MARYSVILLE — The Marysville-Pilchuck High School wrestling team defeated Lakewood High School, 57-22, and Granite Falls High School, 35-42, on Dec. 12 while hosting a double dual.
“It was a great night of wrestling,” M-P wrestling Head Coach Craig Iverson said. “We were happy coming away with two wins.”
The double dual featured four schools, which included M-P, Lakewood, Granite Falls and Jackson. Two varsity mats and one junior varsity mat split the gymnasium in half, which allowed one set of bleachers to fully extend out, allowing parents, fans and team members to watch the matches up close with the cheer team, who sat along the mats.
The first match began with M-P taking the mat with Lakewood. Securing pins and with the benefit of a few forfeits, M-P led on points throughout the dual.
M-P junior Sam Foss earned points for the team at the 106-pound weight class by pinning Lakewood’s Katy Kortecass in the second round. Foss managed to score two takedowns and a near-fall in the first round.
“We had Sam Foss come out with a huge win for us,” Iverson said. “We got some big pin points.”
Iverson said that the team’s ability to get pins and takedowns made the first match successful. “In the dual meets, that’s the big difference — getting those bonus points.,” Iverson said.
Other wrestlers who managed pins were sophomore Frank Pina and junior Ryan Duarie, who both pinned their opponents in the first round. Pina, at 120 pounds, pinned his opponent 24 seconds into the round, while Duarie, at 132 pounds, got his pin at 1:24 in. For the heavyweights, 220-pound junior Jacob Anglim pinned Lakewood’s Trevor Chase after earning a takedown in round one. M-P earned five pins that night, but allowed Lakewood three of its own, yet still led on points by winning more decisions that night.
Though M-P had no problem with Lakewood, fatigue set in as the second match was much more competitive.
Starting their second match, against Granite Falls, M-P’s 145-pound senior Jose Villagomez lost all three rounds to Granite Falls’ Riley Hansen, sustaining a takedown and three near-pins.
Though M-P managed to lead the majority of the match, Granite Falls was catching up. “That one was coming down, so we got really nervous,” Iverson said.
After a couple of matches, M-P found itself trailing Granite Falls at 31-30.
The turning point of the match was when freshman Steven Duong pinned Granite Falls’ junior Eathan Short 25 seconds into round one.
“That was the big swing match for us,” Iverson said. Iverson was convinced if Duong did not win that match, it could have cost M-P their win.
“If that match would’ve flipped, the whole dual would have flipped,” he said.
Duong’s early take down and pin set M-P up to take the lead again at 36-31. It was then that junior John Schrock had the winning pin that brought the final score up to 42-35.
Though Iverson was happy with the outcome of the two matches, he is also pleased that his players were healthy after the dual. One wrestling meet can be grueling enough, but two can take its toll and wear out wrestlers.
“Guys get banged up in the first match. It gets tough,” Iverson said. “Those were tough, physical matches.”
Though it was a challenge, Iverson saw the benefits of a dual early in the season, mainly for practice for future games. “It allows us to see what our wrestlers need to work on,” Iverson said.
