EDMONDS — Mountlake Terrace’s Ben Comeau was feeling pretty good after last week’s 31st annual Edmonds Invitational.

For the second straight year, the Hawk standout walked out of Edmonds-Woodway High School with a first-place finish in the 145-pound division.

“I really like this tournament. We came here last year and after winning … I would have liked to defend my title,” Comeau said. “I was glad to be able to do that.”

But what made Comeau smile even more was the surprising performance of Mountlake Terrace, which took second place in what is the longest continuous running wrestling tournament in Washington state Jan. 11.

Woodinville took first place in the eight-team tournament with 252 points. Mountlake Terrace was second with 204 and was followed by Lynnwood (158.5). Edmonds-Woodway (135) and Meadowdale (79.5) finished fifth and sixth, respectively.

“I knew we had a young team but I’m glad that we actually got some of those guys for third and fourth and first and second,” Comeau said. “It’s amazing. We had two people in at 152, which is pretty rare for us at least. So I was glad that we were able to clinch second place.”

After a first-round bye, Comeau pinned Woodinville’s Steve Vargas at the 59-second mark and then scored an 11-4 decision over Woodinville’s Brendan Dallas in the finals.

The season has not gone quite as Comeau has planned. Last season, he won 19 straight matches before suffering his first defeat. Comeau’s first loss came much earlier this season.

“I really liked having the experience of losing some (matches) because I realized this year that it’s not all about your record,” Comeau said. “It’s how you do at the end of the season. So I think those losses early on in the season will help me toward regionals and state.”

Teammate Joe Kim took first place at 152 with a pin at the 1:36 mark and four Hawks took second place — Tylor Gentry (103), Matt Spadola (135), Andrew Lindaas (152) and Jeremy Garton (160).

It was Gentry’s first appearance in a championship match, while Lindaas actually was Mountlake Terrace’s second entry in the weight class.

“Those two were really some surprises,” said Hawks coach Kanoe Vierra. “They’ve done well in individual matches but not in tournaments … we had a number of other JV guys that came back through and scored points for us as well.

“This is a good boost for us as a team.”

Meadowdale’s Micah Perrin also left the tournament in high spirits after a recording a pin over Gentry just over a minute into the 103 finals. A first-place medal had eluded the Maverick senior in his three previous appearances at the Edmonds Invitational.

“It’s a relief to get it out of my way,” Perrin said of his first-place finish.

Perrin’s lone loss this season was an injury default at the Lynnwood Classic in December. Perrin took a knee to the head and was taken to the hospital for 13 stitches.

Perrin pinned both of his opponents on his way to the Edmonds Invite title.

“I’m still searching for the ultimate competition,” he said.

In his first appearance at state last season, Perrin went 1-2. He’s hoping he won’t be quite as intimidated by the surroundings this time around.

“The Tacoma Dome is huge,” Perrin said. “I’m hoping that this year … knowing that I’ve been there before and maybe knowing the competition better and having that experience, I definitely think, will take me farther.”

Lynnwood’s Reese Cogdill and Edmonds-Woodway’s Joe Trieu, two wrestlers that are used to the Tacoma Dome and Mat Classic festivities, recorded relatively easy first-place triumphs.

Trieu defeated Woodinville Matt Johnson 19-6 in the 119 finals. The Edmonds-Woodway senior tweaked his elbow when his hand briefly got caught in Johnson’s singlet.

“I couldn’t get my hand out,” Trieu said. “It was in an awkward position.”

Trieu could have wrestled at 112 but he and Edmonds-Woodway coach Mike Hanchett decided it would be better for his to move up a weight class.

“He weighed in at 112 and wrestled at 119 primarily because he got better competition,” Hanchett said. “There’s better competition there than he would have had at the lower weights.”

Hanchett was pleased to see Chinwoo Park take second at 125 and Brian Alfi capture third at 161. Teammate Jon Fletcher also took third place at 171.

“I thought our team is coming along,” Hanchett said. “They did a good job, even the ones who lost … we’re pretty pleased with our overall performance.”

Cogdill recorded a pair of pins en route to the title, including one over Meadowdale’s Joe Mustard at the 5:03 mark in the 215 finals.

Other Lynnwood winners included Geoff LaGrandeur (125), Kyle Mingo (140) and Matt Suthern (189). Teammate Ryan Still took second place at 171.

“We had nine guys that were able to score and I think everybody did,” said Lynnwood coach Gustavo Anaya. “I couldn’t ask for anything more. We’re having a great season … we started out the season 1-4 and we’re in a what I believe is a five-match win streak. We’re 6-4 in duals.

“The kids are wrestling great and getting better.”

NOTES

BUSY WEEKEND: For five Edmonds School District wrestlers, last weekend was one of the busiest of the season. In addition to the Saturday’s Edmonds Invitational, the five were members of the Western Conference 4A all-star team that competed against the Japanese national team as part of the Washington State Cultural Exchange Program Friday night at Snohomish High School.

The five included Meadowdale’s Alex Blomgren, Mountlake Terrace’s Ben Comeau, Edmonds-Woodway’s Joe Trieu and Lynnwood’s Reese Cogdill and Ryan Still.

“They had a great time wrestling with the Japanese No. 1 team,” Lynnwood coach Gustova Anaya said of his team’s two participants. “They went out there and had fun. They were aggressive just like they are every day.”

HESS AWARD: Lynnwood heavyweight Mike Clawson was the recipient of the Mike Hess Memorial Sportsmanship award at the Edmonds Invitational. The coaches voted on the award, which is given in honor of the late Edmonds-Woodway coach.