W.F. West boys wrestling had seven wrestlers finish top-4 and the Bearcats placed fourth out of 10 teams at the annual New Year's Day Rumble at Toppenish High School.
The Bearcats faced some of the top wrestlers and perennially-tough teams in the state, including defending 2A state champion Toppenish, defending 1A state champion Granger and 1A runnerup Zillah.
W.F. West coach Jamie Rakevich said it was important for his wrestlers to see some Eastern Washington competition after having only wrestled in Southwest Washington the past two years due to the pandemic.
“We needed to see some competition,” Rakevich said. “It was a good tourney; a tough tourney. It was an eye-opener for our guys.”
Bearcats who placed are listed below.
“Penland had a really good tourney,” Rakevich said. “Matagi lost 5-3 to a guy who’s a two-time state champion (Army commit and Granger senior Gage Cook). Matagi made one mistake, and (Cook) is so good, that’s all it takes.”
W.F. West returns to action Tuesday when it heads to Black Hills for a dual match. The Bearcats then travel to Castle Rock for a tournament on Saturday.
