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Simeon Daigle gets upset in finals
SoHi’s Baker, Kenai’s Dormady take 3rd at state wrestling
By MATTHEW CARROLL
Peninsula Clarion 2/4/07
Believing he was trailing by one point in the closing moments of the 130-pound state title match, Homer senior Simeon Daigle’s normally aggressive nature took over.
“I thought for sure I had to get a takedown to win it,” he said. “It was just all go in my mind.”
Unbeknownst to the defending state champion, though, the match was actually tied. Not realizing he was awarded an equalizing stalling point with five seconds left, Daigle attacked Dimond’s Frank Holdburg, who caught him and put him on his back just before the buzzer in claiming his first state title with an 8-4 decision.
Daigle’s miscue may have cost him another crown.
“I thought I was down by one. So, I pushed a little too hard and he caught me in a head and arm again,” Daigle said. “I would have gone to overtime.”
After a scoreless first two periods, Daigle went up 2-0 on an escape and a stalling point but Holdburg quickly jumped ahead 4-2 following a takedown and two near fall points with 45 seconds left.
At that point, the excitement was only brewing.
Daigle escaped, trimming the deficit to 4-3 and continued shooting at Holdburg’s legs before he was finally awarded a second stalling point, tying the match at 4.
Unfortunately, Daigle didn’t hear or see the ref signal the point. The crowd’s roar also went unnoticed.
“When you’re in a match, it’s all noise,” he said. “(With) headgear on you can’t hear much É Everything’s muffled.”
Needing a takedown in his mind, Daigle attacked instead of sitting back.
“I would have gone to overtime,” he said. “Instead I pushed it because I thought I had no other choice. Oh well.”
While he wasn’t visibly shaken by the loss, Daigle was disappointed with Holdburg’s two takedowns after having beaten him 8-0 and 9-2 earlier this season.
“He took me down in a head and arm,” he said, “you learn to defend in junior high.”
Cruising through his first two matches Friday, Daigle pounded East’s Brandon Bahnke, 19-5, and pinned Pierce Stowman, of West Valley, in 4:45.
He then earned a 5-4 decision over Palmer’s Wes Mills in the semifinals, only seven days after beating him by a point for the conference championship.
“A state champ last year and I’m sure I’ll be mad next week,” he said. “But right now it is what it is.”
Despite the sour ending to a stellar career that included a third-place finish his freshman year, fourth in his sophomore campaign, first last year and now second, Daigle focused on the positive aspects of it.
“It’s been a good run. It’s been a lot of fun, a lot of hard work,” he said. “It’s been real helpful for me overall, a good character-builder.”
His coach, Chris Perk, would agree.
“He had a great career. Simeon Daigle’s a great kid. He’s one that you want to coach,” Perk said. “I think he felt a lot of that pressure. He likes being the underdog. He’s very modest.
“It’s tough being a two-time state champ,” he added. “There’s not very many of them around and that’s the reason why. It’s tough to repeat.”
Baker, Dormady take third
Qualifying for state his freshman year, Soldotna’s Les Baker watched from the sidelines last season.
“Sophomore year I decided not to do it,” he explained. “Really it was nerves. The nerves before a match. I couldn’t handle it.”
After his performance on Saturday, consider Baker a lock to return next season.
Pinned by second-seeded James Savage of Colony in Friday’s semifinals, the sixth-seeded junior decisioned South’s Josh Kirn, 3-0, and then earned a hard-fought 5-3 victory over No. 5 Jake Maxon of Juneau-Douglas for a third-place finish.
“I feel a lot different. I think I performed pretty well,“ an elated Baker said. “Overall I was ranked about third or fourth for the whole season. I ended up where I was supposed to be.”
Escaping for a 1-0 lead with 30 seconds left in the middle period of his match with Maxon, Baker nearly scored a takedown at the buzzer but couldn’t get completely behind him.
