Wildcats win second league match

Published 8:49 pm Thursday, October 2, 2008

The Mount Si wrestling team won its first home match of the season last week, defeating Interlake 70-6. Eight pins, three decisions and two forfeits by Mount Si to a lone forfeit for Interlake propelled the Wildcats to a second 70-plus point match in as many weeks.

Junior Trevor Moore started the momentum at 215 pounds by immediately taking control of the match in the first round with a fall. Just 19 seconds into the second round Moore pinned his opponent Karo Kasabyan.

“We took off from there and everyone did what they were supposed to and we had a great night,” said Moore.

The only team points scored by Interlake came at 275 pounds where the Wildcats’ forfeited, but the points were recouped when freshman Kyle Heath recorded a forfeit at 103 pounds to make the score 12-6 in favor of Mount Si.

At 112 pounds, freshman Joe Taklo pinned his opponent with 40 seconds left in the second round. Taklo controlled the match from the start, recording a takedown and three-point nearfall in the first round.

Freshman Dan Wright recorded an impressive decision at 119 pounds by defeating his Interlake opponent 12-2. He scored throughout the match including a four-point nearfall in the third round.

Another freshman, Jordan Sypher, stepped up with a pin at 125 pounds. After a five-point first round he reversed from the bottom position in the second round and scored the pin with 37 seconds left remaining.

Matt Haas, a sophomore who placed fifth in last year’s state tournament, toyed with his opponent at 130 pounds. After a first round filled with takedowns and nearfalls, Haas pinned his opponent 20 seconds into the second round. The pin gave Mount Si a commanding 34-6 lead.

The Magnesson twins, Ryan at 135 pounds and Josh at 140 pounds, handled their wrestlers in the same fashion. Both pinned their opponents in the second round with Ryan recording his with 58 seconds to go in the round and Josh with 57 seconds remaining.

Senior Ben Steel wasted no time at 145-pounds as he pinned his Interlake opponent in 44 seconds.

“I think we did awesome. Besides the one forfeit we had, we shut them out,” said Steel. “I think Trevor Moore got us started really well and that whole momentum thing got us going. Some of the younger guys really came through for us at 119 and 125.”

Junior Pano Dreves recorded the fastest pin of the night at 10 seconds in the 152-pound class.

“I told Pano to get a little work out there and he pins him in 10 seconds,” said coach Jeff Newcomer. “He put his head down and Pano attacked it and went with it.”

Although a 10-second pin would be tops in many wrestler’s careers, it ranks second for Pano.

“In Tokyo [his old residence] I had a pin in seven seconds. This guy smacked his head down, I felt it and went for it. I was planning on going a little longer for mat experience but it was right there,” he said.

Freshman Mac Donnell wrestled strong at 160-pounds and recorded a 9-2 decision. He recorded points consistently throughout the match and showed the patience of a veteran.

Freshman Jack Stinnett won by forfeit at 171 pounds, but one of the best, gut-check matches of the night came from Seth Merritt at 189 pounds.

Merritt, wrestling up from his normal weight of 171 pounds, scored first with a takedown early in the first round. He scored again on a reversal late in the round to lead 4-3. In the second round, neither wrestler scored and as the match wore on, it was obvious the Interlake wrestler was getting tired. In the third round, starting from the down position, Merritt reversed quickly. His opponent scored though when Merritt was called for stalling a second time. Then an illegal hold call moved the Interlake wrestler within one point. As the seconds ticked down, with Merritt still controlling the match, the Interlake wrestler scored an escape for the tie.

Going into the tie breaker, the win would go to whoever scored the first takedown. Both wrestlers maneuvered for position but Merritt eventually scored the takedown and the win.

“That was just guts,” said Newcomer. “Because we wrestled him up a weight it was tough. That kid was big and strong and that is why we work hard. Seth didn’t even look like he was tired.”

“I think everybody did a great job,” said Newcomer. “Obviously, the young guys are showing progress. They are doing things that we have been teaching them … I am seeing just a world of progress. Dan Wright, Joe Taklo and Jordan Sypher all showed better aggressiveness.”