Last week Pirate wrestlers had a great showing both at home and on the road, giving Elma a run for its money on Thursday and taking down several teams over the weekend.
On Thursday Vashon hosted its first dual meet of the season against Elma. It was an exciting night with a large and enthusiastic crowd.
A see-saw evening had Elma leading in points, but once the Vashon heavyweights took to the mat, fortunes began to change. After trailing 26-3, the Pirates ran together a string of three pins in a row and closed the gap to 26-24 with only three matches to go. The Pirates eventually lost in team points, but there were some great individual performances.
Leading off the night in his first varsity home match, freshman Clyde Pruett kicked things off with an exciting 12-6 victory. Also winning for the varsity squad were Shane Armstrong, 10-6; Preston Morris, pin in the second round; Joe Coller, pin in the first round; and A.J. Sawyer, pin in 42 seconds.
The JV team had some strong showings as well, with Elan Peterson, Hunter Stanley, Aaron Bomber, Andrew Witter, Fletcher Call and Winter Krimmert all winning their matches.
On Saturday the Pirates competed in the Port Townsend Hat Trick Invitational. The Vashon grapplers dominated opponents from Port Townsend, Montesano and South Whidbey. Winning the tournament by a landslide, Vashon beat South Whidbey 60-9, Montesano 59-13 and Port Townsend 61-18.
Winning three matches gets a team the “hat trick,” and Vashon won an impressive eight of 14 weight classes. Taking the hat for the team were freshmen Chase Wickman, Shane Williams and Logan Nelson; juniors Armstrong, Morris and Louis Jovanovich; and seniors Sawyer and Sam Frederickson.
Also noteworthy were several wrestlers who went 2 and 1 for the day: Elan Peterson, Trevor Figgins, and Christian Seymour. Rookie wrestler Jasmine Acosta took her first win, and freshman Bryan Burgess also notched his first victory of the season.
This weekend seven Pirate wrestlers will travel to the grueling Tri-State Tournament in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.
The next home wrestling match is Tuesday, Dec. 18, with JV action kicking off at 3 p.m. This will be the match to see, as the preeminent wrestling team in the state, 4A Lake Stevens, will be on the Island along with Decatur and Yelm.
— Cheryl Pruett is the mother of two Pirate wrestlers.
