Washington in title hunt after Day 1 at Cadet National Duals

Washington’s ‘A’ team won Pool B on Wednesday on the first day of Greco-Roman competition at the Cadet National Duals, and will compete for a national championship Thursday at the Spokane Convention Center.

Wrestling in their home state, Team Washington defeated Oregon Red 72-9, Wisconsin 52-30 in the pool semifinal and Iowa 57-19 in the final. Washington will be part of the Gold/Silver pool for Thursday’s second and final day of Greco-Roman action.

“We wrestled as good as we could have,” Washington State Wrestling Cadet director Mike Bundy said via phone Wednesday. “All of our kids battled from the starting whistle till the match ended.”

Stanwood High School sophomore Riley Van Scoy went 2-0 for Team Washington at 152 pounds, winning his bouts in the semifinal and final via technical fall. Cedarcrest High School freshman Matthew Weinert was the only other local wrestler to see action for the ‘A’ team, losing via pinfall at 170 pounds in the opening match against Oregon.

“Riley has wrestled enough on the national scene that he knows which weight he’s going to be most competitive at,” Bundy said of Van Scoy, who wrestled at 160 pounds for Stanwood during the high school season. “He put in on kids a couple of times today. He’s very seasoned in Greco and has a solid arsenal of weapons.”

Washington Blue, the state’s ‘B’ team in the competition rebounded from a semifinal loss to Pennsylvania to finish third in Pool D. Bundy said the bye Washington Blue received was a disadvantage.

“The ‘B’ team had a rough go, having to wrestle Pennsylvania cold,” he said. “But they came back to beat a No. 1 seed from North Carolina and California’s No. 1 team.”

The local wrestlers competing for Washington Blue included Monroe 113-pounder Cole Lance (2-0), Lakewood 120-pounder John Seth (1-1), Cavalero Mid-High School 126-pounder Wyatt Springer (2-1), Granite Falls 152-pounder Hayden Long (1-0), Marysville Pilchuck 170-pounder Cayden White (3-0), Darrington 195-pounder Johnny Franke (1-1).

Washington Blue will continue Thursday in a consolation bracket.

Bundy said everyone made it out of Day 1 healthy, and things have to stay that way for Washington to make a run at it’s first Cadet Dual championship.

“You need a lot of luck, and it’s about keeping our guys healthy and getting them mentally ready,” he said. “Our guys were energized today. Maybe it’s the home crowd atmosphere, but they really ate their Wheaties today.”