SEDRO-WOOLLEY — Port Angeles added another wrestling championship to its season accomplishments by winning the regional title at Sedro-Woolley High School.
Next up: state.
Led by three champions, including heavyweight Roberto Coronel, Roughriders racked up 186 points at the regional meet. Olympic came in second with 174 and Sedro-Woolley was third with 173.
Port Angeles also claimed the sub-regional championship earlier this month.
Sequim’s Kevyn Ward won the 152-pound regional championship Saturday and heads into this weekend’s state meet on a roll, having also won the sub-regional title earlier this month.
Nine Port Angeles wrestlers advanced to the Mat Classic, which is this Friday and Saturday at the Tacoma Dome.
The Riders also have two state alternates.
Coronel is the heavyweight regional champ for the second consecutive season after a strong tournament that included two pins and a solid 5-1 win in the finals that Port Angeles coach Erik Gonzalez said wasn’t as close as the score might indicate.
“This was a great response after a great week of practice, and came a week after he finished second at sub-regionals, as he is now wrestling the best he has all season,” Gonzalez said.
Matt Robbins won the 195-pound weight class for the Riders and Brady Anderson was the 126-pound champion.
Port Angeles has three other finalists: 106-pounder Tyler Gale, 113-pounder Ben Basden and 220-pounder Kyle La Fritz.
Cody Anderson finished third, right behind Basden in the 113-pound bracket.
The Riders’ other two qualifiers are 182-pounder Evan Gallacci and 120-pounder Gavin Crain, each finishing fourth in their respective divisions.
Sam Burton (138 pounds) and Blake Mann (170 pounds) are state alternates for Port Angeles after placing fifth at regionals.
Morgan Mower and Richard Hillstrom finished sixth in their weight classes — 126 and 170 pounds, respectively — one spot away from being alternates.
Two Redhawks going to state
BELLINGHAM — Port Townsend had two wrestlers qualify for state at the Class 1A regional at Meridian High School.
Shae Shoop placed second in the 120-pound division for the Redhawks to punch his return ticket to the Mat Classic at the Tacoma Dome, where he finished seventh last year.
In the 126-pound class, Port Townsend’s Jackson Schott finished third to qualify for state.
Girls Wrestling
Three Spartans qualify
KELSO — Forks sent four to the girls Region 3 championship meet and three are advancing to state — two as regional champions.
Senior Brooke Peterson had three pins for the Spartans as she cruised to a region title in the 145-pound class.
Tristen Williams, also a senior, had two pins to win the 105-pound division.
Freshman Brynn Peterson is moving on to state after a third-place showing at 140 pounds.
Sequim, Port Townsend each sending three to state
YELM — Sequim’s Kaylee Ditlefsen’s runner-up finish in the 140-pound class highlighted six area wrestlers who advanced to state from the Region 2 championship meet.
Ditlefsen had two pins on her way to the finals, where she dropped a 4-1 decision to South Kitsap’s Makayla Ramirez.
The Wolves had two other state qualifiers, while Port Townsend also qualified three for state.
Alma Mendoza took fourth for Sequim at 125 pounds.
Teammate Kiara Pierson placed third or fourth. She was unable to wrestle in the third-place match Saturday because she had reached the allowed maximum of five matches in one day.
Pierson will wrestle Anesia Ramirez of Lakes for the region’s third seed this week.
A pair of Port Townsend wrestlers are in similar situations.
Hannah Welch at 135 pounds and Ally Bradley at 105 pounds will wrestler for the region’s fifth or sixth seed in their respective weight divisions.
Chloe Rogers had Port Townsend’s best finish, taking third at 140 pounds, as all three Redhawks competing at regionals advanced to state.
“These girls are the first ever girls from PTHS to qualify for the girls state tournament,” Port Townsend coach Steve Grimm said.
