The Ocosta High School wrestling team traveled to Adna on Saturday, Feb. 14, to compete in the 2015 WIAA 1B/2B Region 1 Wrestling Championships.
Regional title
Individually, wrestlers were vying for a top-three finish and a trip to the State Tournament. As a team, the Wildcats were hoping to build on their Sub-Regional Championship and bring home a Regional title. These hopes were realized as the Cats finished in first place with 170.5 total points, 39.5 ahead of runner-up Concrete. Darrington, Ilwaco, and Wahkiakum rounded out the top five. In all, 20 teams competed in the tournament.
The Wildcat contingent included twelve wrestlers, one alternate, the coaching staff, the Wildcat Cheer Team and a great group of parents and supporters.
Wrestling for Ocosta were freshman Noah Martin; sophomores Sam Quinby, Kobe Christian, Kaleb Orton, Matthew Hart, Cosmo Silver and Kalvyn Scott; juniors Cole Rutzer, Byron Hongell and Daniel Helman; and seniors Bryce Hongell and Connor Maben. Freshman Gabe Elder was an alternate for the Cats, but did not get a chance to wrestle.
Of the twelve wrestlers competing in the tournament, six qualified to move to the State Tournament. Three more will accompany the team as alternates, filling a vacated spot if another wrestler in their weight class becomes ineligible.
Championship finals
Five Wildcats wrestled their way to the championship finals, with three finishing the day as Regional Champions, and two finishing in second place.
Rutzer, Quinby & Maben title
Cole Rutzer, wrestling at 106 lbs, started his day with a bye in the first round. In his semi-final match, Rutzer pinned Karson Isaksen of South Bend, and in the finals, he pinned Curtiz Lenz of Rainier in the first minute of the match.
Sam Quinby and Kobe Christian both competed in the 113 lb weight class, and met in the finals for an all-Wildcat championship. Quinby, who placed fourth in state last year, moved to the semis after a first round bye, then beat Joe Thompson of Ilwaco by a 18-2 technical fall.
Christian also received a first round bye and won his semi-final match vs. James Guard of Friday Harbor with a pin in 1:47.
In the final, Quinby initially took control and was working for a fall when Christian reversed and briefly caught Quinby on his back. Quinby was able to regain top position and then held on for the fall. This will be Christian’s second trip to state.
At 120 lbs, Connor Maben defended his regional title from last year with a pin over Aaron Slape of Adna in the quarterfinals and a 13-4 major decision over Peter Glitsch of Quilcene.
In his finals match, Maben faced Louie Ketchum of Concrete. Maben scored the first takedown of the match, but Ketchum battled and the period ended 2-0.
The second period was also close, and Maben entered the third round of the match ahead 4-2. The third period was all Maben, who tacked on eight more points to Ketchum’s 2, giving Maben a 12-4 major decision and third regional title and second state appearance in his four year Ocosta career.
Hongell 2nd
The last Wildcat to wrestle in the finals was Bryce Hongell. He had a rematch of his Sub Regional final victory against Ilwaco’s Jack Kaino. This match went Kaino’s way, as he wrestled very defensively and didn’t allow Hongell to gain control. The match ended in a 6-12 decision and a second place finish for Hongell, who will be heading to state for the second year in a row.
Helman 3rd
Daniel Helman will also represent the Wildcats at state, finishing in third place in the 285 lb weight class. Helman pinned Marcos Perales from South Bend to earn his third trip to the state tournament.
Orton, Hart, Silver 4th
Finishing fourth for the Cats and heading to state as alternates are Kaleb Orton at 120 lbs, Matthew Hart at 132 lbs and Cosmo Silver at 138 lbs.
State tourney tomorrow
The Wildcats will wrestle tomorrow morning, Friday, Feb. 20, in first round action of the 2015 WIAA State Championship Tournament, Mat Classic XXVII. The first round of wrestling begins at 10 a.m., with the second round starting at 4 p.m.
Information on tickets, parking and up-to-date results are available at www.wiaa.com
