Four Jackson High School wrestlers advanced to this weekend’s regional tournaments.
The Wolfpack was led by Jared Mead, who finished third in the 119-pound division at the Class 4A Northwest District tournament Feb. 2 at Marysville-Pilchuck High School.
Mead slipped past Richard Bascom of Stanwood 9-8.
“Today I came in weary and kind of scared,” Mead said. “I wrestled tough this tournament … I’m happy with it.”
“At regionals it’s going to be tough,” he added. “I’m going to improve a lot going into regionals. I’m excited.”
The third-fourth place match was back and forth, said Jackson head coach Gustavo Anaya.
“It came down to the wire,” he said. “Jared was able to keep his composure and score a reversal with about 10 seconds left.”
Mead had a first round bye and then scored a 20-5 decision in the quarterfinal. He lost 7-0 in the semifinals before rebounding with a pin, and 8-3 and 10-7 decisions en route to a third place finish.
“He was disappointed about his loss,” Anaya said. “He’s ready to make some adjustments in practice to try and correct any errors when he lost to the kid from Oak Harbor.
Senior Myles Bittinger (171) and sophomore Timothy St. Marie (heavyweight) also advanced to this weekend’s regional tournament with their fifth place finishes.
St. Marie, who has a 3.9 GPA, has surpassed expectations, Anaya said. “As a coach, I’m pretty excited to have him the next two years.”
Bittinger faces a significant challenge as the district’s No. 5 seed, but “he made the first step getting to regionals,” Anaya said. “Hopefully, we’re going to try and get him on to state. It’s a rough road, but it’s something he’s capable of.”
Junior Conner Martin is an alternate at 131.
“Out of all the kids participating, all of them return except Myles,” Anaya said. “It looks promising for next year.” Senior Danika Shaffer took third place at 103 in the girls tournament.
The boys regional tournament starts at 10 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 9 at Skyview High School in Vancouver. The girls regional tournament is at Arlington High School.
Enterprise reporter Tony Dondero contributed to this story.
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