Local Wrestlers Secure Mat Classic Berths After District Tournaments
Meridian, Anacortes and Sedro-Woolley girls, and Blaine boys, all won district championships, and dozens of local wrestlers earned Mat Classic berths during their respective district tournaments Feb. 6 and 7 at various locations. Mat Classic XXXVII will be held Feb. 19–21 at the Tacoma Dome.
Girls 1B/2B/1A
The smaller schools competed at Squalicum High on Feb. 7, with the top two wrestlers in each weight class qualifying for state. Meridian won the meet with 174.5 points and six individual champions. Mount Baker was second with 145.5 points and five champions, and Blaine was third with 139 points.
Mount Baker’s Emily Moa was the first wrestler to qualify, placing second in the 100-pound division. Meridian’s Simran Mander defeated Kiera O’Reilly 6-3 in the championship bout at 105 pounds. The 110-pound title match saw Mount Baker’s Arabella Rozeboom defeat Kamber Schroeder 24-16.
Mount Baker’s Karalyn Cook pinned her first opponent before taking a forfeit victory over her teammate Elliott Koenig in the 115-pound finals. Koenig defeated Blaine’s Taryn Hockstedler for the second state berth. Meridian’s Priya Sangha defeated Blaine’s Lyah Sandell 11-0 for the 120-pound championship. Kelly Camacho went 2-0 at 125 pounds, including a 5-1 win over Blaine’s Gurnoor Gill in the title round.
Sophia Ferrell and Abby Gonzalez were the only wrestlers in the 130 and 135 divisions. At 140, Mount Baker’s Alina Romanyuk toppled Meridian’s Andrea Cruz 6-3 for first place. Mountaineers’ Stefany Camacho pinned Meridian’s Josephine Sipress at 145 pounds. Meridian’s Tavia Alexander earned a forfeit victory over her teammate Jessica Mendez Ortiz in the 155-pound finals.
At 170 pounds, Meridian’s Aspen Williams pinned Blaine’s Ella Jo Klander. Meridian’s Gretchen Zandstra was the lone wrestler at 190 pounds. At 235 pounds, Mina Azzam pinned Blaine’s Jasmine Delo Santos.
Girls 2A
The top four girls who competed in each weight class at Squalicum High earned a berth to Mat Classic. Anacortes won with 234 points, Bellingham placed third with 127, Lynden was fourth (101), and Sehome seventh (68).
At 100 pounds, Sehome’s Amira Patrick placed second, and Squalicum’s Faith White placed fourth. Bellingham’s Jacqueline Carrillo Garcia pinned her teammate Kimberly Owings for the 105-pound title. Anacortes’ Shannon Brooke finished third. At 110 pounds, Squalicum’s Fiona George pinned her opponent for the title, and Lynden’s Elisbeth Tellez finished third.
Sehome’s Charlie Eggert pinned Anacortes’ Jordan Simpson for the 115-pound championship. Squalicum’s Oli Port fell in the championship bout at 120 pounds, while Seahawks’ Hannah Lenander defeated Lynden’s Leslie White 14-0 for third. At 125 pounds, Anacortes’ Amelia Myers defeated Lynden’s Naretzi Nava Gonzalez 5-2 for the title. Lynden’s Ana Hernandez finished fourth.
Squalicum’s Claire Hume pinned her two opponents for the 130-pound title, and Anacortes’ Sierra Ferrell pinned Lynden’s Ila Gallegos for third. At 135 pounds, Seahawks’ Cora Myers pinned Madi Shafer. Bellingham’s Abigail Webb captured third. Bellingham’s Rain Farmer fell in the 140-pound finals. Anacortes’ Ella DeGraaf knocked off Bellingham’s Nybi Evans with a second-period pin at 145 pounds.
Bellingham’s Willa Macaleer pinned Anacortes’ Maliyah Sandre for the 155-pound title. At 170 pounds, Sehome’s Brooklyn Slavens pinned Anacortes’ Abigail Green. Lynden’s Jacalyn Bartlett pinned her opponent for third place. Burlington-Edison’s Angel Matturo won the 190-pound title by pinfall, and Anacortes’ Kaycie Knight finished third. Anacortes’ Hailey Rains pinned Bellingham’s Ali Tenbrink at 235 pounds.