A reversal by Maxon early in third gave him a one-point lead until Baker also notched a reversal from the ground and added two near fall points in securing the victory.
For someone who took a season off, Baker’s goals for next season are even higher.
“To get first. I’m hoping for first,” he said with a smile. “Coming from zero to three is definitely a big motivator.”
Seeded third at 189, Kenai senior Michael Dormady knew he’d most likely run into either one or both of the top two wrestlers in his class.
Unfortunately, he was right.
Dormady lost 9-3 to second-seed and eventual second-place finisher Jeremy Fulk of West Valley in Friday’s semifinals. But after pinning his first two opponents Friday in a combined 1:50, he reverted back to form in battling for third place by pinning North Pole’s Chris Bressler in 4:31 and Lathrop’s Kent Osborn in 4:43.
“I knew if I wanted to wrestle for first and second, I knew I was going to have to go through Fulk or (Cayle) Byers. I knew it was tough coming in,” Dormady said. “I wasn’t very angry after my match. I knew I could have done better against Fulk, but I came back and took third.”
It wasn’t easy, though.
A takedown by Dormady with 27 seconds left in the second period knotted the score at 2 entering the final frame.
He then nearly pinned Osborn with 50 seconds remaining but the junior from Lathrop rolled over on Dormady appearing to take control. But Dormady immediately tilted the momentum in his direction by rolling onto Osborn and pinning him to the ground, where he held him for nearly 30 seconds before the ref slammed his hand to the mat.
“I knew I had to do something big to win because it was a tight match. Stalling could have put it either way,” Dormady explained. “I finally locked up a tight throw, threw it. He rolled me through but I knew I needed to get off my back.
“It was all squeeze,” he added of finally securing Osborn to the mat. “No matter how tired I was. I was exhausted.”
After not placing in his first trip to state as a junior last season, Dormady seemed impressed with his resiliency.
“I knew if I wanted to be at third, I had to step up my game and come after these guys a little more,” he said.
Hutchison places fourth, Ben Daigle fifth
After finishing second her freshman year and becoming the first female state wrestling champion in the country last season in the 103-pound weight class, Skyview junior Michaela Hutchison had an even more challenging time at 112 this season.
With trials and tribulations that come with jumping a class, though, she still managed a fourth-place finish.
Knotted at two in the final period of her third-place match with top-seeded Anthony Ricketts of Service, Hutchison fought her way from the ground for an escape and a 3-2 advantage with 1:25 left.
But Ricketts’ strength and quickness was too much for Hutchison to handle as he scored four takedowns down the stretch for an 11-6 decision.
“He started picking it up and just got the momentum going his way,” said Skyview coach Neldon Gardner. “That happens.
“A lot of pressure for her to come back and win a title after last year,“ he added. “She puts pressure on herself. We put pressure on her as coaches. And she’s done well this year. I’ve got no complaints with Michaela.”
Following her loss to eventual second-place finisher Aaron Boss of Colony on Friday, No. 5 Hutchison fought her way back in the consolation bracket by technical falling Chugiak’s Nich Wharton in 4:30, pinning Lathrop’s Jeremy Simmons in 1:28 and edging third-seeded Ben Daigle of Homer, 2-0.
“It’s very respectable,“ Gardner said of her finish. “There’s good kids around the state. She wrestled hard. She beat Daigle in the wrestle-backs and she hadn’t beat him earlier in the year.”
The younger Daigle met an even more heartbreaking defeat than his brother.
Facing second-seed and eventual champion Kyle Wilson of Colony for the second time in the last week, Daigle suffered the same fate again Friday.
The sophomore was penalized for locking hands in the fourth overtime in falling, 6-5, to Wilson, who edged him 2-1 in three extra sessions in a Northern Lights Conference championship contest.
Daigle then lost to Hutchison and defeated Ketchikan’s Nick Martin, 2-1, for fifth place.
