Mount Si wrestling has been a powerhouse in KingCo since
the switch from Seamount in 1997. This year is shaping up in the same vein
as the Wildcats mauled two more KingCo teams, Interlake 73-0
and Mercer Island, 55-14.
The Interlake match was a landslide of wins and pins for Mount
Si. From the opening match, which saw the Wildcats’ Jordan Prior win by
forfeit to the final match with Sean Sexton also winning by forfeit, it was
all Mount Si.
In the 112-pound class, Andrew Ahmadi was pitted against the
Saints’ Kevin Baum, also a very tough wrestler. But Ahmadi was quick with
the first takedown and with a minute left in the first round, pinned Baum to
the mat.
Next up at 119 pounds was Kyle Cunningham who had similar
results with Interlake’s Chris Burg. After an initial takedown by
Cunningham, Burg found himself pinned with 43 seconds left in the first round. The
forfeit and two quick pins gave Mount Si a respectable 18-0 lead.
Jason Moe looked like himself in his match against Interlake’s
Fum Naghisa, aggressively pursuing the Saint grappler, recording a
takedown and three-point nearfall in the first round. With Naghisa starting in
the down position in the second round, Moe quickly turned him over
and pinned him with 41 seconds left in the second round.
In the 130-pound class, veteran Chad Mills was pitted against a
powerful looking wrestler in Tristan Wit. But Mills is always mentally
prepared and this match would be no different even though it appeared Wit
might have been stronger. After nearly a full round of posturing, Mills recorded
a takedown for the first points of the match, late in the first round. Wit
deferred his position to Mills for the start of the second round, with the
Wildcat then choosing the down position. He escaped quickly and then took Wit
to the mat, then turned him to record a three-point nearfall, but he could
never quite pin the strong wrestler. Wit reversed Mills late in the second
round for his first points of the match. The third round allowed Mills to record
an escape and takedown to Wit’s lone takedown. With a decision of
12-4, Mount Si moved into a 28-0 lead.
Next up was Blake Moore in the 135-pound class, wrestling
longtime Saint’s nemesis Michael Eav. Eav had notched a win against Moore in
this year’s David Szczepanik Takedown Tournament, which obviously
played some bearing on Moore’s strategy.
Eav scored first with a takedown late in the first round. Moore had
the position option for the second round but deferred his choice to Eav
who selected down. Midway through the round he managed to get free
from Moore to take a three-point lead. With only a few seconds left in the
second round, Moore worked on Eav’s leg and finally tacked on a takedown
making it a 3-2 match going into the final round. Starting from the down
position, Moore rotated out to score a reversal then took Eav to the mat late
in the round for the near-fall. With the 7-3 decision, Moore had avenged
his early-season loss.
Hiram Tame made an impressive appearance in the 140-pound class
taking his opponent Raf Wong to the mat for a takedown, two-point nearfall
and reversal before finally pinning him with 1:31 left in the match. The
pin gave the Wildcats a commanding lead of 37-0.
David Crotts, also a veteran on the team, wrestled in the 145-pound
class in place of the injured Payton Thompson. His opponent Chad Hill tried
desperately to engage the aggressive Wildcat but after two takedowns,
was pinned with 52 seconds left in the second round.
Kasey Robinson completely dominated his Interlake opponent J.T.
Jackson in the 160-pound class winning a 16-0 technical fall late in the
third round.
Varsity newcomer Jed McDaniels showed a tremendous amount of
maturity in the 171-pound class as he controlled and beat the Saints’
Mike Wenburg, 2-1. Neither wrestler scored in the first round but McDaniels
starting from the down position, managed to reverse Wenberug in the
second round. Wenburg scored one point on an illegal hold by McDaniels but
that was all, giving the win to the Wildcats and recording a 57-0 lead.
The “Bruiser” Brad Davis took to the mat next for the Wildcats to
the chant of
“Bruiser…Bruiser…Bruiser.” He didn’t disappoint in controlling
the Saints’ Rob Bradstreet but it wasn’t an easy match either. Davis scored
first early in the opening round, with a takedown of Bradstreet. He
notched three-more takedowns and an escape before the match was over.
Bradstreet only mustered one escape. Davis won by a 9-1 decision.
The last match of the night pitted Dylan Seubert, “The
Intimidator” against the Saint’s T.C. Cherry.
Both wrestlers postured the entire first round with neither gaining an
advantage. In the second round, Cherry deferred his position decision to
Seubert who chose down. Bolting out and sliding under, Seubert managed to
reverse his position, finally pinning Cherry with a minute and 24 seconds left
in the round. With Seubert’s win and Sexton’s forfeit, Mount Si recorded
a near record-breaking performance with 73 points.
Next up for the Wildcats were the Islanders of Mercer Island.
Again Mount Si pounded the opposition with only three losses out of 14 matches.
At 103 pounds, Jordan Prior wins by decision, 11-5 over Tyler Faith.
At 112 pounds, Andrew Ahmadi wins by decision, 12-8 over Rusty Johnson.
At 119 pounds, Kyle Cunningham is pinned by Jack Huttenlocher in
the second round. At 125 pounds, back from injury, Ben Veyna pins
David Fleischman in 1:22. At 130 pounds, Chad Mills pins Adam Zukor in
1:27. At 135 pounds, Jeff Stone pins Matt Johnson in 1:42. At 140
pounds, Hiram Tame pins Patrick Ishizuka in 1:25. 145 pounds, David Crotts
loses decision 3-14 to Lee Jahnke. At 152 pounds, Ryan Smith wins by
injury default over Roland Hawkins. At 160 pounds, Kasey Robinson loses a
decision to Chip Reno, 7-21. At 171 pounds, Jed McDaniels wins by
decision, 9-2 over Jeff Cook. At 189 pounds, Brad Davis pins Teddy
Kinch in 1:10. At 215 pounds, Dylan Seubert wins by decision, 14-6 over
Grant Guidinger. At 275 pounds, Brad Connor, pins Patrick Murphy in 1:27.
The `Cats hosted Bellevue at home on Wednesday then travel
to Cedarcrest to take on the Red Wolves on Thursday. Meet time is 7:30 p.m.