Girls 3A
Ferndale, Mount Vernon and Sedro-Woolley girls wrestled at Stanwood High, and the top nine qualified for state. The Cubs won with 388 points and four champions; Ferndale was seventh with 162.5 and Mount Vernon eighth with 149.5.
At 100 pounds, Sedro-Woolley’s Aria Wing lost in the finals. Ferndale’s Natalie Brood also placed fifth. At 105 pounds, Sedro-Woolley’s Isabelle Goedl won, and Hanna Weide placed fifth. At 110 pounds, Sedro-Woolley’s Hailey Richmond earned a title. Kiley Vess finished fourth. At 115 pounds, Sedro-Woolley’s Lyla Self lost in the championship match and Keilyn Taylor placed sixth.
Mount Vernon’s Cassidy Halgren qualified at 120 pounds. Sedro-Woolley had a pair of wrestlers earn state berths at 125 pounds: Sydee Bryson placed fifth and Nalaiah Kraft was eighth. At 130 pounds, Sedro-Woolley’s Natalie Janicki pinned three opponents for first place, Ferndale’s Rebekah Andres claimed third, Mount Vernon’s Jaylene Kurtz-Rios defeated Sedro-Woolley’s Kaysha Hartle for fifth place and Mount Vernon’s Alexandra Delgadillo-Pena finished ninth.
At 135 pounds, Ferndale’s Sylvie Volker placed eighth. At 140 pounds, Sedro-Woolley’s Micayla Yates defeated Ferndale’s Chloe Gandy 7-0. Mount Vernon’s Rianna Gonzales placed third, Ferndale’s Kennedy Medley finished fifth and Mount Vernon’s Zoe Brocksmith was eighth. At 145 pounds, Ferndale’s Evelyn Nogales placed fourth and Mount Vernon’s Crystal Ruiz placed sixth.
Sedro-Woolley’s Marisol Gonzalez Bazante placed third at 155 pounds and Alondra Plascencia Contreras finished seventh. At 170 pounds, Mount Vernon’s Camila Baltierra-Gomez placed eighth. Ryan Madsen pinned her way to third place at 190 pounds, and Ferndale’s Breawna Oxford and Claire Walker were fifth and sixth, respectively. Sedro-Woolley’s Koral Day was third at 235 pounds.
Boys 1A
Blaine won with 276 points and seven champions; Mount Baker placed second (198), Meridian came in third (159.5) and Nooksack Valley finished fourth (83).
Blaine’s Noxx Briner defeated Meridian’s Parker Larson by a 15-0 tech fall in the 106-pound finals. Blaine’s Joel Ramos was third. At 113 pounds, Blaine’s Christopher Zamudio pinned Nooksack Valley’s Gabriel Abarca-Castro for the title. Blaine’s Jesse Littlefield was third. Blaine’s Cole Voigt pinned Mount Baker’s Henry Brown at 120 pounds, while Meridian’s Rylan Lee was third. Blaine’s Vinnie Saia defeated Meridian’s Treyson Lewis-Kelley 19-9 at 126 pounds. Mount Baker’s Eli Knutzen earned third place.
Mount Baker’s Andrew Monteith outlasted Blaine’s Aidyn Hancock 9-5 for the 132-pound title. Blaine’s Cooper Chwalibog finished third. At 138 pounds, Blaine’s Matt Campion defeated Mount Baker’s Isaac DeKriek. Mount Baker’s James Cranbourne was third. At 144 pounds, Mount Baker’s Gavin Compton earned a 19-4 tech fall against Meridian’s Carson Siadal. Meridian’s Matthew Parsley was third.
Meridian’s Wyatt Leuenberger pinned Blaine’s Nik Morrow at 150 pounds and Mount Baker’s Cole Christensen was third. At 157 pounds, Mount Baker’s Henry Tobin defeated Meridian’s Ethan Valich 13-2. Meridian’s Makoy Arnold placed third. Mount Baker’s Joe Jordan pinned Blaine’s Saihou Kanagie at 165 pounds, while Meridian’s Vincent Truong earned third place. At 175 pounds, Blaine’s Rhys Milligan earned a 19-2 tech fall over Nooksack Valley’s Owyn Cunningham. Blaine’s King Romans was third.
