MARYSVILLE – Wrestling is bringing out the “inner beast” in girls on the newly combined Marysville Getchell-Marysville Pilchuck high school team.
New coach Andie White said Wednesday that some of the girls kind of held back a little in practice. But that changed once matches started.
“Their personalities did not come out” until then, she said. Matches brought out “the inner beast in them.”
White said she is having so much fun coaching them because for most they are just learning the sport.
“They’re like little sponges right now,” soaking in everything they are being taught, she said.
White got involved with youth wrestling when her son’s football coach told her he should try wrestling in the offseason to keep him in shape. They liked it so much he and her daughter wrestle year-round.
Both are successful. Son Caden is a standout junior at M-P. And her middle-school daughter was second at nationals last year. White played soccer and football, but never wrestled.
“I wish I would have now that I’ve been involved in it,” she said. “It teaches values you take with you your whole life.”
Anyone who watched the meet Tuesday night at M-P could attest to that.
“The grit these girls showed,” she said. “The fight in them will help in everything they do.”
Because of the newness of the sport, the girls get so excited, win or lose.
“It’s more than I expected,” White said. “It’s exciting to see how happy they are.”
Even when they didn’t win, wrestlers were still proud of themselves because they saw their own improvement, White said.
She said the girls already are having success. On Tuesday, in only their second outing, the team won 11 matches.
White said the team’s male coaches have been a big help in teaching technique. Already the girls are putting together several moves per match. The coach said the team has a few wrestlers with some experience, mostly in middle school.
Sophomore Chelsey Goeden has wrestled for four years. She won a match with a fast, first-round pin Tuesday.
Another sophomore, Dori Hofman, is new to the sport, but her family has a history in wrestling. She’s won two matches by pin, including one Tuesday.
Freshman Ani Garner also is excelling, being 3-1 on the year.
Junior Jennifer Morales also has wrestled a few years. And senior Lexi Kilbourn is a competitor, having been a state diver previously. Freshman Kelsie McCall was happy about her match. She has never wrestled before, but she got her first win and pin Tuesday.
White said the MG-MP teams combined this year because of low numbers, with only 17 turning out. But she hopes to grow the sport.
As for if any of her wrestlers will do well enough to advance to state, White is optimistic.
“They certainly have the drive and the fight to get there,” she said.
Boys wrestling
In a back and forth battle Tuesday, Arlington edged Cedarcrest 41-38 with a final-match forfeit making the difference.
Winners for Arlington were: At 120 pounds, Dorian Tollenaar won by technical fall 16-0; At 138 Dimitri Schaffer won by forfeit; at 152, Gavin Howell won by pin in 1 minute, 9 seconds; at 170, Kristian Fairbanks won by pin in 5:14; at 182, Levi Wiseman won by pin in 1:07; at 106, Daniel Heiss won by pin in 36 seconds; and at 113 Casten Tollenaar won by forfeit.
Girls basketball
In 3A action, Arlington shut out Cedarcrest 14-0 in the third quarter on the way to a 49-27 win Tuesday.
Makenzie Gage’s 17 points paced Arlington. Sierra Scheppele added 8 points. Other scorers were: Abby Schwark with 7; Hailey Hiatt had 5; Keira Marsh 4; with 2 apiece were Georgia Arnold, Allison DeBerry and Jackie Stupey; and Abbey Hassing and Mollie Janousek each scored 1.
Meanwhile, MG lost a heart-breaker in double overtime to Shorecrest 60-55. MG fell behind 16-7 after the first quarter, but battled back to outscore the home team 15-4 in the second to take a 22-20 halftime lead. The Chargers extended the lead to six at the end of three, but Shorecrest battled back to tie it after four quarters 46-46. Both teams scored 7 points in the first overtime. But in the last period, the visitors were outscored 7-2.
Kortney Crane led MG with 17 points, and Kiki Green chipped in 11. Mikail Montez had 9, Sydney Norton 7, Maddy Grandbois 6, Alexus Atkins 3 and Brionna Palm 2.
At Lynnwood, the home team beat M-P 65-41.
Miriah Summers continued to stand out for the Tommies with 25 points. Other scorers were: Lauren Lewis 7, Madyson Baxter 6, Alissa Edge 2 and Tahja Vaivaimuli 1.
In Northwest 2A action, it was Meridian 62, Lakewood 24.
Boys basketball
In 2A action, Lakewood rallied for 25 points in the second quarter on the way to a 68-52 win over Meridian Tuesday.
The scoring outburst put the Cougars up 42-29 at halftime, and they held the lead from there to beat Meridian, which dropped to 5-1.
Alex Jensen and Michai Harris scored 17 points each, while Jared Taylor and Morgan Stacey both scored 11. Alex Coleman added 8, and Sean Phillips and Shae Dixon tallied 2 apiece.
Boys swimming
Archbishop Murphy beat Marysville-Pilchuck 101-73 and Marysville Getchell 102-68 in swimming Tuesday.
Winners for the local teams were: In the 200-yard freestyle, Ian Meetsma of M-P in 2 minutes, .51 seconds. In the 200 individual medley, Jesse Nahinu of MG in 2:26.3; In diving, Andrew Kallioof of M-P with 226.5 points; In the 500 free, Meetsma in 5:26.09; and in the 200 freestyle relay, MG with Nicholas Carlson, Andrew Christensen, Cameron Chadd and Kameron Wilkes in 1:55.59.