“(Saturday) I just wrestled terrible because É I was kind of bumming,” Daigle said. “I just wasn’t in it after losing that one.”
Breaking his hand the week before regions and unable to attend state last year, the final match was a bittersweet moment for the youngster.
“I was really hoping to make the finals. I was real disappointed,” he said. “I’ve got all next year. I’m going to be at least 119, probably 125 next year.”
Morris, Japhet earn fifth
Expecting to capture a title in his fourth trip to state, fourth-seeded senior Erick Morris left Chugiak a crestfallen man.
A 152-pound conference champion, Soldotna’s Morris lost a tough 8-7 decision to No. 5 Matt Barry on Friday and after topping Steven Dyer of Juneau-Douglas, 11-8, he fell 4-3 to third-seeded Danny Tol of Chugiak.
“That crushed me for a long time,” Morris said of the setback to Barry. “I wasn’t expecting to lose in the quarterfinals. I was expecting to make at least to the semis, if not to the championship.
“No, I’m not real happy right now,” he added. “I’m happy that I placed because I haven’t placed in the last three years, but I expected more of myself.”
Overcoming his deflated spirits, Morris valiantly fought back in the fifth-place match by beating Dimond’s Gerald Pestrikoff, 3-0, with three back points in the closing seconds of Saturday’s deadlocked match.
“It was pretty tough. We were pretty even. We’re both good leg-riders and stuff,” Morris said. “I had a little bit more experience than he did and it proves, too.”
Also taking fifth place was Soldotna junior David Japhet (171), who lost to eventual state champion Danny Kuhn of Dimond, 11-3, in the quarterfinals and third-place finisher Tremain Benton of Palmer, 10-5, in the consolation semifinals.
However, he used an early takedown and two escapes in defeating Juneau-Douglas’ Samson Keery in his final match.
Another SoHi junior, Matthew Strieby, placed sixth after losing 16-7 to West Valley’s Jay Phillips.
Matthew Carroll can be reached at matthew.carroll @peninsulaclarion.com.
State wrestling championships
Friday, Saturday at Chugiak
Team scores: 1. Colony, 229.5; 2. Chugiak, 170; 3. South, 128; 4. Wasilla, 116; 5. Juneau Douglas and Dimon, 102; 7. Palmer, 93; 8. East, 88; 9. Lathrop, 87; 10. North Pole, 10; 11. West Valley, 80; 12. Kodiak, 77.5; 13. Soldotna, 57.5; 14. West, 48; 15. Homer and Kenai Central, 36; 17. Service, 22.5; 18. Ketchikan, 21; 19. Eagle River, 18; 20. Skyview, 17.5; 21. Bartlett, 5; 22. Sitka, 0.
Championships
103 — Nathan Hoffer, EHS p. Chase Montgomery, COL, 1:53
112 — Kyle Wilson, COL, d. Aaron Boss, COL, 4-3
119 — Alan Bartelli, WAS vs. Josh West, COL, 5-0
125 — Jimmy Eggermeyer, KOD d. Mike Chafin, WAS, 5-0
130 — Frank Holdburg, DIM d. Simeon Daigle, HOM, 8-4
135 — Hollan Gravley, COL p. Chris Brewster, SOU, 1:29
140 — Duane Carpenter, WAS p. Josh Witcher, NP, 1:03
145 — Max Rosefiguera, WST d. Quincy Voris, CHU, 9-4
152 — Zach Shelley, DIM d. Matt Barry, JDHS, 7-5
160 — Nolan McBryde, CHU d. Mike Hunsicker, SOU, 10-6
171 — Jesse Amos, SOU d. Danny Kuhn, DIM, 9-4
189 — Cayle Byers, CHU d. Jeremy Fulk, WV, 3-1
215 — Dustin Baxter, d. Andrew Wilson, EHS, 5-4
275 — Max Collins, NP d. James Savage, COL, 5-3
Third/Fourth place
