Both of Vashon High School’s wrestling teams competed this past weekend for a chance to wrestle at the upcoming Mat Classic high school state wrestling tournament.

For the boys, 13 teams converged on Vashon to determine which wrestlers would advance further into the postseason.

On the Vashon boys team, a group of senior wrestlers qualified to wrestle in the state tournament. Michael Ryland (weight class 138#), Colin McIntyre (144#), and Chase Bradick (165#) all went undefeated to win their respective weight classes. In addition, senior Jona Hendon placed fourth to advance as a first alternate and Oli Neilson took fifth, in an exciting finish, to advance as a second alternate.

The Vashon boys team is currently ranked 10th in the state.

The Vashon girls wrestlers competed at White River High School, where sophomore Lena Puz won her weight class at 140# to advance to the state tournament at the Tacoma Dome. She did so by pinning all her opponents in less than a minute in the first period.

State wrestling championships for both boys and girls begin competition on Friday morning at the Tacoma Dome and will continue with four sessions. The final will take place on Saturday night. Go Vashon Wrestling!

Stephen Murphy is an assistant wrestling coach at VHS. Anders Blomgren is a head wrestling coach at VHS.