Day one is winding down here. The 4A guys are finished, and here are the top 10 in the team standings.
1. Lake Stevens 83
2. Moses Lake 51
3. Rogers (Puyallup) 46.5
4. Auburn 42
5. Snohomish 40.5
6. Heritage 37
7. Tahoma 35
8. University 33
9. Graham-Kapowsin 32.5
10. Kentwood 30.5
Clearly, Lake Stevens has a commanding lead. The Vikings seem well on their way to winning their third consecutive team state championship and their seventh since 1990.
Returning individual champions Josh Heinzer (112) and George King (152) were flat-out beasts for Lake Stevens. They combined for four first-round pins in four matches that lasted a total of just 2 minutes, 55 seconds.
Our photographer Jennifer Buchanan said it’s difficult to get good pictures of the talented Lake Stevens teammates because they win so quickly.
I apologize if you think I’m focusing too much on the 4A tourney. That’s the one I’m covering. One of our other writers, Rich Myhre, is covering the other boys tournaments and the girls tourney.
Rich said he’s been impressed by our local girls. He also mentioned that two Everett boys advanced to the 3A semifinals: juniors Danny Lopez (171 pounds) and Alec Bird (215).
Everett is 11th in the 3A team standings with 30 points. Here are the top 10 3A teams.
1. Enumclaw 85
2. Yelm 70
3. East Valley (Spokane) 66.5
T-4. Bonney Lake 41
T-4. Sedro-Wooley 41
6. Union 39.5
7. Sunnyside 38.5
8. North Central 36.5
9. Auburn Mountainview 34.5
10. Ferndale 34
*****
Coach Brent Barnes has unbelievably high standards, which explains why his Lake Stevens wrestling team has won six state team titles since 1990.
But today the Vikings are performing so well, they’re actually going beyond what Barnes thought was possible. “We’re having a great round — seven in the semis,” said Barnes, referring to the seven Lake Stevens competitors who won their first two matches today and advanced to tomorrow’s 4A semifinals.
The biggest surprise in the group is Jake Welch, who upset a top-seeded foe in the 160-pound quarterfinals. Welch pulled off a 12-7 victory against Tyler Story of Graham-Kapowsin, who last weekend won the Region 2 title and in 2008 was a state runnerup.
Welch, the Region 1 No. 3 seed, lost against Story earlier this season, Barnes said. But in the rematch the Lake Stevens senior was aggressive and prevailed, setting off a huge celebration among Barnes and other Vikings coaches.
“That was huge,” Barnes said.
Lots of wrestlers from other schools also reached the semifinals, including Sam Ottow (130 pounds) and Stefan St. Marie (135) of Snohomish. They had two pins apiece. Micah Morrill (160) made it to the round of four too.
Two Edmonds-Woodway wrestlers are in the semis: sophomore Andrew Vulliet (103 pounds) and senior Rudy Johanson (189). In his first match Johanson, a three-time Washington state qualifier, dominated Skyline’s Anthony DeMatteo in a 17-2 technical fall. Last year DeMatteo placed third in 3A.
In the girls tourney, five local wrestlers are through to the semis: Lake Stevens’ JoMae Alewine (103 pounds), Monroe’s Julia Perry (125), Lakewood teammates Keely Caldwell (130) and Christina Ordonez (152) and Oak Harbor’s Christina Alter (160). Alewine, Caldwell and Ordonez have combined for six pins.
Once again, for detailed bracket updates go to the WIAA Mat Classic Web page.
*****
It was a good opening session for Wesco teams.
After the completion of all the first-round matches, top-ranked Lake Stevens leads all 4A teams with 30 points. Moses Lake is second with 22.5. Second-ranked Snohomish, with 14 points, is tied for sixth.
Five Lake Stevens wrestlers earned pins: Ryan Rodorigo (103 pounds), Josh Heinzer (112), Jack Stilwell (119), Steven Walkley (130) and George King (152). Heinzer and King were particularly impressive, getting pins in just 24 seconds and 32 seconds, respectively.
A trio of Snohomish wrestlers got pins: Sam Ottow (130 pounds), Stefan St. Marie (135) and Micah Morrill (152).
Everything fires up again at 4 p.m., when the quarterfinal round begins with the 103-pounders.
Check out the brackets in the boys tournaments and the girls tournament by going to the WIAA Mat Classic Web page. The page is supposed to be regularly updated throughout the weekend.
*****
The Tacoma Dome is already buzzing as fans shout words of encouragement to their favorite grapplers here at the 2009 Mat Classic state wrestling championships.
This is a huge two-day event: nearly 1,200 student-athletes are competing and they come from every classification (4A, 3A, 2A, 1A and 2B/1B boys, and girls). Right now there are matches on 24 different mats, spread out in six giant squares throughout the Dome floor.
Check back here for updates throughout the day.
Lake Stevens is the heavy favorite in the 4A tournament, so I’ll spend plenty of time keeping track of the 13 Vikings wrestling here.
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