The four Skyline and Eastlake grapplers who made it to the state tournament put on respectable matches Feb. 19-20 in Tacoma, and two came close to winning. Skyline placed 25th overall with 18 points. Eastlake placed 56th of 69 teams.
Read moreFive wrestlers from Sammamish schools are headed to state after strong finishes at the regional meets Feb. 13. Skyline’s Danny Christianson (152 pounds) and Anthony DeMatteo (215 pounds) will vie for a top ranking Class 4A in Tacoma Feb. 19-20. Eastlake’s Trevor McKinnon (160 pounds) will join them and Eastside Catholic’s Jake Cowin (140 pounds) and Anthony Roy (152 pounds) will grapple at the Class 3A Mat Classic the same days.
Read moreBy Christopher Huber
Hundreds of grapplers from 19 schools congregated for a full day of wrestling Dec. 29 in the Eastside Catholic gym.
When it was all said and done, the Skyline Spartans earned a second-place finish with 141 points, behind Cedarcrest, which racked up 178 points, at the sixth annual Brian Hill Memorial Wrestling Tournament. Eastside Catholic scored enough (78) for eighth place.
“I think it went really well. The wrestlers did well,” said Eastside Catholic head coach Dennis Reddinger. “Obviously we want more champions out there, but we’re happy with the performance that kids showed us.”
Among the day’s top achievements were Anthony DeMatteo’s first-place finish in the 215-pound weight class.
He pinned Cedarcrest’s Evan Schreurs in 2 minutes, 39 seconds and also won the tournament’s outstanding wrestler award for the upper weights (145-289).
“He’s just been very dominant,” said Skyline coach Gus Kiss.
Eastside Catholic’s Ian Smith won the 135-pound championship when he pinned Kentridge’s Vince Motolla in two minutes.
In addition, he earned the outstanding wrestler distinction for the lower weights (102-140), according to Reddinger.
Reddinger said Smith was determined to win last week after losing a match to a Westlake wrestler earlier in the season.
Smith came back to win the Monroe tournament at 135 in late December and carried the momentum to the Brian Hill Tournament.
“He turned around and took first in this tournament,” Reddinger said.
In the 103-pound class, Skyline’s Justin Manipis fell to Cedarcrest’s Curtis Chittenden in the final 7-2. Collin Ehret lost 6-4 to Chief Sealth’s Brandon Rosario in the 125-pound final.
Ehret got to the final by beating Blanchet’s Jesse Marek by technical fall 19-2 in the first round, O’Dea’s Gage Anderson 8-6 in the second and Cedarcrest’s Gibson Lisk 5-4 in the third.
“It felt like a good first match. A little scrambley … but a win’s a win,” said Ehret after the first-round bout. “I’m feeling a lot more confident. I’m finally down to the weight I’m looking at.”
Ben Reh, of Skyline, took second at 140 after being pinned by Dalton Webb, of Cedarcrest in 39 seconds.
Eastside Catholic’s Drew Beggs tied for third with Juanita’s Slater Davis.
At the 145-pound weight class, senior Jake Cowin placed third after he pinned Kennedy’s Peter Guthrie in 1:45 in the fourth round.
Cowin, who broke his neck last season, pinned his way through the first two rounds, before losing his third-round bout to eventual tournament champion Cody Paxman, of Cedarcrest.
“Jake was disappointed that he lost that match that sent him down to consolation,” Reddinger said. “They always have an expectation to win. He really wants to make it all out.”
Skyline’s Danny Christianson took the 160-pound championship when he beat O’Dea’s Gino Clement 11-7. Christianson lost to Clement a few weeks ago at the Shelton tournament, so they considered the win progress, Skyline coach Gus Kiss said.
“Danny learned from his losses,” Kiss said. “I’m pleased that Danny was able to beat the kids from O’Dea.”
Eastside Catholic’s Mario Salazar (189 pounds) tied for third with Blanchet’s Peter Johnson. Salazar earned the top-three spot after beating Evergreen’s Maile Toufa 5-3 in the fourth round.
As DeMatteo won the 215-pound final, Crusader Joe Stout took third in the weight class.
Kiss and Reddinger said the tournament was an important way for wrestlers to stay fresh during the winter break.
“I think it’s good. It gives them something during their break to look forward to,” Reddinger said.
Skyline’s second-place finish also gives the grapplers some momentum and confidence heading into bouts against Redmond and Issaquah.
“It’s going to start getting tough right off the bat at the beginning of the year,” Kiss said.
Reporter Christopher Huber can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 242, or chuber@isspress.com. Comment on this story at www.SammamishReview.com.