103 —Jessee Romero, PAL d. Charles Coisman, COL 4-2
112 — Anthony Ricketts, SER d. Michella Hutchison, 11-6
119 — Grant Sullivan, CHU d. Luke Shelley, DIM, 4-2
125 — Dante Santos, JDHS d. Lipho Thirakul, EHS, 8-6
130 — Marshal Carlyle, PAL d. Wes Mills, PAL, 9-0
135 — Lucas Fried, KOD d. Zach Baldwin, CHU, 6-0
140 — Nick Stahler, PAL d. Justin Martel, COL 9-7
145 — Levi Jutila, NP d. Levi Kruger, COL, 3-2
152 — Danny Tol, CHU d. Brian Hunsicker, SOU, 3-2
160 — Nathan Williamson, SOU m.d. Jordan Savland, JDHS, 9-1
171 — Tremain Benton, PAL d. Al Cratty, KOD, 5-4
189 — Michael Dormady, KEN, p. Kent Osborn, LAT, 4:43
215 — Rory McBryde, CHU, p. Eric Fan, COL, 4:13
275 — Les Baker, SOL, d. Jake Mason, JDHS, 5-4
Fifth/Sixth place
103 — Skyler Moore, d. Eric Tupper, LAT, 7-6
112 — Ben Daigle, HOM d. Nick Martin, Ket, 2-1
119 — Joe Hughes, LAT d. Dustin Maxwell, EHS, 12-5
125 — Zach Beauchamp, COL d. Stephen Kichurra, CHU, 3-2
130 — Bobby Hicks, LAT d. Danny Lyles, WAS, 7-2
135 — Kyle Demientieff, LAT m.d. Steve Jutila, NP, 9-1
140 — Levi Williams, ER p. Tom Eller, PAL 4:59
145 — Carson Roberts, WST p. Jon Jensen, WAS, 1:57
152 — Erick Morris, SOL d. Gerald Pestrikoff, DIM, 3-0
160 — Westley Gagnon, WAS d. Gary Anthony, 4-2
171 — David Japhet, Sol d. Samson Kenney, JDHS, 4-3
189 — Tyler Zimmerman, JDHS d. Chris Bressler, NP, 3-2
215 — Jay Phillips, WV m.d. Matthew Strieby, SOL, 16-7
275 — Josh Kirn, SOU d. Gavin Lorens, WV, 7-3
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Skyline wins 16th straight wrestling title
12:05 AM CST on Sunday, February 4, 2007
By KEITH WHITMIRE / The Dallas Morning News
kwhitmire@dallasnews.com
Skyline won its 16th-straight district title in boys wrestling Saturday at the District 14 meet at Emmett Conrad High School.
More wrestling
Skyline had seven individual champions while runner-up Sunset had four. Skyline and Sunset wrestlers met in nine championship matches with Skyline winning five.
Adam Martinez got Skyline started by winning the 103-pound title to improve to 37-1. Skyline's Ricardo DeLeon won the 130-pound title to improve to 34-1 while Sunset's Jose Escamilla upped his record to 41-1 in winning the 112-pound title.
Skyline took the District 14 girls title with four individual champions while runner-up Molina had three champions.
Kimball's boys won their second district title in a row at the District 15 meet, also held at Conrad.
Steven Watkins, one of eight Kimball champions, improved to 24-1 in winning the 160-pound title. Samuell had four individual champions to finish second.
Kimball also won the District 15 girls title with seven individual champions. Kimball's Shaboria Nutall improved to 21-0 with her victory at 138.
The top two finishers in each weight class, after challenge matches, advance to the Region 2 meet next weekend at Arlington Martin.
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Golden Eagles' girl wins on mat
Valley sports roundup for Feb. 4
Staff reports
The Desert Sun
February 4, 2007
THERMAL - Desert Hot Springs senior Diana Werlen became the first female to win a De Anza League individual wrestling title when she emerged as the 103-pound champion Saturday at the De Anza League individual meet at Desert Mirage.
