Battling and learning with the best
July 14, 2009
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
Larson Caldwell wins two wrestling awards
April 13, 2009
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.
Skyline, Eastlake wrestling seasons end with mixed results
February 23, 2009
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
4 local grapplers head to state this week
February 16, 2009
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
Alexis Wilcher keeps opponents off their toes
February 9, 2009
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 wrestlers go 1-1 at Mount Si double-dual
February 2, 2009
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
Skyline grapplers finish strong
January 26, 2009
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Skyline’s Joey Lim upends Newport’s Austin Bulen on the 119-pound match Jan. 22 at Skyline High School. Lim won 6-1. Photo by Christopher Huber.
Skyline junior Danny Christianson had 38 seconds to make his move. He was down 3-1 in the final period of his 160-pound bout against Newport’s Ali Saribas.
They had been deadlocked for the duration of the round, but Christianson scored two points with a takedown in the final seconds and sent it into overtime.
“I just had to set it up and be patient for it, because a lot of times I get impatient and that’s where I get in trouble,” Christianson said.
They had one minute to finish it off, but all it took after the two staggered across the mat for a few seconds was a two-point takedown by Christianson.
He won 5-3 and capped off Skyline’s 42-22 win against the Knights Jan. 22 at the Skyline gym. Read more
Skyline High School grapplers finish strong against Newport
January 23, 2009
Skyline junior Danny Christianson had 38 seconds to make his move. He was down 3-1 in the final period of his 160-pound bout against Newport’s Ali Saribas.
They had been deadlocked for the duration of the round, but Christianson scored two points with a takedown in the final seconds and sent it into overtime.
Skyline’s Joey Lim upends Newport’s Austin Bulen on the 119-pound match Jan. 22 at Skyline High School. Lim won 6-1. Photo by Christopher Huber
Skyline happy with winter tournament
January 5, 2009
Skyline’s Joey Lim takes control during a match in a tournament in Florida.Contributed.
The Skyline wrestling team performed about average over winter break, according to head coach Gus Kiss.
The Spartans made a five-day vacation out of a trip to Orlando, Fla. Fifteen wrestlers participated in the seven-match KSA Holiday Wrestling Tournament Dec. 29 and 30.
Skyline finished 2-5 overall, but Kiss said if you take away points awarded its opponents by forfeit (missing players), Skyline came out 4-3 in the tournament.
“We saw some very good competition, as every weight class had a number of state participants and/or placers,” Kiss said in an e-mail. Read more
Winter sport athletes look for titles
November 25, 2008
Eastlake Girls Basketball
Eastlake’s Alyssa Charlston is expected to be a force for the Lady Wolves this year. Contributed
The Eastlake girls basketball crew comes off a 16-8 2007-2008 season. And despite finishing fourth in the KingCo conference with a record of 9-5, the Lady Wolves return eight players from last year’s roster, including three all-KingCo players.
Junior forward Alyssa Charlston made first team all-KingCo last year and is already getting looks from about a half-dozen Division 1 schools, head coach Scott Sartorius said.
Captains Ellie Martinez (senior forward) and Hannah Ostic (senior point guard) were named to the second team and honorable mention all-KingCo respectively.
“She (Martinez) has been a quiet leader for us,” Sartorius said. “She goes out and just does what the team needs.”
Eastlake looks to Ostic’s leadership on the court to take it to an increasingly tough conference.
“She’s just a gutsy, tough, physical player,” Sartorius said. “She sees the floor so well.”
Starting his third year as head coach, Sartorius said the team is more established this season, after spending the past couple of years rebuilding.
Games to watch: at Eastlake vs. Skyline, 6:30 p.m., Dec. 12; at Eastlake vs. Redmond, 6:30 p.m., Jan. 16; at Eastlake vs. Ballard, 6:30 p.m., Jan. 28.
Eastlake Wrestling
Wolves’ wrestling went 0-11 to finish ninth in KingCo in 2007-2008 with a tiny team of just 13 players. This winter, however, Eastlake returns with a much larger crew of 30 grapplers.
Head coach Riley Cornet said it’s a young team that looks to improve throughout the year.
Key wrestlers for Eastlake this season will be Sam Boucher, Shay Fuentes, Trevor McKinnon, Tom Kuehny, Adam Nakanishi and Al Charat.
Matches to watch: Eastlake vs. Skyline at Eastlake, 7:30 p.m., Jan. 20.
Skyline Girls Basketball
The Lady Spartans’ basketball team moves up to KingCo 4A this year after going 9-7 in conference in Class 3A competition in 2007-2008. They finished with an overall record of 14-11.
The club starts the season with its third new coach in three years in head coach Greg Bruns. The team will follow the talented senior duo of Lindsey Perry and Carlie Wolken.
As newcomers, sophomores Michelle Bretl and Lindsey Nicholson may add a little depth to the starting line-up of Perry, Wolken, senior Mikayla Neves and juniors Kassia Fortier and Amy Ziegler.
Games to watch: Skyline at Redmond at 6:30 p.m., Jan. 9; Skyline at Issaquah at 6:30 p.m., Jan. 16; Skyline vs. Eastlake at Skyline at 6:30 p.m., Jan. 30.
Skyline Wrestling
Skyline’s wrestling crew is looking for some strength at its 215-pound and heavyweight spots in the 2008-2009 season.
Coming off a 5-8 overall performance last year, head coach Gus Kiss said the team has plenty of depth from the 103- to 189-pound class to contend in the new KingCo 4A surroundings after being bumped up from 3A last year.
The Spartans grapplers, who have four state tournament participants returning to the mats, saw an influx of freshman join the team this year. The 14 ninth-graders will follow the leadership of captains Tannor Steciw (state alternate 2007-2008) and Anthony DeMatteo (third place state 2007-2008, 171 pounds), as well as Nolan Richards (130 pounds) and the lone female wrestler Alexis Wilcher.
Wilcher took second place in the girls’ 145-pound match at last year’s Class 3A state tournament.
Matches to watch: Dual meet tournament at 9 a.m., Dec. 13 at Skyline High School; Skyline at Eastlake at 7:30 p.m., Jan. 20; Skyline at Issaquah at 7:30 p.m., Jan. 28.
Reporter Christopher Huber can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 242, or at chuber@isspress.com.