Hundreds of grapplers from 19 schools congregated for a full day of wrestling Dec. 29 in the Eastside Catholic gym.
When it was all said and done, the Skyline Spartans earned a second-place finish with 141 points, behind Cedarcrest, which racked up 178 points, at the sixth annual Brian Hill Memorial Wrestling Tournament. Eastside Catholic scored enough (78) for eighth place.
Skyline’s Collin Ehret tries to pin Blanchet’s Jesse Marek in the first round of the 125-pound competition. Ehret won 19-2 in a technical fall. Photo by Christopher Huber
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By Christopher Huber
As the fervor for fall sports on the Plateau settles down, wrestlers across the plateau are hitting the mats for the winter. Competition around the league will likely prove to be fierce, but coaches, on the whole, seem to be quite optimistic and confident about their teams’ chances in the race to make the tournaments.
The third time may be the charm for Skyline wrestler Alexis Wilcher this season. The senior has placed second for the past two years at the state tournament in the 145- and 140-pound levels and will make a bid for the title in 2010 in either the 135- or 140-pound category.
After going 12-13 overall and 5-4 in KingCo in 2008-2009, the Spartans will look to senior captains Anthony DeMatteo (189) and Danny Christianson (152) to lead by their experienced example, said coach Gus Kiss. Both were state participants in last year’s Mat Classic state wrestling tournament.
“The big thing is leading by example,” Kiss said. “That’s an important quality to have.”
Skyline graduated a handful of wrestlers, including standouts Nolan Richards and Larson Caldwell. With 34 turning out this year, Kiss said the group is young but enthusiastic for the season.
“They’re working extremely hard this year,” Kiss said.
The Spartans are still looking to fill the 189 and 171 spots, but Kiss said he hopes a couple of football players may decide to join, now that the season is finished.
He said senior Joey Lim may surprise opponents this year in the 112-pound category.
“He’s got a good shot,” Kiss said.
Skyline will have to look out for Woodinville, Inglemoor and Issaquah.
“We’ll be in the hunt this year,” he said.
Matches to watch: Skyline vs. Issaquah (Eastlake High School), 6 p.m. Jan. 7; Skyline at Brian Hill Invitational (Eastside Catholic High School), TBD Dec. 29; Skyline vs. Eastlake (Beaver Lake Middle School), 6 p.m. Jan. 21.
Coming off a 3-9 record last year, the Eastlake Wolves are looking to take advantage of returning most of their experienced grapplers in 2009-2010. It only graduated two seniors, although some athletes decided not to return, due to participation fees tripling, coach Riley Cornett said.
“We’ve got a few less guys this year than we had last year, but a lot of good attitudes in the room,” Cornett said. “We should have some surprising sophomores breaking through in the varsity line-up.”
Clay Monahan, Ryan Klein, Zach Leavitt, Jordan Wiley and heavyweight Brad Leinweber could help make Eastlake a prominent contender.
Captains Max Benjamin (119) and Trevor McKinnon (160/171) will lead the way for the Wolves as they try to make their way back to the state tournament — Benjamin went to state as a sophomore last year.
“Max is another great example of a guy that comes in and works hard every day,” Cornett said. “Al Charat’s (125) looking really good this year, too.”
The team will rely on more focused practices and workouts this season to make the difference in KingCo competition, he said. Eastlake is working harder on technique and focusing more on strength conditioning throughout the early part of the season as it prepares for a more difficult end-of-season, he said.
Matches to watch: – Mount Si and Issaquah at Eastlake, 6 p.m. Jan. 7; Newport at Eastlake, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 12; Liberty at Eastlake, 7:30 p.m. Jan. 14.
Reporter Christopher Huber can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 242, or chuber@isspress.com. Comment on this story at www.SammamishReview.com.
As the fervor for fall sports on the Plateau settles down, wrestlers across the plateau are hitting the mats for the winter. Competition around the league will likely prove to be fierce, but coaches, on the whole, seem to be quite optimistic and confident about their teams’ chances in the race to make the tournaments.
Read moreBy Christopher Huber
Like most high school athletes, Skyline wrestler Anthony DeMatteo loves competition. Knowing he could train harder, workout longer or play smarter helps him appreciate the effort he puts in. DeMatteo, a three-sport athlete, also appreciates the caliber of coaches who advised and taught him some new strategy and technique recently at the annual “Wrestle with the Bull” commuter camp at Skyline.
The camp, in its sixth year and hosted at Skyline, is one of just four summer wrestling camps around the country run by world-champion wrestler and 2000 Olympic silver medalist Sammie Henson.