Werlen was one of three Golden Eagle champions and one of eight that advanced to the CIF tournament by finishing in the top three.
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Dumas, Road rule District 5 wrestling
2/4/07
Dumas' boys and River Road's girls captured District 5 wrestling championships Saturday at Borger.
The Borger boys were second, and Boys Ranch was third.
The River Road girls will send seven to regionals after dominating. Ashly Underwood of River Road beat Sasha Fleetwood of Borger to win the 128-pound class, and teammate Veronica Gordon beat Marcy McDonald of Boys Ranch for the 138-pound championship.
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District 6 Wrestling: Newcomer Randall extends title streak
By Jeremy Heath 2/4/07
jeremy.heath@amarillo.com
While Randall claimed its first title as a member of District 6, the Caprock girls claimed their fifth straight District 6 title. The three-time defending state champion Lady Longhorns finished with 152 points, while second-place Tascosa finished with 104.
"Our core group of girls wrestled great," Caprock coach Scott Tankersley said. "Now we need that group to get back to work this week so they can wrestle great next weekend.''
The top two in each weight division advanced to the Region I meet, scheduled for Friday and Saturday at Randall. The top four in each weight class at the Region I meet advance to state.
The addition of Randall and Hereford to District 6 this year upgraded the level of competition, particularly on the boys side. Randall and Caprock were tied at 187.5 before Dudding's pin of Palo Duro's Terrell Calhoun.
"I knew coming in that every point was going to matter," Quirino said. "It was really big for us to come in here and win this.
''This is by far the most challenging district title we have won. I'm just happy to be a part of it."
Randall advanced 10 boys to the regional, Caprock advanced eight, Tascosa advanced four, Amarillo High advanced three, and Palo Duro and Hereford advanced two each.
Caprock's girls advanced eight, Tascosa advanced five, Palo Duro and Hereford advanced three each and AHS advanced two.
Randall's Victor Dotson beat AHS' Mike Tran, 2-0, in the 103 final with a takedown early in the third period.
Caprock's Thomas Harris beat Randall's Josh Martinez, 11-4, in the 112 final after Martinez cut the margin to 6-4 early in the third.
Randall's Brandon McDonald pinned Caprock's Andrew Renteria in 1:16 in the 119 final.
Caprock's Harvey Suarez beat Randall's Kalvin King, 6-2, in the 125 final, using a three-point near-fall early in the third to take a 4-0 lead.
Randall's Jace Bennett beat Caprock's Chris Contreras, 4-2, in the 130 final with a last-second takedown.
Tascosa's Joe Quinto beat Caprock's Rene Montoya, 5-0, in the 135 final.
AHS' Kasey Urquhart pinned Caprock's Chris Rodriguez in 4:49 in the 140 final after trailing 4-2 early in the second.
Hereford's Edward Gutierrez beat Rodriguez in a wrestle-back to advance.
Tascosa's Collin Brown scored a 12-2 major decision against Randall's Jacob Perez in the 145 final.
Hereford's Jose Alvarez beat Caprock's Rudy Sapien, 6-3, in the 152 final.
Randall's Cameron Padilla beat Tascosa's Jacob Bevington, 4-0, in the 160 final, scoring a second-period reversal to break a scoreless tie.
AHS' Tyler Dalke beat Randall's Joey Sykes in the 171 final, scoring a single-leg takedown in the overtime.
Palo Duro's James Anderson beat Caprock's Jeremiah Johnson, 10-5, in the 215 final, officially eliminating Caprock from the team race.
Tascosa's Riley Johnson scored an early takedown and held off Caprock's JJ Naranjo, 3-2, in the 275 final.
On the girls side, Palo Duro's Sabrina Plasencio pinned Caprock's Samantha Nava in the 95 final.
