd — with a third-period pin of Tahoma’s Joe Novak at 120 pounds to make the score 7-6.
LeCoursiere tried to catch Novak in a cradle throughout the match, finally nailing it with just 21 seconds remaining.
“It was pretty impressive for a freshman in that environment,” Barnes said. “It helps that Kyle is really strong and has a big gas tank.”
LeCoursiere, whose older brother Cody lost his match at 138 pounds on Thursday against returning third-place state finisher Justin Sipila, will have a lasting memory of his first home match in a Viking singlet.
“It’s just all excitement right now. I’m trying to not let my adrenaline get too high,” LeCoursiere said. “Being under the light for the first time was awesome, and it meant a lot to the team at the time. Nobody expects a freshman to pin a junior like that.”
Certainly not Tahoma coach Chris Feist, who shuffled his lineup starting with Sipila’s spot in hopes of recouping the points lost at 120.
Instead of the titillating matchup of Sipila and Lake Stevens returning state finalist Jake Douglas at 145, Feist sent Sipila, who lost to Lake Stevens’ Alex Rodorigo in the state semifinals last season, out at 138.
“We had a couple of scenarios ready depending on how they bumped people and moved people around,” Feist said.
Feist’s moves didn’t pay immediate dividends as the Vikings ran off a string of five consecutive victories — four via pinfall — to take a 33-22 lead with three bouts remaining.
It was the core four of the Vikings lineup that, to nobody’s surprise, led the comeback.
Douglas turned one catastrophic mistake by Tahoma’s Ryden Fu into a pin at 145. After doing a full roll along the edge of the mat to avoid a precarious situation himself in the early going, Douglas caught Fu’s leg and held it in the air for a good 15 seconds.
While Fu displayed remarkable balance and flexibility in staying upright while balancing on one foot for that long, Douglas waited him out in the center of the mat.
“He tried to flip out of it and I caught him on his back,” Douglas said. “A lot of it was just being patient and waiting for him to make a mistake.”
Trysten Perales powered past Max Rappen at 152 for a fall at 3:03, and after Angelo Loera ground out a 6-4 decision at 160, three-time state champion Michael Soler, wrestling at home for the first time in what could be an epic senior campaign, put on a show.
Up to 170 pounds after winning state titles at 106, 113 and 132, Soler toyed with Tahoma’s Gage Dress-Moran, taking him down and cutting him three times in the first minute of the first period before recording the pin at 1:36.
It was a startling display of physicality from an athlete who had made his living as a savvy, finesse wrestler up until this season.
“I was feeling pretty good being in front of the home crowd, and I just wanted to go out there and dominate someone,” Soler said. “I knew I had to pin him, so I couldn’t mess around too long.”
Sophomore Malachi Lawrence also recorded a quick pinfall to leave an 11-point lead to the inexperienced trio of Mitch Firth, Ryne Pearson and Seth Reyna at the bottom of the lineup.
They couldn’t hold it.
All three were pinned in the first period to swing the match back in Tahoma’s favor, but the hope is that the experience gained Thursday night will be paid back with interest in February.
“It’s a great building period for our team,” Douglas said. “We’re building morale and seeing what mistakes we’re making so we can fix them as a team.”
At Lake Stevens H.S.
106—Austin Michalski (T) dec. Jake Bennett 7-3; 113—Izzy Murietta (T) maj. dec. Riley Headland 13-4; 120—Kyle LeCoursiere (LS) pinned Joe Novak 5:39; 126—Cameron Hansen (T) dec. Gino Loera 7-2; 132—Nick Whitehead (T) pinned Talon Tate 1:09; 138—Justin Sipila (T) pinned Cody LeCoursiere 3:37; 145—Jake Douglas (LS) pinned Ryden Fu 3:11; 152—Trysten Perales (LS) pinned Max Rappen 3:03; 160—Angelo Loera (LS) dec. Steven Reive 6-4; 170—Michael Soler (LS) pinned Gage Dress-Moran 1:36; 182—Malachi Lawrence (LS) pinned Colten Douglas :34; 195—Dagen Kramer (T) pinned Mitch Firth :18; 220—Mike Clausen (T) pinned Ryne Pearson :38; 285—Nic Carbone (T) pinned Seth Reyna 1:18.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
