Wrestling: Wolves sending 11 to regionals
Published 3:54 pm Tuesday, February 9, 2016
Another pack of Wolves is set for the regional tournament this weekend.
In all, 11 Sequim wrestlers will compete in boys and girls tournaments on Feb. 13 for a berth at the 2016 Mat Classic State Championship in the Tacoma Dome.
Sequim’s Kiara Pierson was the lone local champion on the weekend at sub-regionals taking the 115-pound bracket at Decatur High School in Federal Way.
She and the girls team took fourth on Feb. 6 with 79 points while the boys placed fourth at North Kitsap High School with 171 points behind Olympic in first (344) and Port Angeles second (228).
Of the 11 Sequim finalists, four girls advance to the regional tournament on Feb. 13 in Yelm.
Sequim’s Pierson opened sub-regionals with two opening bye rounds followed by a pin of Marissa Covarrubius of North Mason in 1:09 and a pin of Port Townsend’s Ally Bradley in 14 seconds.
Kiara Pierson moves Port Townsend’s Ally Bradley into position for a first round pin in Sequim in January. Pierson pinned Bradley at the girls sub-regionals tournament in the finals to advance to regionals this weekend.
Both Aylee Bennett (135) and Alma Mendoza (140) took second in their brackets.
Bennett opened with a bye and two wins, 5-2 over Aeiraya Bradley of Todd Beamer High and pinning Edith Garcia of Federal Way in 5:14 before losing 6-0 to Sara Mozeleski of Kentwood in the finals.
As she predicted, Mendoza faced her rival Chloe Rogers of Port Townsend in the finals. Mendoza opened with two bye matches and a 6-1 over Anna Watson of Kentwood before losing 8-2 to Rogers.
Sequim’s Abigail Hansted (145) is the fourth girl to advance to districts with a fourth-place finish. She opened with a bye match and a pin over Alexis Tangen of Kingston in 2:36, but she was pinned by Joella Vi of Kentridge in 3:36. In the consolation, she won her next match 11-7 over Leslie Espinoza of Olympic but was pinned in 4:52 by Elizabeth Bibb of Evergreen in the third/fourth match.
Freshman Madison Uranga took sixth place and an alternate spot to regionals at 190 pounds with one pin on the day.
Big numbers
The boys will send seven wrestlers and two alternates to regionals in Bremerton on Feb. 13.
At sub-regionals, four wrestlers finished second with Olympic’s Jayden Fernandez defeating Grant Pierson (138) 12-4 in the finals, Logan Madison of Olympic pinning Kevyn Ward (160) in 1:06, Evan Gallaci of Port Angeles winning 14-5 in a major decision over Adrian Klarich (182) and Chayse Becar of Olympic pinning Michael Latimer (220) in 2:33
Sequim’s head coach Charles Drabek said Grant Pierson’s effort stood out to him the most at the tournament.
“He defeated (PA’s) Morgan Mower (ranked seventh in 2A) 4-3 in the semi-finals to advance to the finals,” he said. “I believe he can beat Fernandez of Olympic next time they meet but has to change his approach.”
Other Sequim placers include Craig Baker (132) taking third with a pin of Diyamante Hall of Bremerton in 28 seconds, and Ben Newell (126) and McKenzie Stockdale (280) placing fourth.
Drabek said Baker wrestled well and despite a loss in the semifinals, “he came back and finished strong to garner a third place in convincing fashion.”
Sequim’s boy alternates include Dalton Brown (106) and Jamie Schroepfer (120) taking fifth place.
Drabek said he was encouraged by underclassmen like Chris Puksta (132) and Hayden Gresli (145) who took sixth at sub-regionals and “bodes well for the future.”
“We finished (the tournament) up about where we did in the regular season, in the middle of the pack, but we look to be on the upswing which is encouraging for kids and coaches as well,” he said.
At the tournament, Drabek also was named “Coach of the Year” for the Olympic League, which he said meant a lot to him.
“I think it’s more of a reflection of what we as a team have accomplished in improving, competing and striving to get better rather then what I have personally done,” he said.
