PORT ANGELES —The postseason push to the Tacoma Dome for the state wrestling championship has begun in earnest for area wrestlers.
Host Port Angeles dominated Saturday’s Olympic League sub-regional wrestling tournament, while Sequim improved to a fifth-place finish after taking eighth last season.
The Roughriders wrested the sub-regional crown from Olympic, holders of the past two sub-regional titles, by a score of 368.5 to 349.5.
A total of 13 Roughriders, along with five alternates, and four Wolves, with one alternate, advanced to this Saturday’s Class 2A regional tournament at Sedro-Woolley.
Riders head coach Erik Gonzalez was selected as Olympic League Coach of the Year after leading Port Angeles to the regular season and sub-regional crown.
Sequim received the team sportsmanship award.
A total of 11 Riders qualified for the sub-regional finals, with seven claiming championships.
Tyler Gale made quick work of his 106-pound opponent, winning by pin in 54 seconds.
Unfortunately, Gale, who has battled an ankle injury for the past month, appeared to tweak his ankle during the match and spent much of the championship round with his foot planted in a bucket of ice.
Ben Basden claimed an 11-9 win in the 113-pound contest against Olympic’s Tre Toledo, a state competitor last year in the 106-pound class.
Basden sealed the win with two late points coming on escapes.
Gavin Crain won the 120-pound class with a 4-1 decision over Kingston’s Josh Bayne.
Port Angeles couldn’t lose at 126 pounds, with Brady Anderson and Morgan Mower both finding their way to the finals.
Anderson pinned Mower 50 seconds into the first round.
“Those guys are great practice partners and they improve every day facing each other,” Gonzalez said of Anderson and Mower.
Sophomore Richard Hillstrom came from behind on the scoreboard with a near-fall for a 5-3 lead, and eventually a late pin at 4:36 of the 170-pound final.
The close match revved up the crowd and Gonzalez, who leaped up from his mat-side seat after the pin.
“I was excited because he had pinned him earlier but they gave him a near fall, and Richard came through and proved that first pin wasn’t a fluke,” Gonzalez said.
“He’s one of those guys we knew he could be tough, but he’s just so raw right now.
“And the kid he wrestled, a state competitor from last year, has a little bit of an M.O. [modus operandi] where he whines and cries, so it was nice to see Richard just take care of business right there.”
A physically imposing Matt Robbins used his size and strength to overpower and pin Olympic’s Geordyn Shinard at the 3:15 mark of the 195-pound final.
Robbins was named one Outstanding Wrestler of the sub-regional, along with Olympic heavyweight Umu Timoteo.
Shinard finished eighth at state last season, but Robbins has had the upper hand so far this year, dominating Shinard in a 13-1 major decision win two weeks ago and rolling to victory Saturday.
“That kid knows what he’s in for with Matt,” Gonzalez said.
“He was shell-shocked after that last match. He walked over to shake my hand afterward and he had no idea what hit him.”
Kyle La Fritz aimed for an immediate pin in his 220-pound match, smothering North Mason’s Connor Lundberg from the opening moment and winning by pin 1:23 into the contest.
“One of the kids in one of my classes, an exchange student from Italy, says to tell Kyle his matches are too boring because they are too fast,” Gonzalez said.
“That’s what he likes to do, go out and pin people quick.
“He has some other things in his repertoire and we are going to need to pull some of those out [this] week and, of course, at state.”
Port Angeles’ Roberto Coronel finished second in the 285-pound match to Olympic’s Timoteo.
Timoteo showed more energy in the match, bull-charging Coronel on two occasions and getting a late two points just before the third-round buzzer to win 4-2.
“Low man wins there,” Gonzalez said. “We have some work to do to shore a few things up.”
Sam Burton was second for the Riders in the 138-pound class after a solid day on the mat,.
Evan Gallacci couldn’t overcome a slow start to finish second at 182 pounds, losing a 7-3 decision to Cole Bonagofski of Bremerton.
Other regional qualifiers for Port Angeles are Cody Anderson, third in the 113-pound class, and Blake Mann, third in the 170-pound division.
Alternates for regionals after fifth-place finishes are Branden Currie (132 pounds), Brandyn Fouts (160), Thomas Blevins (182), Terry Spencer (195) and Bryce Johnson (220).
“[Our performance] can always be better, but we will take what we have and compete as hard as we can and try to get as many state qualifiers as possible,” Gonzalez said.
Sequim wrestlers
Sequim qualified one grappler for the finals, junior Kevyn Ward, who claimed the 152-pound title with a late pin 18 seconds before the end of the match.
Ward controlled the match, scoring points with some strong takedowns before getting some extra incentive in the form of a below-the-belt grab from his Kingston opponent.
“I think that got him a little fired up there,” Wolves coach Charles Drabek said.
“He got the escape, came out and threw a head and arm on him, but in a good position, not trying to force it.”
Craig Baker battled through a migraine headache to finish third at 120 pounds for Sequim.
“That was a really impressive performance,” Drabek said.
“He was going out to wrestle and could hardly see out of one eye.”
Baker rallied through to pick up a pin in the consolation final.
Michael Latimer finished third in the 220-pound class for the Wolves, dropping a 3-1 decision to North Mason’s Lundberg in the semifinals.
“The frustrating thing in his loss, Michael has pinned him two or three times,” Drabek said.
“Michael was doing all the shooting and his opponent was more defensive, and I’m not sure Michael was prepared for that.
“But that’s the best thing about this tournament: you’ll likely get to wrestle the same kid next weekend.”
Freshman Jamie Schroepfer advanced after finishing fourth in the 113-pound class.
“That was good to see,” Drabek said.
“He’ll get some great experience next weekend and maybe pull off an upset.”
Sven Wiker is the Wolves’ alternate after placing fifth in the 145-pound weight class.
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Sports reporter Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-452-2345, ext. 5250 or at mcarman@peninsualdailynews.com.
