After years of discussion, the All-South Puget Sound League Championships wrestling tournament reached fruition Dec. 30 at Auburn High.
And, as anticipated, the competition and talent level on the mat were as high as ever.
Behind a pair of individual championships and 10 total placers, Enumclaw snuck away with the team title, pulling in a total of 198.5 points. The Hornets were followed by second-place Auburn (187.5), Graham-Kapowsin (184) and Tahoma (167).
The All-SPSL Championships, which was in its first year but had been talked about among local coaches for several seasons, featured 31 teams from the SPSL 2A, 3A and 4A. The lone SPSL team not to make the tournament was White River, which had already signed up to compete in another tournament. In previous years, many SPSL teams travelled to Vancouver, Wash. (Pac Coast Championships) or Coeur d’Alene, Idaho (Tri-State) to compete in the Northwest’s most rigorous holiday tournaments.
This time around, local teams didn’t have to travel far for upper-tier competition.
“It was great competition right in our own back yard,” said Tahoma coach Chris Feist, whose team came away with eight individual placers.
“There were two 32-team tournaments being hosted on the West side (of the mountains) and this fit our schedule. You don’t have to drive over the mountains for good competition.”
Indeed. The All-SPSL Championships featured state champions going up against other state champions and elite wrestlers from each weight class going toe-to-toe. The top eight wrestlers in the 32-man brackets were awarded medals.
In many respects, the tournament felt a lot like old times among friendly SPSL North foes. Enumclaw, which dominated the North from 2000 until leaving for the SPSL 3A in 2006, continued to flex its muscle with 10 individual placers. The Hornets won five straight SPSL North titles from 2000-2005, the last of which it tied with Auburn.
Auburn placed seven individuals, three of whom won titles (Adam Garcia at 140, Dylan Rutledge at 215 and Nick Conlan at 285).
Locally, Kentwood brought home the most individual medals with nine. The Conquerors finished in seventh place overall as a team with 114 points.
Leading the way for the Conquerors was Ruben Navejas (112), who handled Bonney Lake’s Andrew Cunningham 8-0 for the championship. Cunningham won the Class 3A 103-pound title last year while Navejas took second at 4A.
“It was nice to see (Ruben) go against someone else who has taken state,” said Kentwood coach Ken Sroka. “He looked really good.”
Navejas was the lone state champion among the fourth Kent School District programs.
Steven Hopkins, who took second at 119, was Tahoma’s top placer. Hopkins fell to Bryce Evans of Rogers in the championship, 3-0. Evans is a two-time state runner up.
“It’s nice seeing them (go against each other) early on,” Feist said. “It will be fun watching them duke it out.”
Hopkins and Evans are two of the top-three ranked wrestlers at 119 pounds in the state.
Kent-Meridian’s Jean-Claude Atkinson (285) was the Kent School District’s lone second-place finisher. Atkinson was pinned by Auburn’s Conlan in the championship match. The Royals grabbed three individual medals from the tournament.
Meanwhile, Kentridge enjoyed a strong tournament. Despite placing 12th as a team with 86 points, the Chargers came home with seven individual medals, led by Nick Aliment (4th/119) and Jeff Seid (4th/171). The seven medals tied Kentridge with Auburn for third most among SPSL North teams.
“It’s nice having a tough tournament like that right in the middle of the year,” said first-year Kentridge coach Todd Lantz.
Kentlake, which was missing a handful of wrestlers due to injury and/or illness, placed three wrestlers among the top eight in their respective weight classes: Sean Farr (5th/130); Colton Marlowe (5th/135) and Nathan Meeks (5th/285).
“It was a very tough tournament,” said Kentlake coach Jeremy Williams. “It wasn’t Tri-State tough, but it was Pac-Coast tough.”
MEDALISTS
Below is a look at how teams from the SPSL North performed at the first All-SPSL Championships, which was held at Auburn High Dec. 30. The number in parenthesis represents the number of medalists from each team.
Kentwood (9, 1 title): Ruben Navejas (1st/112); Hayden Peterson (5th/119); Dalton Meyers (8th/119); Jose Hernandez (5th/125); Austin Torres (4th/152); Lucas Kelly (8th/171); Albert Tadevoysan (6th/189); James Hatfield (7th/189); Komo Thiara (8th/285)
Tahoma (8): Tim Whitehead (4th/103); Sam Schuesler (5th/103); Gabe Boynay (6th/112); Steven Hopkins (2nd/119); Cruz Valesquez (7th/125); Dan Haniger (3rd/140); Tanner Mjelde (4th/145); Garrett Autrey (7th/160);
Kentridge (7): Nick Aliment (4th/119); Zach Seibel (6th/160); Chris Bailey (8th/160); Jeff Seid 94th/171); Jacob Dalton (8th/189); Andrew Weitzel (5th/215); Steven Gilman (8th/215)
Auburn (7, 3 titles): Brian Alonzo (2nd/103); Tyson Gaillac (4th/112); Adam Garcia (1st/140); Josh Tate (3rd/145); Tildon Sanson (7th/152); Garrett Rutledge (1st/215); Nick Conlan (1st/285);
Thomas Jefferson (4): Michael Roybal (7th/119); Ty Zumwalt (6th/145); Zeke Nistrian (2nd/152); K.W. Williams (2nd/189)
Kentlake (3): Sean Farr (5th/130); Colton Marlowe (5th/135); Nathan Meeks (5th/285)
Kent-Meridian (3): Josh Smith (8th/145); Luke Barzie (4th/189); Jean-Claude Atkinson (2nd/285)
Auburn Riverside (2): Edward Yakimchuck (7th/135); Keaton Dalfery (7th/145)
Mount Rainier (0): None.
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