Quiet determination: Mount Si varsity wrestlers ready for 4A competition

Published 2:40 pm Friday, December 12, 2014

The 4A competition may be new. The schools may be bigger. So what?

“I don’t think it matters, as long as we wrestle our hardest the whole time,” asserts Mount Si wrestler Justin Edens.

Mount Si reloads with a fairly large, experienced group of returners this winter. The core have wrestled all through high school, starting with Edens, who narrowly missed a ticket to state last year after drawing five boys at regionals who ended up taking the top five state places. He lost to two by just one point. Now he’s back for more, and has winning on his mind in the 160/152-pound weight class.

“It’s kind of different, being the oldest,” said Cameron McLain. One of Mount Si’s top juniors last season, he just finished playing tackle/tight end for the Wildcat football team. McLain looked sharp in Mount Si’s recent jamboree, winning his bouts, 2-0. He and junior Andrew Harris are pretty evenly matched in the upper weights.  Another main force will be senior Gunnar Harrison. Also, senior transfer Mark Mulligan comes to Mount Si from Cary High School in Cary, North Carolina. He’s been wrestling for 13 years, doing freestyle and Greco-Roman tournaments in the offseason to stay in practice. Look for him to make his mark around 170 pounds.

Other seniors include Annie Rasmussen, the first girl wrestler to join the squad in a couple of years. Senior Trevor Taylor has been with the Wildcat program for four years, and is new to varsity. Leland Shields and Adam Taylor are back after hiatuses.

Physical sophomore Mason Marenco is expected to do well around the 152/145-pound classes. There are some promising freshmen, among them Duncan Harrison, who has taken part in two J Robinson Intensive Wrestling Camps, one last summer, the other in seventh grade.

Mount Si Wrestling Schedule

Thursday, Dec. 11

Mount Si at Eastlake, 7 p.m.

Tuesday, Dec. 16

Mount Si hosts Issaquah, 7 p.m.

Tuesday, Jan. 6

Mount Si at Inglemoor, 7 p.m.

Monday, Jan. 12

Mount Si hosts Cedarcrest, 7 p.m.

Thursday, Jan. 15

Mount Si at Bothell, 7 p.m.

Thursday, Jan. 22

Mount Si at Skyline, 7 p.m.

Thursday, Jan. 29

Mount Si at Woodinville, 7 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 31

Mount Si hosts Newport, 7 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 6

KingCo Tournament at Issaquah High School, 3:30 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 7

KingCo Tournament at Issaquah High School, 10 a.m.

Saturday, Feb. 14

Regionals, site TBD