STANWOOD — “This weekend it’s just great to get the guys out and get some mat time,” said M-P wrestling coach Craig Iversen.
About 12 hours after wrapping up a home meet against Wesco South teams Mountlake Terrace and Edmonds-Woodway, the Tomahawks got back on the bus to jamboree at Stanwood Dec. 6.
Despite forfeiting at 103 pounds, the Tomahawks had 10 varsity wrestlers win their opening round match, advancing in a two-match bracket to finals in the 14 weight classes. Among the top weights, captains Ryan Mead (171) and Tannon Hillis (215) along with new heavyweight Ricky Dshaak all won their opening match with pins of their opponents.
Meanwhile, their junior varsity counterparts seemed to be dropping opponents to the mat with ease.
“There’s a lot of younger kids doing well, so I’m proud,” Mead said after the meet.
As the Tommies rematched in a second go-round for bracket bragging rights, M-P had a little more difficulty. In the early rounds, Kory Wielgus (112) and Reubon Escalante (119) lost by decision. It was at 130 that sophomore Demitri Robinson earned the Tomahawks their first finals win with a 7-0 decision. Brian Donaldson made it two in a row for the boys with a third-round pin at 135 pounds.
At 171 and 275, Mead and Dshaak also won their weights by pins.
Brandon Blevins (125), Luke Shumaker (145), Kyle Bossom (189), Hillis were among the Tomahawks to take second place in their weight finals.
The jamboree followed a split against Mountlake Terrace and Edmonds-Woodway the night before, with a 37-36 loss to Edmonds-Woodway.
“It’s still early in the season. We’re still getting kids eligible,” Iversen said.
Robinson, Donaldson and Dshaak were all undefeated through the weekend.
Happy with his team’s showing over the weekend, Mead added, “I just want to build on the unity. We’ve really come together as a team,” he said. “If we keep that up, I think we can really challenge (league favorites) Snohomish and Lake Stevens.”