Sequim wrestling seems to have found its niche with one week left in the regular season.

Last week, the Wolves recorded big wins over Port Angeles and Port Townsend and they won Klahowya’s first Keigan Langholff Memorial tournament. With the wins, the Wolves overcame some significant slumps. The 42-33 win on Jan. 21 over PA was Sequim’s first over the Roughriders since Jan. 8, 2009.

Sequim head coach Charles Drabek said his son was a senior on the team at the time.

“It feels really good,” he said of the win. “The kids were excited and some of the kids like Kevyn (Ward) and Michael (Latimer) know the significance of it.”

In two previous seasons, PA defeated Sequim 81-0, 76-6, and 66-12 in duals.

Drabek said they “matched up really well and jumped out against them.”

“We got some pins from kids who stepped up,” he said.

For the Wolves, Dalton Brown (106 pounds) pinned Daniel Basden, Ben Newell (126) pinned Nate Harrelson, Kevyn Ward (160) pinned Caleb Joslin, Michael Latimer (220) pinned Bryce Johnson and McKenzie Stockdale (285) pinned Tevanui Freitas.

Sequim’s Grant Pierson (145) won 4-0 over Riley Gale and Adrian Klarich (182) won 8-1 over Blake Mann, too.

PA’s state-ranked wrestlers all won with Tyler Gale (No. 2 at 120 pounds) pinning Sequim’s Caden Robert, Ben Basden (No. 6 at 132) won by injury default over Chris Puksta, Morgan Mower (No. 6 at 138) winning 9-5 over Craig Baker, and Evan Gallacci (No. 9 at 195) by forfeit.

The Roughriders’ Brandon Currie pinned Travis Baker at 152 pounds and Tomas Blevins pinned Dylan Perreira at 170, too.

The same night, Sequim defeated Port Townsend 69-3 in the double dual meet with the Redhawks losing eight weight classes to forfeit. Sequim won four of five matches with Pierson (145) pinning Henry Veitenhaus, Perreira (170) pinning Bryan Chairez, Stockdale (285) pinning Tucker Booth, and Chris Puksta (132) winning in overtime 8-6 over Jackson Schott.

Tourney win

The Wolves reached another significant milestone last week with their first tournament team win in more than five years.

Sequim placed first with 178 points at Klahowya’s tournament in Silverdale on Jan. 23. They last won Franklin Pierce’s Cardinal Classic Tournament on Dec. 18, 2010.

Two boys took championship medals home and another four boys placed second, and three placing third.

Craig Baker (138) took first with an opening pin, followed by a 13-9 decision, and finals match pin in 1:02 over Kenny Soule of PA while Grant Pierson (145) won his first match by major decision 11-1, his second by pin, and the finals match over teammate Hayden Gresli by pin in 3:48.

Gresli, prior to the loss, recorded a pin, 8-5 decision, and a 4-2 sudden victory to take second place at 145 pounds.

Kevyn Ward (160) won second after an opening pin and a 9-0 major decision before losing 6-1 to Connor Horton of Aberdeen. Adrian Klarich (182) opened with a pin followed by a 9-2 decision before losing 16-12 for first place to Benji Hamilton of Klahowya.

Michael Latimer (220) received two opening bye matches before pinning his first opponent, but he lost the finals match in an 8-6 sudden victory to Freddie Green of Spanaway Lake.

Sequim’s Dylan Perreira (170) lost his opening match but rebounded to pin his next two opponents and he won third place with a 10-8 decision over Jesse Salgado of PA. Both Travis Baker (152) and McKenzie Stockdale (285) tied for third in their weight classes with Baker recording two pins on the day and Stockdale four pins.

Other Wolves recording wins include Dalton Brown (106) with one pin and one decision at the tournament, Ben Newell (132) pinning one opponent and earning one decision, Sven Wiker (145) pinning one opponent, and Austin Budd (160) pinning one opponent and earning one decision.

The Lady Wolves wrestling squad traveled to the Lady Lakes Lipstick Invite in Tacoma the same day but full results were not available by press time.

Drabek said Alma Mendoza took second at 140 pounds in another rematch with Port Townsend’s Chloe Rogers. He said it was tied 4-4 with a few seconds to go and Rogers got an escape to win 5-4.

At the double-dual meet earlier in the week in Sequim, Mendoza defeated Rogers 5-4 in the final seconds, too. Rogers, currently ranked No. 2 in state, took second in the 2A state tournament last year, and Mendoza, ranked No. 4, placed seventh. Mendoza lost at the Hammerhead Invite to Rogers 11-4 in December.

According to Washington Wrestling Report, Kiara Pierson is ranked eighth at 115 pounds for class 2A girls, and Ward is ranked No. 8 at 160, and Latimer No. 9 at 220 for 2A boys.

Up next

Sequim finishes its regular season this week with a dual in North Mason on Jan. 27, and its All Comers Tournament in Sequim on Jan. 30.

Drabek said they anticipate more wrestlers than previous years at the event, which includes Bremerton, Forks, Hoquiam, and Olympic.