By CHERYL PRUETT

The Vashon Pirate wrestling team made a good showing at the prestigious Tri-State Tournament in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, on Dec. 20 and 21.

This annual invitational tournament posts 64- and 32-man brackets stacked with the best high school wrestlers from a three-state region across all classifications from 1A to 4A.

With the team’s strong showing at last year’s tri-district tournament, the Pirates were allowed to bring 10 wrestlers. One was out due to illness, but the rest made the long, snowy drive and represented Vashon well.

At the end of the second grueling day, sophomore Chase Wickman took third.

Wickman won his first match, pinning his opponent in the first round. His second match didn’t go so well, and he fell, 9-14. Bouncing back, his third match was a win, 9-0.

Wickman won his fourth match, then got to face the opponent who had beaten him in the second-round bout. Tied after two rounds, Wickman allowed an escape, then down by 1 point, got the takedown with 17 seconds to go and won by one. The match for third place was another thriller, with the feisty 106 pounder going into overtime before winning with a takedown.

Senior Shane Armstrong battled through his bracket to a seventh-place finish.

Armstrong won his first two matches before losing and then worked his way back up the backside of the bracket.

Also competing for Vashon were Preston Morris and Logan Nelson, who both notched wins; Shane Williams, Chester Pruett, Franklin Easton, Joe Coller and Louis Jovanovich.

Last Saturday the Pirates hosted the annual Rock Tournament. Results were not available at press time, but will be reported next week.

Next up, the Pirate wrestlers will travel to the Everett Classic tournament on Jan. 4.

— Cheryl Pruett is the mother of two Pirate wrestlers.