With a perfect title round, Aberdeen’s wrestlers provided an appropriate finishing touch to a championship performance in Hoquiam’s annual wrestling invitational.
Batting 5-for-5 in championship matches, the Bobcats made off with team honors in the Grizzly Alumni Association Invitational on Saturday at Hoquiam Square Garden.
Aberdeen finished with 206 1/2 points, 23 1/2 ahead of runner-up Washougal. Port Angeles was third with 165 points.
Lincoln of Tacoma, which has dominated team honors in this tournament of late, did not compete this year.
Caleb Lock, Jeremy Roberts, Edgar Salazar, Tyler Souphommanichanh and Skyler Murray represented Aberdeen on the victory podium.
Willapa Harbor’s Luke Borden and Ben Byington and Elma’s Justin Sample were the other Twin Harbors champions.
Aberdeen entered the title round with only a two-point lead on Washougal in the team standings. But with Washougal having only two wrestlers in the finals, the Bobcats wrapped up the crown before the first Panther even took the mat.
So dominant were the Bobcat finalists that only one of them trailed at any stage of the title round.
That was Murray, briefly, in the 285-pound final.
Willapa Harbor’s Christian Anderson reversed the Aberdeen senior near the end of the first round to grab a 3-2 lead. Murray reversed his opponent right back to open the second stanza.
Still ahead 4-3 and in the up position to open the third round, Murray seemed on the verge of riding out his opponent, but instead pinned him with 45 seconds remaining in the match.
Lock pinned Foss of Tacoma’s Eugene Cater in the first round of the 106-pound title bout. Roberts, an impressive freshman, decisioned Port Angeles’ Scott Hedin, 10-0, at 113 pounds.
State veterans Salazar and Souphommanichanh were predictable winners.
Despite battling ongoing knee issues, Salazar pinned Kingston’s Dalton Tellinghuisen in the first round of the 120-pound final.
Although Hoquiam’s Malaki Eaton did well to avoid the pin, Souphommanichanh was dominant throughout in a 13-0 major decision at 126 pounds. He was cited by Bobcat coach Jimmy Martin for technical proficiency.
“We’ve been fighting the injury bug, but the kids showed up and wrestled really strong,” Martin summed up.
One of the few Class 2B schools in the field, Willapa Harbor finished fifth overall despite missing three state veterans due to a variety of reasons.
“We’ve been limping through the season,” Willapa Harbor coach Preston Crow said. “Now that we’re getting closer to the postseason, kids will be coming back and (we’ll) make a big push.”
Scoring a couple of takedowns in the first round, Raymond’s Borden went on to decision Port Angeles’ Riley Gale, 5-0, in the 160-pound final.
South Bend’s Byington had Life Christian’s Josh Beasinger on his back throughout the second round of the 170-pound title match, eventually completing the pin with 30 seconds remaining in the stanza.
Elma’s Sample registered a rare overtime pin over Hoquiam’s Antonio Garcia in a much-anticipated 145-pound title clash. Both Harborites are ranked among the top five among state 1A wrestlers at their weight.
As is often the case when two top wrestlers collide, this turned into a defensive struggle. Sample and Garcia traded penalty points to end regulation tied at 1-1.
The aggressor in the latter stages of regulation, Sample took down his opponent in the opening 20 seconds of overtime. Although the points from takedown would have given Sample the match, he was allowed to complete the pin and did so about five seconds later.
“He wrestled a smart match,” Elma coach Adam Catterlin said. “What we wanted him to do was stay down low and not get in big tieups.”
Taitum Brumfield was Elma’s other finalist. He was pinned by Foss’ Aundre Seabrook early in the second round of the 195-pound title match,
Host Hoquiam was missing four regulars, also due to several factors.
“When you leave that many weights vacant, it affects your ability to score,” Grizzly coach Terry Helland said.
(Championship results, plus other Twin Harborites in top four. Some third-place results unavailable).
106: Championship — Caleb Lock (Aberdeen) pinned Eugene Cater (Foss), 1:50. 113: Championship — Jeremy Roberts (Aberdeen) dec. Scott Hedin (Port Angeles), 10-0. 4. Ty Wilson (Willapa Harbor). 120: Championship — Edgar Salazar (Aberdeen) pinned Dalton Tellinghuisen (Kingston), 1:22. 126: Championship — Tyler Souphommanichah (Aberdeen) dec. Malaki Eaton, 13-0. 3. Garrett Armbruster (North Beach). 132: Championship — Scott Lees (Washougal) dec. Joey Moen (Cle Elum), 10-2. Angel Cisneros (Aberdeen) wrestled for third place (results unavailable). 138: Championship — J.R. Bunn (Foss) dec. Carlos Venegas (Chelan), 7-3. 145: Championship — Justin Sample (Elma) pinned Antonio Garcia (Hoquiam) in overtime, 6:35.
152: Championship — Tanner Lees (Washougal) pinned Erik Alcala (Chelan), 1:26. 3. Brady Cummings (Hoquiam). 4. Andrew Anderson (Hoquiam). 160: Championship — Luke Borden (Willapa Harbor) dec. Riley Gale (Port Angeles), 5-0. 3. Asai Villarreal (Hoquiam). 170: Championship — Ben Byington (Willapa Harbor) pinned Josh Beasinger (Life Christian), 3:31. 182: Championship — Skyler Gordon (Chelan) pinned Corey Danielson (Port Angeles), 1:56. 3. Chase Flynn (Willapa Harbor). 4. Joseph Bercier (Aberdeen). 195: Championship — Aundre Seabrook (Foss) pinned Taitum Brumfield (Elma), 2:42. 4. Jaden Hoseney (Aberdeen). 220: Championship — Ezra Miller (Life Christian) pinned Bailey White (Port Angeles), 3:26. Ben Bridge (Elma) wrestled for third and fourth. 285: Championship — Skyler Murray (Aberdeen) pinned Christian Anderson (Willapa Harbor), 5:15.