A grueling weekend for the Rainier High School boys wrestling team came to a close as the Mountaineers played host for the annual Sgt. Justin Norton Memorial Invitational, where they placed ninth as a team with 76.5 points Saturday, Jan. 11.
The tournament honors the late RHS alumni Sgt. Justin Norton, who was killed in action while serving in the United States Army in Iraq in 2006. The invitational marked the third straight day of wrestling for the Mountaineers; Rainier competed in a league mixer at Napavine on Thursday before hosting a dual against Lind-Ritzville on Friday.
Zander Peck was the lone Mountaineer to advance to a first-place match, but his run for the top 165-pound prize was cut short in a decision loss to Montesano’s Gage Stutesman. Blake Roberts, 215, won four of five matches to earn third place, and Dorien Cano, 175, bounced back from consecutive defeats to take home the fifth-place medal.
Tristin Sawyer, 126, and Liam Hentze, 144, each earned two victories but lost in the third round of the consolation bracket. Bradley Behling, 120; Connor Power, 157; Steven Johnston, 190; and Jace Lavender, 215; each won one match.
Roberts admitted that the long weekend was “exhausting,” but he pushed through to perfect his cradle during the semifinals, and he pinned two opponents in under 35 seconds, including one in just 12 seconds.
“I’ve seen myself get a lot better. At the beginning of the year, I couldn’t get a cradle in an actual meet, but now I’m getting to where I can get cradles and do a whole bunch of fancy moves,” Roberts said. “It took a pretty big toll. I’m tired and sore.”
Dorien Cano was driven by his two losses in the semifinals and consolation semis heading into the fifth-place match. He ran up the score in his final match, 18-0, but he left the tournament unsatisfied.
“I was done losing. I just wanted to go out there and try to do my best and work on what I practice,” he said. “It’s more of an emotional thing because I’ll get frustrated, and I’ll start reviewing my matches and seeing where I went wrong and what I could’ve done differently.”
Rainier will get some time off before traveling over three hours north to Forks for a league mixer on Tuesday, Jan. 14.
Rochester placed 10th out of 16 teams with 68.0 points and was led by third-place finisher Maddox Rodgers, 157, and fifth-place medalist Lucas McIntire, 285. Maddox King, 138; Buell Benner, 144; Cody Galpin, 165; and Christopher Tartios, 175; were each victorious in two matches during the tournament.
Tenino finished 13th with 61.0 points, with Rowdie Tafoya, second at 285, Guy Lowery, fifth at 190, and Koy Knox, sixth at 165, accounting for more than half.
Adna took 16th, with Kooper Moon, 150, earning two victories and Cash Laufenberg, 120, clinching a first-round win before losing two straight.