Winning district titles for Caprock were Lisa Martinez, who pinned AHS' Toni Cortez in the 102 final; Jennifer Williams, who pinned Tascosa's Kristin Britton in the 119 final; Stephanie Hignight, who pinned Tacsosa's Raven Gilchrest in the 128 final; Daffney Barbosa, who pinned Hereford's Allison Medina in the 138 final; and Maci Alvarado, who pinned Palo Duro's Baillie Lomeli in the 165 final.
AHS' Bethany Courkamp pinned Hereford's Vanessa Saucedo in the 110 final.
Tascosa's Marissa Schrepel pinned Caprock's Mercedes Gonzalez in the 185 final. Palo Duro's Jaleesa Stell beat Gonzalez in a wrestle-back to claim a regional berth. Tascosa's Kaylee Smith pinned Caprock's Adriana Chavez in the 215 final.
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S. Scott Rosenberg, (Bio) srosenberg@greeleytribune.com
February 4, 2007
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Given her situation, Natalia Garcia's mood is admirable and surprising.
Propped up on her elbows, Garcia lies on a table in the training room at Greeley Central High School. Her right leg rests in a semi-circle of blue Styrofoam, and a bag of ice is suspended on her knee.
She chats with classmates who come and go or undergo treatment of their own. Only the ice and exercises she completes hint that an injury has delayed a promising wrestling career. Meanwhile, around the corner, the Central wrestling team practices.
Nearly two weeks have passed since Garcia, a senior at Central, suffered a tear of the anterior cruciate ligament in her knee. It ended her season, but she hopes it doesn't end her wrestling career.
While her prep career is finished, Garcia made her mark on Colorado wrestling history. She is one of about 30 girl wrestlers on the more than 200 high school wrestling teams in the state, according to Tim Yount. Yount is the head of onthematrankings.com and covers wrestling across Colorado.
Her doctor offered two options for therapy: Immediately begin rehabilitation and mortgage the future or undergo surgery to repair the tear. Garcia picked surgery and the chance to wrestle in college.
"I'm already looking into who's going to help me with my rehab," she said. "I'm going to be on top of it and try to get back by October."
That she remains focused on wrestling fits the character she showed on the Wildcats team. Her teammates quickly welcomed and respected her into the team and treated her like another one of the guys.
Opponents, however, often didn't afford her the same courtesy. At a tournament in Green River, Wyo., Garcia's first scheduled opponent didn't want to compete against a girl. When the wrestler saw Garcia in the opposite corner, he turned to his coach and said "I'm not wrestling a girl." He then walked off, Penfold said.
"I kind of don't let it bother me," she said. "If they honestly hate me that much to talk about me, then I shouldn't be worth their time. So they shouldn't waste their time to look down on me."
Penfold said at larger tournaments, the girl wrestlers will congregate at a point during the tournament. They'll exchange stories and bond.
"They know there are few and far between," he said.
Garcia began wrestling because of her dad, who coaches at Franklin Middle School. Then because she enjoyed it so much, she encouraged her younger brother to take up the sport.
During the summer, she went to the ASICS Cadet and Junior National Championships in Fargo, N.D. Her sixth-place finish earned her all-American honors. She planned to attend another national tournament, the Body Bar Women's National Championships in April.
"I take it, I think, more seriously on a national level than on the high school level," she said.
The only thing preventing her from success at the high school level, junior teammate Scott Schaeffer said, was her size.
"She's a good wrestler," he said. "She's just really light."
Penfold said entering the tournament in Wyoming, she was 92 pounds, wrestling in the 103-pound division, which goes to 105 after Christmas. At the Green River tournament, the wrestlers were allowed 107 pounds.
"She's a cool girl to have around," junior teammate Rodney Hesse said. "It's been tough for her being so much underweight to all the other kids. She finally got on varsity then did that to her knee. I feel bad for her."
