State champ: Mulligan tops his weight class; Edens wrestles into semifinals

Published 3:29 pm Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Mark Mulligan, a senior at Mount Si High School, claimed a state title in Class 4A wrestling over the weekend at the Mat Classic in Tacoma. The 170-pound wrestler is in his first year with Mount Si. He relocated from North Carolina, where he previously made a showing in state competition.

His teammate Justin Edens, also a senior, fought his way into fourth place in the 152-pound class.

Mulligan’s championship run began with a win over Austin Christopher of Graham-Kapowsin in a fall at 2:27. He then faced Javier Martinez from Union High School, in a tense matchup that went into overtime before he got a 3-1 decision. In the semifinal round, Mulligan won a 3-0 decision over Heng Yon of Thomas Jefferson High School. He faced Levi Meinzinger in the finals, taking a 2-0 win.

Edens first faced Malachi Lawrence of Lake Stevens, and took the win with a 7-6 decision. Next, he grappled with Joel Torres of Moses Lake, and won by a fall at 5:05. In the semifinals, he faced Decatur’s Isaiah Diggs, but lost the match in an 11-4 decision.

“Justin started wrestling late in the eighth grade and he really put forth a ton of time to develop into the wrestler he is today,” head coach Tony Schlotfeldt wrote in an e-mail to the Record. “We are extremely proud of the wrestler and leader he has become.”

“Mark is also an exceptional young man, and phenomenal wrestler. He has been a positive role model to all of our wrestlers at Mount Si, as he is respectful to all and extremely humble,” Schlotfeldt added. “Both wrestlers’ accomplishments are the result of dreams put into action in the form of goals.”

Mason Marenco, 145, and Andrew Harris, 220, also competed at state, but were elminated in early rounds of the competition.

A referee watches Justin Edens’ match in the semifinals closely.