On to state.
Shorewood senior Matt Jensen took second at regionals at 152 pounds to earn his first trip to the state 4A wrestling tournament, Mat Classic XX.
“It was a great surprise,” Shorewood coach Arnie Moreno said. “Although it’s nothing that surprised me personally. I’ve always felt Matt had it in him.”
Jensen will face Corey Montgomery of Lake Washington at 11:50 a.m. today, Friday, Feb. 15 in the first round of the Mat Classic.
After pinning Tom Roller of Mountain View in the first round, Jensen beat Jake Murray of Monroe 5-2 in the semifinals. Murray, the District 1 champion, was ranked No. 4 in 4A by Washington Wrestling Report.
“Matt had that match under control the whole time,” Moreno said. “He didn’t make a mistake. He wrestled almost a perfect match.”
In the regional final Daniel Link of Mariner who handed Jensen his only two losses this season, beat him again, 6-3.
“He’s getting closer to Link,” Moreno said. “It came down to one move (a head and arm) that Link is extremely good at. Link catches everyone with that.”
Jensen’s senior teammate Tim Hester, the No. 1 ranked wrestler at 189 pounds, was upset in the semifinals by David Gay of Mountain View, 5-2. Gay ended up taking second, losing to Eric Ramsey of Skyview in the final. Gay is ranked ninth and Ramsey, eighth in 4A.
Gay, a wrestler Hester had faced in freestyle before, countered a move by Hester in the first round and got a takedown. With Hester trying to put on a move, Gay got an escape to go up 3-0. Hester scored a couple escapes but while desperately trying to a put together a move at the end, Gay scored a takedown to finish off the match.
“As good as Tim is, he’s human. He made a mistake in one match and it cost him,” Moreno said. “I feel he’s still the favorite going into the tournament.”
Hester bounced back in the consolation round to beat Sam Kenagy of Monroe 11-2.
In the third-place match, Hester came back to pin Rudy Johanson of Edmonds-Woodway in the third round.
“The last match was really tough one with Johanson,” Moreno said. “I thought he bounced back really well.”
Hester will face Jordan Krich of Inglemoor at 12:30 p.m. in the first round.
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