Before she decided to wrestle, she served as a manager for the Wildcats. She got to know some of her future teammates, and Penfold said he got to know her. Because she has been around wrestling since she was 5, her teammates listen to the advice she has. In some cases, Garcia knows more than wrestlers on the team.
Before the injury, she was in contact with two colleges about wrestling for their women's team. Missouri Valley College and Menlo (Calif.) College contacted Garcia about joining the team.
"I'm not sure how that's going to go now," she said.
The injury represents a difficult ordeal. She dislocated a knee cap when she was a freshman, but that pain dissipated once it was returned to place.
When Garcia suffered the tear, she told the trainers the pain was "off the charts," an 11 on a scale of one to 10. Her knee typically stays in an immobilizer as she relies on crutches to get around, and the pain has dwindled to a seven when she keeps weight off it.
Since the injury, Garcia said Menlo representatives had talked to her about the possibility of taking a redshirt season.
To increase the probability, she dutifully has worked with trainers. Brandon Ferguson, a certified athletic trainer at Central, said Garcia has progressed with range of motion. The more effort she puts in now will make the post-surgery rehab easier.
Her personality shined through the pain.
"She likes to make people laugh," Hesse said. "She can make anyone laugh. Everyone calls her midget because she's so short. She's definitely fun to have around the room."
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By the Daily World staff
Saturday, February 3, 2007 11:40 PM PST
KELSO — With a dominating display of depth, Hoquiam breezed to the team championship in the inaugural Subregional Girls Wrestling Tournament on Saturday at Kelso.
Advancing 15 of the 16 wrestlers they entered (including one alternate), the Grizzlies amassed 238 points. Washougal was a distant second with 53 points. Aberdeen was third with 46 and Elma fourth with 24.
Eight Harborites — five from Hoquiam, two from Aberdeen and one from Elma — were among the individual champions.
Three of the title bouts were all-Hoquiam affairs. Tess Grannemann pinned teammate Diana Selvidge in 45 seconds of the 103-pound final, while Whitney McCormick pinned Ashley Kroll in 2:13 of the 160-pound championship match.
In one of the best matches of the title round, Hoquiam’s Kelsey Klein topped teammate Marissa Aube in a bout that was closer than the 5-0 score indicated.
Bumped up a weight to help Hoquiam’s state team chances, Kyra Butler won the 119-pound crown with a first-round pin over Washougal’s Samantha Berry.
Locked in a close match until the third round, Hoquiam’s Alex White pinned Hockinson’s Kayla Keeler in 5:12 of the 135-pound final.
Rachel Akerlund and Nicole Hyde, both of Aberdeen, and Elma’s Mackenzie Glerup also won their respective weight classes.
Akerlund decisioned South Bend’s Nicole Berrel, 9-4, in the 130-pound final.
Hyde decisioned Tumwater’s Lindsey Vigil, 5-2, to win the 145-pound division.
Glerup pinned Hoquiam’s Kylie Wilson in the second round of the 160-plus final.
Hoquiam’s Kelsey Sund lost by technical fall to River Ridge’s Lucky Saengchanh in the 112-pound final.
Other Grizzlies to advance to regionals included Kelsea Williams, third at 112, Alicia Garcia, third at 119, Megan Kroll, third at 135, Lexi Taylor, fourth at 145, and Teri Norris, third at 160 plus. Hoquiam’s Alyssa Lee, fifth at 130, will be a regional alternate.
The top four at each weight advance to regionals Saturday at Tumwater.
“We wrestled about where we thought we would be,” said Hoquiam girls coach Todd Hoiness. “We had some great efforts.”
He cited Butler, Klein and Aube for particularly fine performances.
Other Twin Harborites to qualify for regionals included Raymond’s Christina Crow, third at 125, and Ocosta’s Donna Hartke, third at 130.
North Beach’s Heather Hall, fifth at 125, will be a regional alternate.
Hoiness received the Evergreen Conference Girls Coach of the Year award.
“It’s a staff award,” he commented.
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