In a busy weekend for high school grapplers, several Chronicle area teams sent numerous wrestlers to various tournaments across Southwest Washington as teams gear up for the postseason right around the corner. For highlights of each invite at Kelso, Black Hills, and Rainier, read below.
Dave Holter Kelso Invite
In a boys tournament at Kelso, the Centralia wrestling team finished sixth as a group, with the host 3A Hilanders taking the team title with 282.5 points.
Antonio Campos and Daniel Cisneros won tournament individual titles for the Tigers, with Campos winning by fall in under two minutes in each round of the 126-pound weight class in another dominant wrestling show, and Cisneros earning a few byes to the semifinals before pinning two wrestlers himself to take home the 195-pound title.
Chris Mendoza in the 170-pound weight class and Alika Vargas in 182 both lost in the semifinals but managed to regroup and take home third with dominant pins in the placement matches, and Eriberto Mojica (220 pounds) took fourth in his weight class.
King of the Hills at Black Hills
For the boys section of the King of the Hills tournament at Black Hills High School in Tumwater, five area teams made the trip north to compete for championships.
Napavine finished ninth, Onalaska 10th, Winlock 14th, and Mossyrock 17th. The host Wolves finished fifth as a team.
The Wolves were led by Ammon Combs run through the 152-pound bracket, winning by the first round by decision, the next by fall, the semifinals by decision, before losing the title match.
Napavine was led by the strong duo of Peyton Hernandez and Gabe Dickinson. Hernandez took third in the 120-pound bracket after losing in the first round and battling all the way through the consolation rounds. Hernandez won the third-place match by a major decision. Meanwhile, Dickinson won in the first round before falling in the quarterfinals. He made it all the way to the third-place match, pinning three straight, before falling to fourth place.
Onalaska was led by Tommy Hornsby in the 285-pound bracket, who lost in the first round, won by fall in three straight matches and ended up finishing fourth. Winlock’s Jay Crow took fourth, as well, in the 182-pound bracket.
Queen of the Hills at Black Hills
The girls also wrestled up in Tumwater at Black Hills High School, with Centralia leading the way at eighth place as a team. Black Hills finished ninth, Tumwater 11th, Tenino 13th, Napavine 16th, Rochester 20th, and Adna at 22nd to round out area teams.
Centralia’s Jade Hudson led the way for the Tigers, taking home the 110-pound bracket title, earning a bye before winning by fall in three straight matches to win the championship. Hudson pinned Maya Lindauer of River Ridge in the title round.
The Tigers’ Luna Martinez-Arevalo also had a good day, placing third in the 100-105-pound bracket. After a loss in the semifinals, Martinez-Arevalo defeated Addison Pulsipher of Clover Park by fall for third.
In that same bracket, Black Hills’ Sloane Kruger took home the title, beating River Ridge’s Isabella Moore by decision in the title match.
Tenino’s Trinity Tafoya continued her strong season, winning the 190-pound bracket in dominant fashion, pinning all three over her opponents with the longest match lasting just over a minute.
Napavine’s Anna Guenther took fourth in the 120-pound bracket, winning her first match before falling to the consolation rounds and battling it out from there.
Rochester’s Emily Weddle took third overall in the 235-pound bracket, battling through the consolation bracket after a loss in the semifinals by pinning back-to-back opponents.
Tumwater’s Lexi Magnusson-Gossler led the T-Birds with a runner-up finish to Clover Park’s Breanna Klein in the 155-pound bracket.
Justin Norton Memorial Tournament in Rainier
Elsewhere in Thurston County, Rainier High School hosted a massive tournament, and led area teams with an eighth-place finish. Forks won the whole tournament, but Adna finished 10th, Rochester 13th, and Tumwater and Pe Ell also competed.
Rainier was led by 285-pound champion Ryder Cruse, who won three matches by fall all in under three minutes for the title. Cruse defeated Eatonville’s Carsen Pero for the championship.
The Mountaineers’ Dorien Cano and Conner Mounts also had solid finishes, with 170-pound Cano taking fifth and 126-pound Mounts taking fourth at the tournament.
Rochester was led by three top-five finishes, with Reece Calica (138) and Jack Dane (195) both finishing third, and Jaden Nichols taking fifth in the 285-pound bracket.
The Pirates kept their momentum rolling, as well, with Kooper Moon (126) and Cohen Hartley (120) taking second in their respective brackets, and Sean Hellem (195) and Ryder Calhoun (106) taking fourth, each.
“This has always been a tough tournament,” Adna coach Craig Ferrier said. “It was nice to see our sophomores really wrestle well. I was very pleased with Kooper's performance. His last two weeks have been pretty tough, and to see him bounce back and take second really shows his resiliency and ability to work hard.”
Ragnarok Tournament at Curtis
In a tournament loaded with big schools, the W.F. West girls wrestling team finished third overall behind just the host Curtis High School and South Kitsap at Ragnarok.
The Bearcats had two champions and several placers, with Courtney Jones and Lia Hornby leading the way as title winners in the 135-pound and 140-pound bracket, respectively.
Emily Mallonee (115) followed a first-round loss with three straight pins to earn third place. In the 120-B bracket, Kylee Breen had two pins on her way to the finals before finishing second, and Eden Hornby opened with a second period pin before falling in the semifinals. She responded with a pin and an 8-2 decision to place third.
Brook Johnston (125) won by pin in the first round before a semifinal loss. She bounced back with another pin to advance to the placing round where she finished fourth. In the 125-B bracket, Gale Steiner lost in her first match, received a consolation bye before scoring a big consolation semifinal pin to advance to the placing rounds where she also placed fourth.
Kallee Corey bounced back from a first round loss with a pin and victory by injury default (where she was leading 8-2) to place third. Lily Canfield (190-B) won 2 of 3 matches by fall in her round robin bracket to place second.
Also wrestling, but not placing, for the Bearcats were Berkeley Varick (120), Shelby Hazlett (130), Aurora Martin (130), and Bailey Simper (190).
