PUYALLUP — Puzzled looks greeted the small cheer that erupted when Port Townsend found out it was the ninth-place finisher as the 40-team Puyallup girls wrestling tournament.
“We all started cheering when we got announced as ninth place, which made some teams confused,” Redhawks coach Steve Grimm said.
“Most of them that placed a lot higher, but most didn’t realize we only had three girls, and ninth place is a big accomplishment with that amount.”
Chloe Rogers, Brenna Franklin and Ally Bradley each placed for Port Townsend on Saturday.
Rogers placed first in the 140-pound bracket. On her way to the finals, she defeated the state’s fourth-ranked wrestler, Bailey Fullerton of Yelm, by technical fall, 20-4.
Grimm and Rogers were expecting her to face fifth-ranked Anna Watson of Kentwood in the finals, but Watson fell in the semifinals to Redmond’s Nadia Medvinsky, who was a completely unfamiliar opponent for Rogers.
“Wrestling a unknown is difficult because we don’t know anything about her, what moves she does, how fast she is, et cetera,” Grimm said.
“We were warming up expecting to wrestle Anna, and minutes before the match we figured out we were wrestling someone different.
“It didn’t seem to matter to Chloe. She physically dominated the girl in the finals and won by a big margin.”
Rogers defeated Medvinsky 14-4.
“Chloe had a great day. She scored a total of 44 points against her opponents. Add that up and its a lot of takedowns, reversals and near fall points,” Grimm said.
“Coaches can’t vote for their own team, but I was expecting Chloe to receive the Outstanding Wrestler Award, awarded to one wrestler who coaches thought was the best that day.
“Brooke Bartelson [115 pounds] of Puyallup won the award, but I know Chloe had a lot of votes, and in my opinion should have won that award.”
Freshman Brenna Franklin placed third for Port Townsend in the 170-pound bracket.
Franklin lost in the semifinals to Evergreen’s Luana Tupa, but rebounded to pin Spanaway Lake’s Anna Steed to claim third place.
The Redhawks’ third wrestler was Ally Bradley, who placed fifth in the 115-pound class that included six state placers from last year.
“Her second match was the match of the day,” Grimm said.
“After the first round, Ally was behind 4-2 and the other girl was really strong and fast, and beating up on Ally.
“But there is an old saying: ‘The first period is won by the best technician. The second period is won by the kid in the best shape. The third period is won by the kid with the biggest heart.’
“We told Ally wear her out and then beat her in the third round, and boy she did. Ally turned on the jets and kept pushing that girl all the way into the third round.
“By the third round, that girl was tired and ready to give up, and Ally had fire in her eyes and we knew she was not going to lose.
“She came back and took the lead 7-4 in the last 30 seconds and then pinned the girl with 10 seconds left. It was a great match.”
Bradley then lost a tight match against Bartelson by pin in the semifinals.
Bradley finished Saturday by falling in the final minute of her third-place match against Cassidy O’Hara of Lakewood.
“Ally was down by three, and got an escape for one point and now was down by two. Ally needed a takedown to tie with 20 seconds,” Grimm said.
“The girl smartly stalled and boxed Ally out. But ally shot and shot all the way to the end, trying to win. She never gave up and left it all on the mat.”
Spartans second at Rainier tournament
RAINIER — Forks placed second out of 18 teams at the Sgt. Justin Norton Memorial Wresting Tournament.
“This was a good tournament with some very good competition,” Spartans coach Bob Wheeler said.
“This tournament should have shown us that we really need to pick up the intensity of the matches that we wrestle. We are really going to have to work on that in the next few weeks.”
Castle Rock won the tournament with a score of 203.5, and Forks was second with 180.5.
Jack Dahlgren won the 182-pound class for the Spartans with three pins and a major decision in the finals. Teammate Johnny Lua tied for third in the class, finishing with two pins, a major decision and one loss.
Josue Lucas was Forks’ other champion, taking the 106-pound division with a pin, two major decisions and a 9-2 victory over Curtis Lenz of Rainier in the finals.
Alvaro Ortiz placed second at 120 pounds for the Spartans, while Joel Mohn (160 pounds) and Tristan Tumaua (285) each placed third.
Saul Avila (126 pounds), Joseph Mariner (152), Kenny Gale (170) and Luke Dahlgren each placed fifth in their divisions for Forks.
Riders finish third in Kelso
KELSO — Port Angeles wrestled its way to a third-place finish at the Kelso Invitational on Saturday.
Ben Basden won the 126-pound division and was the Roughriders’ lone individual champion.
Tyler Gale at 120 pounds and Isaiah Nichols at 285 each took second for Port Angeles in their weight classes.
The Riders had four third-place finishes and two fifth-place showings.
Morgan Mower (138 pounds), Thomas Blevins (170), Caleb Joslin (152) and Evan Gallacci (195) took third, while Branden Currie (145) and Bryce Johnson (220) finished fifth.
At the Fife girls tournament, Port Angeles’ Alyssa Sweet placed fourth.
The Riders next participate in a North Olympic Peninsula brawl Thursday when they face Sequim and Port Townsend in an Olympic League dual meet hosted by the Wolves.
Kingston 51, Port Townsend 17
KINGSTON — The Redhawks were overmatched by the Buccaneers in their Olympic League match.
“We didn’t match up very well,” Port Townsend coach Steve Grimm said of Thursday’s match.
“Kingston’s best wrestlers matched up against ours, and every time they kept beating us. We just didn’t have enough in us to get a win that night.”
Posting the Redhawks’ only varsity win was 160-pounder Jacob Kinney, who won by technical fall.
“He had a strong match and worked a lot of different moves, ending the match with a nice hip throw,” Grimm said.
“His parents drove up to watch him wrestle, so it was nice to see him put on a show for them.”
Port Townsend next faces Sequim and Port Angeles at Sequim on Thursday.
________
Compiled using team reports.