Tahoma had 14 wrestlers in the finals of the sub-regional tournament Feb. 3-4 at Kent-Meridian which it won handily tallying 475.5 points while second-place Kentwood had 231.
The Bears, which have not lost a dual meet in the South Puget Sound League North division in four years, rolled against familiar opponents at the sub-regional which featured only their division foes.
In four of the first five weight classes, Tahoma wrestlers faced an opponent from their own team in the finals on Feb. 4, while the Bears had a total of eight sub-regional champions.
Auburn senior Brian Alonzo got the better of Tahoma sophomore Todd Link in the 106 pound final, winning 3-1 on a take down in the waning seconds of the third period.
Tim Whitehead, a junior, beat fellow Tahoma wrestler sophomore Sam Schuessler 8-1 in the 113 pound championship match.
Tahoma’s Cruz Velasquez beat teammate Blake Hoyle 7-1 for the 120 pound title.
Stephen Hopkins won the 126 pound crown when fellow senior Jesse Vaughan took an injury default.
At 126 pounds, Joey Palmer of Tahoma won on an injury default by teammate Gabe Boynay.
Colton Marlowe of Kentlake, which finished fourth overall as a team, won the 138 pound final when he earned an 8-5 decision over Kent-Meridian’s Joshua Smith.
Tanner Mjelde, a senior from Tahoma, beat Kentlake’s Sean Farr with an 11-7 decision in the 145 pound final.
At 152 pounds it was an all Auburn High final with junior Josh Tate getting the 7-2 win over senior Tilden Sansom in the final.
Tahoma’s Dan Haniger finished third at 152 with a 9-2 victory over Daniel Couch of Kentridge.
Auburn claimed another sub-regional individual title at 160 pounds when Seth Mizoguchi put together a 14-5 decision over Jonathan Ohashi, a senior from Kentwood.
Garret Autrey, a junior from Tahoma, held off Kent-Meridian’s Thomas Kemp in the 170 pound sub-regional final with a 7-5 decision after pinning his previous two opponents.
Perhaps the most surprising performance for Tahoma was junior Austin Perry, who pinned his way through the 182-pound bracket, including a fall 3:35 seconds in the final against James West of Auburn.
Matt Hopkins lost an 8-4 decision to Thomas Jefferson’s KW Williams in the 195 pound final. Williams, who also plays quarterback for the Raiders football team, used his strength and aggressive shooting that his been his hallmark throughout the season to beat the younger Hopkins brother from Tahoma.
Matthew Herrick of Kentwood pinned Tahoma’s Aaron Davis less than a minute into the second period in the 220 pound match.
Tahoma rounded off its domination of the regional with Ed Torres’ 7-2 victory over Larkin Williams of Auburn Riverside in the 285 pound contest.
The top four placers at the sub-regional head to the regional meet this Saturday at Thomas Jefferson High.
SUB-REGIONAL PLACERS:
Kentwood
Conor Berlin, third, 106; Walker Meyers, fifth, 106; Scott Willis, fifth, 113; Alex Enciso, fourth, 120; Dalton Meyers, fourth, 126; Jamiel Jackson, third, 132; Logan Bearss, third, 138; Jonathan Ohashi, second, 160; Josh Boekleman, third, 170; Quintin Trinh, sixth, 170; Raymond Paz, third, 195; Kyle Capperauld, sixth, 195.
Kentridge
Kenny Hobbs, fourth, 106; Spencer Sargent, fifth, 126; Arthur Sargent, fifth, 138; Daniel Couch, fourth, 145; Chris Bailey, third, 160; Andrew Weitzel, fourth, 220.
Kentlake
Josh Beckler, fifth, 132; Farr, second, 145; Gabe Carillo, sixth, 145; Jon Yarbrough, third, 182; Chad Johnnie, fourth, 182; Tyler Deskins, third, 220; Mason Johnson, third, 285; Dylan Beale, fourth; 285.
Kent-Meridian
Obed Carillo-Martiniez, sixth, 113; Joshua Smith, second, 138; Archie Biawogee, fourth, 160; Thomas Kemp, second, 170.
Tahoma
Todd Link, second, 106; Sam Schuessler, second, 113; Blake Hoyle, second, 120; Jesse Vaughan, second, 126; Gabe Boynay, second, 132; Brandon Schieber, sixth, 138; Tucker Mjelde, fifth, 145; Dan Haniger, third, 152; Chris McElroy, fifth, 160; Aaron Vaughan, fifth, 182; Matt Hopkins, second, 195; Aaron Davis, second, 220; Elijha Suka, fifth, 220.
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