Red Wolves’ wrestling pulls out two more wins.
Published 9:58 pm Thursday, October 2, 2008
The Cedarcrest wrestling team notched their second and third
team victories last week, pulling out a squeaker against Sammamish,
42-38 and then beating Interlake in an emotional meet.
Hosting the Totems, the Red Wolves sent their heavier classes to
the mat first. In the 275-pound class, Bela Hill was pinned by the Totems’
Dave Estella with 37 seconds left in the first round. Teammate Cole Birk won
by forfeit in the 215-pound class, tying the two schools at six each.
Next up for the Red Wolves was freshman Aaron Pedeferri in the
103-pound class. Pedeferri looked a lot like his older brother against the
Totems’ Clayton Cutliffe, taking him to the mat then notching a pin with 38
seconds left in the first round. The pin moved Cedarcrest into the lead 12-6
going into the 112-pound class.
Darren DeBoer followed suit in the 112-pound class, scoring a
takedown followed by a three-point nearfall and finally pinning the Totems’
Daniel Peterson with 24 seconds left in the first round. Both the younger
Pedeferri and DeBoer have shown tremendous maturity in matches, despite their
status as freshmen.
Eric Pedeferri took to the mat for the Red Wolves in the 119-pound
class but wasn’t out there long, pinning his opponent, Von Thao in eight
seconds, possibly a KingCo record.
In the 125-pound class, Alan Shults faced a determined Joe
Hatcher, losing by pin with 19 seconds left in the second round. The pin
narrowed Cedarcrest’s lead to 12 at 24_12.
In one of the most gut-wrenching matches of the night, the Red
Wolves’ Andrew Claussen took on David Woiunun. Woiunun scored first
with a takedown followed by a three-point nearfall, but Claussen never gave
up. Both wrestlers fought hard with neither gaining an advantage until
the third round when Claussen, almost out of desperation, moved Woiunun to
his back and pinned him with a minute left in the match. The Cedarcrest
wrestlers cleared the bench as an elated Claussen raised his arm in victory.
“I thought I was going to lose,” said an obviously
enthusiastic Claussen after the match. Based on
the outcomes of the following matches, it may have been the key to the
Red Wolves’ securing a victory.
Veteran Kris Cautrell was next up for the Red Wolves, at
135-pounds. His opponent was Hong Chauor, whom he handled easily.
Cautrell scored a takedown out of the gate, but Chauor escaped. Cautrell was
relentless though, taking him down again and finally scoring the pin with
seven seconds left in the first round. The pins by Claussen and Cautrell
moved Cedarcrest into a commanding lead at 36-12, but with a young team,
each match is important and the outcome wouldn’t be known until the end.
In the 140-pound class, Adam Speir fought hard but was pinned
by the Totems’ Terry Wang with 29 seconds left in the second round.
Tony Stedman found himself in a similar situation in the 145-pound class,
getting pinned by the Totem’s Alan Itkin with 23 seconds left in the
second round.
Dan Amador controlled the Totem’s Jake Nordeck from the
beginning, pinning him with 30 seconds left in the first round.
Tony Smith took to the mat for the Red Wolves in the 160-pound
class. In the first round, Smith scored the initial takedown followed by a
reversal from the Totem’s Mike D’Angel. D’Angel scored a takedown in the
second round but Smith answered with a reversal, tying the score for the
third round. Starting from the down position, D’Angel scored a reversal,
then a four-point nearfall after Smith had to call injury time. D’Angel won
by decision, 10-4. The win moved the Totems closer at 42-27 with
two matches left.
Stepping to the mat for the Red Wolves in the 171-pound class
was Chris Ansell, taking on a seasoned Aaron Mercier. Mercier dominated
the first two rounds but could never quite pin the elusive Ansell. Finally
the points went above 15, giving the technical fall to Mercier.
Last but not least for the night was veteran James Minchew, who
would take on the Totems’ Aaron Peterson in the 189-pound class. Minchew
scored first with an aggressive takedown but Peterson escaped and took
Minchew to the mat, pinning him at the very end of the first round. The win left
the Totems with some satisfaction but a loss, 42-38.
“They all did a fantastic job,” touted coach Josh Garcia.
“Tony Smith really came through in his first match of the year,” he added.
The Red Wolves then traveled to Interlake on Thursday to take on
the Saints. They walked away as 59-17 victors, marking the third team win
of the season for the young squad.
“It was a very emotional match,” responded Coach Garcia when
asked about details.
Cedarcrest had a home match on Wednesday, then travels to
Bellevue on Thursday.
