The Central Kitsap Cougars stood tall and proud in the 47th annual WIAA Matman boys wrestling tournament Jan. 25 in Silverdale, claiming an individual title and placing third as a team.
CK, Bainbridge, North Kitsap, Bremerton and Olympic all competed. All but NK had a wrestler claim first place in a weight.
As a team, CK placed third with a score of 174.5. Bremerton finished ninth with 76 points and Bainbridge followed in 10th with 65.5. Olympic placed 13th out of the 15 teams with a score of 51.5. NK was last with a score of 9.5.
“Overall, I was proud of our team,” Spartan coach Dan Pippinger said. “We had some freshmen that really showed their growth.”
Knight freshman Magnus Michaelson placed first in the 150-pound weight class, defeating O’Dea senior Nathaniel Badley by way of fall and maintaining his perfect record of 4-0. Tristyn Nelson of CK beat Jackson Brown of Olympic for third in the weight class by way of a 12-7 decision.
The Spartans took the crown for the 175-pound weight class with Bainbridge senior Garrett Goade beating senior Cash Short of Tumwater by way of technical fall 21-4.
CK sophomore Shawn Bayne landed a first-place nod in the 138-pound weight class after beating fellow Cougar Isaac Allen by way of fall. Allen placed second.
In the 285-pound weight class, Olympic senior DeQuan Freeland bested a Mount Tahoma senior by way of a fall at the 1:57 mark in the first-place match.
Spartan senior Tyler Dodge ended up taking second in the 144-pound weight class, falling to first-place winner senior Porter Neklason of Olympia 8-0 by way of major decision.
Senior Wyatt Harper and junior Ansel Auernhamer of CK placed second and fourth respectively in the 157-pound weight class, with Harper falling to Mekhi Richardson of Tumwater in the first-place match and Auernhamer falling to Gavin Kaikkenon of Tumwater by way of major decision, 11-3.
Senior Jesse Anderson and sophomore Brayden Turano of CK also placed second and fourth respectively in the 165-pound weight class. Anderson fell to Jessie Neff of Kent Meridian by way of a major decision in the first-place match 15-4. Turano fell to Mikah Perrish-Sedeberg of Tumwater by way of major decision in the third-place match 16-6.
The 113-pound weight class featured sophomore Julio Zendejas from CK placing third after beating senior Gavin Garza of Oak Harbor by way of a fall.
In the 106-pound weight class, Bremerton Knight Makhi Marion placed fourth after losing to Antonio Hernandez of Tumwater in the third-place match, losing by way of a fall.
Cougar junior Brennan Hammond placed fourth in the 215-pound weight class after losing to Kent Meridian sophomore Jerrilund Sampson by way of decision, 4-1.
Bainbridge and Bremerton made an appearance in the 132-pound weight class bouts with Knight freshman Kaiden Sorenson landing a 14-3 victory over Spartan sophomore Stephen McKinnon by way of major decision.