Although Henson helps with various other wrestling camps or events throughout the year, the only other week-long camps he runs take place in St. Charles, Mo. and San Clemente and Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., according to Henson’s Web site.
Henson wasn’t the only high-profile wrestler who spent the week of June 29 to July 3 imparting skill techniques, mental strategies and conditioning methods on the mats in the Skyline gym. His former coach, Joe Seay, came to Sammamish to coach the final two days of the camp, which included about 45 area youth wrestlers from elementary- to high school-level.
“I think it’s good. It helps bring out the competition,” said DeMatteo. “Both of them teach really well.”
Seay coached the 1996 U.S. Olympic team, as well as the 1993 and 1995 world-champion U.S. team. He also is a member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
DeMatteo said Henson and Seay, with assistance from wrestlers from California Polytechnic State University, taught a lot of high-percentage moves — holds and moves that tend to be particularly effective. He said their expertise will help give Washington high school wrestlers a better reputation around the country.
“This means we’re getting extra help,” said DeMatteo. “Washington needs to get help with its reputation.”
Henson and Seay coach at the highest level of collegiate and professional wrestling — Henson is now at the University of Oklahoma and Seay at Oklahoma State — but they stressed that some aspects of the sport are the same at all levels.
“The key to wrestling is their stance, their positioning. A lot of the things are basic techniques that you use at every level,” Henson said over the phone, while in New York. “I give them some insight into how to get into a shot or to finish a shot.”
Another focus of the commuter camp was training wrestlers to be more disciplined, as soon in their careers as possible.
“We’re all trying to help young athletes become better technicians at a younger age,” Seay said, as wrestlers practiced on the mats July 3. “I teach all levels the same things. I try to get the most sound, fundamental base. To me ,wrestling is like a physical chess match.”
Henson said he keeps coming back to Skyline because he has close ties with Spartan coach Gus Kiss. He also likes the youth here. Every year, he sees 20-25 returning participants from Eastlake High, Eastside Catholic, Skyline and other schools in the area.
“I love the Sammamish area, and that’s why I’m back there every year,” Henson said. “It’s definitely a place where I feel comfortable.”
Reporter Christopher Huber can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 242, or chuber@isspress.com. Comment on this story at www.sammamishreview.com.
Like most high school athletes, Skyline wrestler Anthony DeMatteo loves competition. Knowing he could train harder, workout longer or play smarter helps him appreciate the effort he puts in. DeMatteo, a three-sport athlete, also appreciates the caliber of coaches who advised and taught him some new strategy and technique recently at the annual “Wrestle with the Bull” commuter camp at Skyline.
World-champion wrestling coach Joe Seay, center, works with Skyline senior Anthony DeMatteo, left, on the mats July 3. Photo by Christopher Huber
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Skyline senior wrestler Lasron Caldwell ended his high school career as the first recipient of the Skyline Pride Wrestling “I Will Not Get Pinned” Award and the Baldwin Resource Group Athletic Scholarship, according to the Caldwell family.
The first award is named after Caldwell’s own quote as a freshman in the program. He won the scholarship based on his overall dedication, character and determination, the family said.
Caldwell finished his four-year varsity-wrestling career 87-52 and he went to regionals twice. He was never pinned. He has maintained a 3.95 GPA through the first semester.
Written by Staff · Filed Under Sports | Comments Off
Skyline’s Alexis Wilcher finishes second in state, Nolan Richards eighth
Skyline’s Nolan Richards tries to make a move against Wenatchee’s Krayson Gates in the seventh-place bout Feb. 21. Richards lost and finished eighth. Photo by Christopher Huber
Skyline High School’s lone female wrestler, Alexis Wilcher pinned her way to the finals Feb. 20 and 21 at the 2009 Washington State Mat Classic Wrestling Championships in Tacoma.
In the quarterfinal match, Wilcher pinned Sequim’s Sarah Keltonic in 17 seconds.
But it only took determined opponent Jolene Crook-Meyers, of Kentwood, 1 minute, 12 seconds to pin her in the 140-pound title bout. Read more
Skyline’s Anthony DeMatteo defeats Michael Lambert of Inglemoor, Feb. 14 at the regional tournament at Todd Beamer High School.Photo by Don Borin
Four Sammamish-area wrestlers are headed to state this week in Tacoma. They each finished in the top four in their respective weight classes Feb. 14 at the Class 4A Region 2 Championships at Todd Beamer High School.
Another two will head to the Tacoma Dome as alternates for the Mat Classic.