At 215 pounds, Mount Baker’s Sylis Maple defeated Meridian’s Rhett Duersch 4-3. Blaine’s Gavin Zimmerlee was third. At 285, Blaine’s Samuel Green pinned Nooksack Valley’s Gabriel Snyders and Blaine’s Avery Hicks captured third.
Boys 2A
The Tomahawks won with 392 points; Anacortes was second with 251 and Burlington-Edison came in third with 212.
At 106 pounds, Anacortes’ Nash Kirby defeated Burlington-Edison’s Eden Maldonado. Bellingham’s Bryant Razo was third and Lynden’s Kellen Scott was fifth. At 113 pounds, Matthew Hall claimed first, Bellingham’s Simon Gonzalez-Mackay placed second, Anacortes’ Tyee Fankhauser was third and Bellingham’s Giovanni Jacob was fourth. At 126 pounds, Wyatt Paul pinned Lynden’s Eliseo Ortiz-Lopez for third place and Bellingham’s James Button was fifth. At 132 pounds, Lynden’s Aiden Rodriguez pinned his opponent. Anacortes’ Dallas Bates earned third.
Squalicum’s Brenden Ferrall-Garcia won the 138-pound title. Storm’s Garrett Stimson defeated Burlington-Edison’s Damon Lehman 9-2 for third place and Sehome’s Thomas Philbrick earned fifth. At 144 pounds, Lynden’s Miguel Lopez lost by tech fall in the finals and Grady VanDalen dropped the third-place match to Squalicum’s Thane Hinds. At 150 pounds, Anacortes’ Lucien Franacioch lost in the finals. Lynden’s Trigg Jorgensen defeated Burlington-Edison’s Eli Sanderson for third place and Lynden’s Ivan Garcia-Zapata finished fifth.
Sehome’s Colin McGiverin lost in the 157-pound finals. Squalicum’s Darrin Nielsen finished third, Sehome’s Hugo Lamkins was fourth and Burlington-Edison’s Brock Wardlaw finished fifth. Burlington-Edison’s Gunnar Williamson pinned Anacortes’ Miguel Maldonado at 165 pounds. Lynden’s Ryuu Robeson also placed fourth and Sehome’s Josh Friesen was fifth. At 175 pounds, Sehome’s Aiden Holmes defeated Burlington-Edison’s Jaeger Albright 9-1. Anacortes’ Drake Sommer placed third.
At 190 pounds, Anacortes’ James Rose captured third by forfeit over Sehome’s Holdin Bernard. At 285, Anacortes’ Kade West pinned Ayden O’Connell for first place. Squalicum’s Isaac Lowry was third and Lynden’s Eric Antonio was fifth.
Boys 3A
Snohomish won the North District title with 380 points. Sedro-Woolley was second (347.5) and Ferndale finished third (246.5). Mount Vernon placed fourth in the South District with 195.5 points.
Ferndale’s Miguel Nogales placed fifth at 113 pounds. Sedro-Woolley’s Brody Stroud placed fourth at 120 pounds. Ferndale’s Edward Reyes earned a tech fall for third place at 126 pounds. Ferndale’s Mason Filippini earned three first-period pins for first place at 138 pounds. Sedro-Woolley’s Caden Christy earned a forfeit victory in third. At 144 pounds, Sedro-Woolley’s Neri Linares placed third. At 150 pounds, Ferndale’s Spencer Hamilton placed third. Sedro-Woolley’s Logan Torset placed third at 175 pounds and Ferndale’s Ares Sosa-Pineda earned sixth.
At 190 pounds, Sedro-Woolley’s Carter Ekstein secured third place, Ferndale’s Orion Dixon was fourth. Ferndale’s Braden Arps won 6-5 in the 215-pound finals and Michael French won the third-place match. Mount Vernon’s Joseph Meyer earned a pin to capture fifth place at 126 pounds. Armani Grullon earned third place by a third-period pin at 132 pounds. Alexander Solano captured a 5-4 win for third place at 138 pounds. Anthony Rodriguez earned third place at 144 pounds. Axell Rebollar-Arteage placed fifth at 150. Joaquin Lucatero earned a second-period pin for third place at 157 pounds. Bryson Keller earned two pins and a tech fall for the trophy at 175 pounds. Jonathan Ortiz also got third place at 190 pounds.
