With three weight-class victories and a plethora of top four placements, the Aberdeen Bobcats hoisted the girls wrestling team title at the 2022 Grays Harbor Championships on Saturday at Aberdeen High School.
Led by weight-class wins from Alondra Santibanez, Emmersyn Yakovich, Aili Scott Felicia Bell and Kya Roundtree, Aberdeen scored 230 points in a large field that included higher-class teams from across western Washington.
Santibanez defeated Lincoln (Tacoma) grappler Olivia Mounts via pinfall late in the third round for the 100-pound title.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Aberdeen’s Alondra Santibanez, left, grapples with Llincoln’s Olivia Mounts during the 100-pound final of the Grays Harbor Championships on Saturday in Aberdeen.
Yakovich and Scott were named co-champions of the 115-pound class after the two close friends decided not to wrestle their title match, earning the Bobcats points for both first and second place.
Bell impressed in the 130-pound class, pinning WF West’s Shelby Hazlett less than a minute into the match to win the championship.
Roundtree, one of just a small handful of Aberdeen returning feature wrestlers from last season’s stacked squad, equally impressed. Roundtree was never in trouble in winning the 170-pound title with a pinfall victory over WF West’s Kallee Corey.
Aberdeen got second-place finishes from Micah Turpin (105), Zoe Vessey (110), Claire Mottinger (120), Ava Benn (125), Madison Winter (145) and Aman Cheema (155).
Bobcats Christina Baltazar (110), Peityn Munoz (135), Scotlyn Lecomte (145) and Natalie Wharton (190) placed third in their respective weight classes for Aberdeen.
Other Twin Harbors notables on Saturday were Myra Sandberg of North Beach (120 pounds, 3rd), Elma’s Hailee Stoken (140, 2nd) and Willapa Valley’s Nina Sirbun (235, 2nd).
Winning the Citlaly Chavarria Sportsmanship Award was Courtney Jones of WF West, who won the 140-pound title with a pinfall victory in the first minute over Stoken.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD WF West’s Courtney Jones, left, stands with Aberdeen head coach Craig Yakovich after being awarded with the Citlaly Chavarria Sportsmanship Award at the 2022 Grays Harbor Championships on Saturday at Aberdeen High School.
Despite WF West also winning three individual weight-class championships in the tournament, Aberdeen’s depth proved to be the key to the team victory. The Bobcats had at least one wrestler finish in the top four in each of the event’s 14 classes, leading to the vast point differential.
WF West placed second with 147 points, with Lincoln (76 points), Shelton (66.5) and Tenino (62.5) placing 3-5.
“It’s an army,” Aberdeen head coach Craig Yakovich said. “They compete, match in and match out. To amass points to win any tournament, you need everyone to chip in and our girls are really good. Maybe they are not going to be at the top of the podium, but they are going to make their way toward it and all those add up to a team win.”
The team title is the third straight to open the season for the Bobcats, which posted victories the previous week at the Decatur Invitational and on Dec. 3 at the Lady Jag Tournament.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD The Aberdeen girls wrestling team won the overall team title at Grays Harbor Championships on Saturday Sam Benn Gym in Aberdeen.
The hot start to the season for Aberdeen has somewhat surprised the coaching staff after having lost multiple seniors and top-flight wrestlers from last season’s district-championship squad. But Yakovich said his wrestlers are improving from meet-to-meet, which bodes well for Aberdeen’s chances to repeat as district champs for the fourth-consecutive sesaon come playoff time.
“Being a young team, you get to see the progression,” Yakovich said. “Watching the individual kids grow, they are getting better as the season goes on, and that is always the big positive for me. If I can see we are getting better each time we hit the mat, our staff is doing our job.”
Team standings (Top 5)
1, Aberdeen 230. 2, WF West 147, 3, Lincoln 76. 4, Shelton 66.5. 5, Tenino 62.5.
Weight-class Results
100 pounds — 1, Alondra Santibanez, Aberdeen. 2, Olivia Mounts, Lincoln (Tacoma).
110 — 1, Hope Burnbridge, Tenino. 2, Zoe Vessey, Aberdeen. 3, Christina Baltazar, Aberdeen. 4, Alexis Holbert, Lincoln (Tacoma).
115 — 1 (tie), Emmersyn Yakovich, Aberdeen. 1 (tie), Aili Scott, Aberdeen. 3, Berkeley Varick, WF West. 4, Yazmin Garcia-Lopez, Hoquiam.
120 — 1, Janessa Bailey, Lincoln (Tacoma). 2, Claire Mottinger, Aberdeen. 3, Myra Sandberg, North Beach. 4, Eden Hornby, WF West.
125 — 1, Lily Williams, Lincoln (Tacoma). 2, Ava Benn, Aberdeen. 3, Aleeciya Meredith, Franklin Pierce. 4, Abby Ripp, Shelton.
130 — 1, Felicia Bell, Aberdeen. 2, Shelby Hazlett, WF West. 3, Brooke Johnston, WF West. 4, Wendy Roja-Contreras, Aberdeen.
135 — 1, Kylie Case, Rochester. 2, Kaylee Lehman, WF West. 3, Peityn Munoz, Aberdeen. 4, Aurora Martin, WF West.
140 — 1, Courtney Jones, WF West. 2, Hailee Stoken, Elma. 3, Selena Martinez, Aberdeen.
145 — 1, Lia Hornby, WF West. 2, Madison Winter, Aberdeen. 3, Scotlyn Lecomte, Aberdeen. 4, Meribel Mazariegos, Hoquiam.
155 — 1, Elibeth Cervantes, Shelton. 2, Aman Cheema, Aberdeen. 3, Kayla Reddick, Lincoln (Tacoma). 4, Asha Martin, Aberdeen.
170 — 1, Kya Roundtree, Aberdeen. 2, Kallee Corey, WF West. 3, Dakota Lees, Tenino. 4, Zoey Cook, Hoquiam.
190 — 1, Trinity Tafoya, Tenino. 2, Angela Anderson, Shelton. 3, Natalie Wharton, Aberdeen. 4, Bailey Simper, WF West.
235 — 1, Emily Weddle, Rochester. 2, Nina Sirbun, Willapa Valley. 3, Aurora Marcy, Shelton. 4, Carolynn Arthur, Aberdeen.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Aberdeen’s Scotlyn Lecomte, right, controls Hoquiam’s Meribel Mazariegos during the 145-pound third-fourth-place match of the Grays Harbor Championships on Saturday in Aberdeen.
