E-W claims five titles at Edmonds Invite

EDMONDS — The finals belonged to the Edmonds-Woodway wrestling team, but even five individual titles weren’t enough to overcome Monroe’s overall depth in last weekend’s 33rd Edmonds District Invitational.

The Bearcats snared the first-place trophy in spite of the Warriors’ impressive showing at the seven-team competition Jan. 7 at Edmonds-Woodway High School.

The Warriors advanced six individuals to Saturday’s championships round and five of them won their matches.

“I was very pleased with the overall performance of the team,” said Edmonds-Woodway coach Mike Hanchett. “I thought that they did a great job and to put six kids in the finals for this tournament was a nice accomplishment.”

Senior Jeremy Pautler kept his unbeaten record intact with a 9-4 decision over Mountlake Terrace’s Kody Cundy in the 152-pound finals.

At last year’s regional tournament Cundy edged Pautler by one point, so the Edmonds-Woodway senior was eager for the rematch.

“I felt that I wrestled the best that I’ve wrestled all year,” Pautler said. “I felt really good about that match … He’s a tough opponent. I’m probably going to see him again this year.”

Pautler has become a more aggressive wrestler this season. He recorded a pin in his first round match and then a 15-9 decision in the semifinals.

“I’ve been working a lot on my attack,” he said. “I used to be real passive. I used to let the other guy make the first move. That was the biggest flaw in my wrestling. This year I’ve been taking it to guys knowing that I’ve got to go out there and I’ve got to take it to them. I’ve got to go 100 percent through all three rounds. That’s what I did. I went hard.”

Teammate Riley Stannard recorded two quick pins, including a 12-second fall in the championship match, to win the four-individual heavyweight weight class.

Hanchett was impressed by Stannard’s pin over Monroe’s Kevin Crowley in the finals.

“He (Stannard) hit him with a beautiful throw,” Hanchett said. “When you are able to execute that kind of a move on someone that big, that’s pretty commendable.”

Stannard improved to 12-2 for the season. The Edmonds-Woodway standout is enjoying his senior season.

“I have had a lot of fun this year,” he said. “That’s really important. It makes it a lot easier to go out there and work hard.”

The main area Stannard is looking to improve are his moves when he’s on his feet and his takedowns.

He has set his sights high.

“My ultimate goal is a state championship,” Stannard said. “To set the bar any lower for myself would be kind of like denying myself something … I try and take every match seriously and try and focus on it as if it were a championship match and give it my all. Every time I build myself up for every match.”

Other Edmonds-Woodway winners included Matthew Toma (130), Bradley Alfi (135) and David Alfi (140).

“A lot of our young guys have wrestled since they were freshmen,” Stannard said. “(They) have quite a bit of varsity experience. It’s good to see they’re starting to step up. I’m excited for the team in the future. In the years to come they’re going to be a lot tougher than they have been.”

Freshman Sandy Nguyen took second place at 103, a first for a female wrestler at the Edmonds Invitational. Nguyen had a first-round bye and then edged Monroe’s Kale Saether 14-12 to advance to the finals. Franklin Pierce’s Milo Jimenze pinned Nguyen at the 2:49 mark.

“As far as we know she is the first in the history of this tournament, the first female to ever place in the tournament,” Hanchett said.

Though this is the first year Nguyen has wrestled for Edmonds-Woodway, she has two years of middle school experience.

“I was very pleased with the guys. I was ultra-pleased with the effort that Sandy made getting into the finals,” Hanchett said. “I thought that was outstanding.”

Monroe took first place in the team competition with 200.5 points and was followed by Franklin Pierce (178) and Edmonds-Woodway (174). The Bearcats scored points in 11 of the 14 weight classes.

Mountlake Terrace (136), Meadowdale (131) and Lynnwood (98.5) rounded out the top six.

Mountlake Terrace’s Casey Finnicum was named the top wrestler for the 145- to 275-pound weight classes. Finnicum won the 160-pound division with three straight pins and improved to 21-2 overall.

“I’m right where I want to be,” said Finnicum, who placed sixth at last year’s Class 4A state tournament. “I’ve lost a couple, but I’d rather lose them now than at the end of the season.”

Monroe’s Sam Otto (112) was named the top wrestler for the 103- to 140-pound weight classes. Monroe’s Sam Kenagy (189) was the recipient of the Mike Hess Memorial Sportsmanship Award, which was voted on by the officials and coaches.

“There are some things we’ll work with him (Finnicum), but for the most part he’s on track,” Mountlake Terrace coach Kanoe Vierra said.

Mountlake Terrace’s Josh Carey scored a pin over Meadowdale’s Wes Garton at the 2:31 mark in the 215-pound finals. Carey recorded consecutive pins to move into the championship round.

“Josh Carey had a real good tournament,” Vierra said. “The last two tournaments have been pretty good. I’m really happy with what he’s doing.”

The big surprise for the Hawks was the 119-pound title won by Jon Floresca. Vierra looked at the bracket and thought it was one of the tougher ones at the tournament. Floresca defeated Meadowdale’s Nate Perrin 6-1.

Floresca scored most of his points via takedowns.

“Throughout the whole tournament our whole team has been taking people down really well,” Floresca said. “That’s what has been making the difference for us. I wrestled really well (in the tournament). I wrestled a tough, smart match. My opponent did a good job.”

Vierra was pleased with his team’s third-place finish, as the Hawks had some individuals score some unexpected points.

Zach King (112) and Jace Holmlund (189) each took fifth place in their respective divisions.

“The kids wrestled a lot better than they have in some of the tournaments,” Vierra said. “Most of our tournaments, we’ve had maybe five or six guys that really scored some points. But today we had two other younger guys (King and Holmlund) that came out and worked hard to try and either get points or major decisions. They worked hard to get some points.”

Meadowdale’s Travis Cramer won his first-ever tournament title in the 189-pound division with a pin over Kenagy at the 1:06 mark. Cramer also had pins in his two other matches.

“He wrestled really solid,” said Meadowdale coach Brian Boardman. “As a team captain he’s doing a good job leading.”

Teammate Kyle Daeley took second place at 135. It was Daeley’s first time in the championship round.

Lynnwood’s lone winner was 125-pound Jordan Williams, who had three straight pins, including a 1:04 fall in the finals.

Royals coach Carl Wilkins noted that Williams’ offseason work definitely make a difference.

“He comes in with quite a few more matches than a lot of our kids, which is good,” Wilkins said. “That’s exactly what this sport calls for. You’ve got to have the dedication to work hard, but you’ve also got to put your time in and he’s doing that and it shows. Staying motivated to wrestle in the spring and summer helps a lot.”