Team Washington to compete for freestyle crown at Cadet Duals

Unfazed by its heartbreaking loss in the title match in the Greco-Roman portion of the Cadet National Duals on Thursday, Team Washington stormed to four victories — exacting a little revenge along the way — in the freestyle competition Friday at the Spokane Convention Center.

Washington won all three of its duals in Pool B and advanced to the Gold/Silver championship bracket, where it met up with the team from Illinois that ended its run for a Greco championship the previous night in a 39-36 heartbreaker that was decided in the final bout.

The rematch with Illinois also came down to the last match, with Washington 182-pounder Isaiah Anderson needing only to avoid being pinned to clinch a win. Illinois’ Joshua LaBarbera beat Anderson in a 14-4 technical fall, but Washington escaped with the 38-37 victory.

“It was every bit as crazy as the Greco final,” said Mike Bundy, Washington State Wrestling’s Cadet director and a coach of the two teams the state fielded in the Duals. “We came ready to wrestle today.”

The ‘A’ team, comprised of the state’s top wrestlers born in 2002 and 2003, beat Utah 59-19, Minnesota Storm Blue 52-24 and Missouri 49-24 to claim a place in the championship bracket.

Four local wrestlers competed with the ‘A’ team on Friday, headlined by Darrington High School freshman Johnny Franke, who won three of his four bouts at 195 pounds.

Stanwood sophomore 152-pounder Riley Van Scoy and Marysville Pilchuck sophomore 170-pounder Cayden White each went 2-0, and Monroe freshman 113-pounder Cole Lance won his only bout of the day.

Washington’s ‘B’ team earned a first-round bye in Pool D, but fell to Oklahoma 64-12 in a semifinal match. The squad rebounded to pummel North Carolina Red 64-3 to finish fifth in the pool and advance to the Yellow Pool for consolation matches.

Washington B won all three of its consolation matches in Friday’s afternoon session to finish 17th out of 27 teams.

Local wrestlers competing on Washington B included Lakewood sophomore 120-pounder John Seth (2-1), Cavalero Mid-High School eighth-grader Wyatt Springer (1-2), Granite Falls freshman 152-pounder Hayden Long (2-2) and Cedarcrest freshman 182-pounder Matthew Weinert (1-1).