A depleted Sequim squad saw a couple of shining efforts out of their wrestling squad last week, particularly from Murray Bingham.

The Wolves earned two wins in a 72-9 defeat at Olympic on Jan. 10 after illnesses and grade eligibility issues reduced the roster to less than a half-dozen athletes.

Bingham, wrestling at 170 pounds, edged Trojan Robert Virgil by a 6-4 count.

Teammate Zach Koch pinned Hayden Thompson in 38 seconds at 138 pounds. Also competing were Sequim’s Jakob Pyeatt (138 pounds) and Logan Laxson (182) but both were pinned.

In JV action, Sequim’s Petra Bernsten picked up a pin in the 145-pound weight class.

On Jan. 12, Bingham wrestled his way to a third place finish at the Bainbridge Invitational.

Bingham opened with a 12-2 decision over Jassiah Smith of North Kitsap. He lost his second match 8-6 to Riley Gale of Port Angeles on a reversal in the final two seconds. Bingham rebounded with a pin of Bainbridge’s Charles Van Horn in the second period, then won a rematch with NK’s Smith (by pin) to place third.

Koch also competed at the Bainbridge invite, winning one of three matches — a pin of Bainbridge’s Clayton Marsh — before dropping his next two matches. Koch was competing at 1652 pounds, up one weight class from his usual 145 pounds.

Looking ahead

Sequim’s girls wrestlers are at North Mason (Belfair) on Jan. 16 while Sequim’s boys takes on rival Port Angeles at home on Jan. 17.

The Wolves’ girls travel to Lakes High School (Tacoma) for the Lipstick Open on Jan. 19.

The Wolves’s boys (0-3) are at Kingston on Jan. 23 and host North Kitsap on Jan. 24.

Select Sequim athletes compete at the KL Memorial Tournament at Klahowya (Silverdale) on Jan. 26.

The postseason begins Saturday, Feb. 2, with a sub-regional tourney at Port Angeles. Top wrestlers move on to the 2A regional tourney in Belfair on Feb. 9.