Eastlake Sophomore Max Benjamin moved on to state after placing fourth in a close match against Decatur’s Nick Lindholm in the 103-pound match. Read more
Skyline junior Alexis Wilcher (top) wrestles an opponent at the Lady Wolfpack Invite Jan. 31 at Henry M. Jackson High School in Mill Creek. She placed first at the all-female tournament in the 140-pound weight class. Photo by Dave Jedlicka
Skyline High School junior Alexis Wilcher has a knack for pinning boys.
By any other measure, she’s your typical teenage girl. She enjoys riding horses and hanging out with friends, and at 5 foot 4, she certainly isn’t the tallest.
But every winter since seventh grade, Wilcher has donned a spandex singlet and headgear, stepped onto the wrestling mat and pitted her skills against what usually turns out to be members of the opposite sex.
“I hear it all the time that wrestling a girl is awkward for guys,” she said. “But when you step out on the mat, gender goes out the window. It’s just another meet.”
Wilcher is in her second year competing with the Skyline wrestling team.
Wrestling in the 140-pound class this year, she has a 4-1 junior varsity record, with all four wins coming from pins. Her varsity record is 1-2.
She came to Skyline after moving to Snoqualmie from Colorado with her mother. She’d been wrestling for three years prior to joining the team and quickly showed she belonged on the team, wrestling coach Gus Kiss said.
“She proved herself in practice and on the mat,” he said. “She wrestled some men really tough.”
When Wilcher first joined the team, Kiss addressed his wrestlers and instructed them on how they were to treat her.
“I stood in front of them and told them, ‘Inside practice, she’s a teammate, and outside of practice, you treat her like a lady,’” he said.
Wilcher said she’s had no trouble fitting in with her teammates, who treat her just like one of the guys, and a few have become some of her best friends.
It wasn’t always so easy for her, though. When she wrestled in Colorado, teammates there had a different way of letting her fit in — not at all.
“They beat me up,” she said. “They were definitely rougher on me than on anyone else.”
She persevered through that and when her mother, Jude Wilcher, was looking to move, she eyed the Pacific Northwest as a welcoming environment.
“I suspected that the Northwest would be the right place to be,” Jude said. “I was convinced the culture would be encouraging of her.”
Wilcher said the uphill battle to be accepted and succeed in wrestling has given her strength in all aspects of life.
“I don’t think I’d be the person I am today without wrestling,” she said. “The persistence you need and the drive to succeed in it really shapes everything you do.”
Wilcher still has room to improve as a wrestler. Though it is difficult to find girls to wrestle, when she does, Kiss said she seems to attack with a little more aggressiveness and confidence than when she wrestles boys.
“I think she’s smart enough to realize that ‘Gee, they’re a little stronger than me,’” he said. “With girls, she seems to be more focused, because she doesn’t want to get beat by any girls.”
Last year, she took second place at the girls 3A state championship in the 145-pound class.
Just recently, she took first place in the 140-pound weight class at the Lady Wolfpack Invite at Henry M. Jackson High School in Mill Creek.
It was her first time competing against fellow female wrestlers this year. She pinned her first two opponents before taking the finals by a 12-2 score.
Wilcher’s career in wrestling began with a friendly dare in the seventh grade, but has since blossomed into a true passion. Still, she said she doesn’t think she wants to continue wrestling in college.
Instead, she plans to study civil engineering at the University of Washington after her high-school graduation.
The plan is to follow in the footsteps of her mother, an urban transportation planner for the city of Seattle, and someone who Wilcher said has been a huge inspiration and encouraging influence.
“She doesn’t push me hard. She pushes me hard enough,” she said. “She gets up early in the morning to help me make weight. I mean who else would do that?”
Wilcher won her first match in the seventh grade by a pin with five seconds left to go until the end of the match.
When the referee raised her arm as the winner, Wilcher said all of her middle school classmates rose in the bleachers.
They don’t get so excited anymore. Now, it’s just another pin, no different than the many others she’s earned.
Reach intern Jeff Richards at 392-6434, ext. 236, or samrev@isspress.com. Comment on this story at www.SammamishReview.com.
Skyline’s Danny Christianson (right) takes control of Mount Si’s Joe Milks during their match. Photo by Greg Farrar
Skyline junior grappler Danny Christianson really likes going last — especially when his team is only up by four points.
His match could have gone either way, but for the second time in two weeks, he helped the Spartans win in the final round of a dual meet. This time it was against Mount Si High School.
“It’s fun wrestling last because then you’re able to tell if your match matters or not,” Christianson said between dual meets Jan. 29 at Mount Si. “It gives a whole new meaning to your match.”
He won the 160-pound match by pinning Mount Si’s Joe Milks in just over 3 minutes, preserving the win for Skyline 44-34. Read more
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