ISSAQUAH — Mount Si wrestlers did it again. They

defeated every other team in their league to clinch a third consecutive

3A KingCo title at this weekend’s meet. The team was able to

hold off host Liberty High School 254.5 to 245.5.

Kyle Cunningham, 119 pounds; Jeff Stone, 135

pounds; Chad Mills, 140 pounds; Hiram Tame, 145 pounds; Brad

Davis, 189 pounds; and Brad Connor, 275 pounds, all emerged as

the league champions in their weight classes.

Tame wrestled Tony Stedman of Cedarcrest in the

semifinals, and said, “I just wrestled as

hard as I could. I thought it went pretty well.” He then advanced to the

finals where he earned a 2-0 decision over Liberty’s Jamar

Anderson.

David Crotts, 152 pounds, who had been out for the

last week because of an ankle sprain, wrestled Levi Miller of

Issaquah in the semifinals in what Crotts described as a long match,

eventually losing 9-2. “I fought hard ’til the end,” Crotts said. “I’m

a little disappointed, but I did my best.”

Cunningham’s league title in the 119-pound weight class

was especially heartfelt. His younger sister, Abby, died in a car

accident Wednesday, Jan. 31. Cunningham dedicated his victory to

Abby, whom he felt would have wanted him to wrestle despite her death.

The Wildcats’ Lower Valley rivals didn’t come away from

the league meet empty-handed either. Aaron Pedeferri, 112 pounds,

of Cedarcrest High School claimed his second league

championship title by besting Rusty Johnson of Mercer Island with an

impressive score of 13-1. Pedeferri is only a sophomore this year, and his

team walked away from the meet with fourth place.

Andrew Claussen, 140 pounds, wrestled Adam Andrie

of Newport in the semifinals and won by decision in overtime

5-4. He lost in the finals when he was pinned by Mount Si’s Chad

Mills in a time of 5:30.

Darren Deboer lost in the semifinals to Cunningham of

Mount Si, who would later go on to grab the individual title in the

119-pound weight class. Allan Schultz, 135 pounds, lost

to Mount Si’s Jeff Stone in the semifinals by a score of 16-8.

Tony Stedman, 145 pounds, won by decision against the

Wildcats’ Kyle Jacobson 10-3, but was defeated in the finals by the

eventual league champion Tame, who won 21-4 in a technical-fall

victory. Robby Westermann, 171 pounds, defeated Kasey Kilmer

of Newport in the semifinals, but recorded a 10-9 loss to

Don Robertson of Liberty in the finals.

Cole Birk, 215 pounds, was pinned by Liberty’s Bryan

Anderson in the semifinals and lost out to Dylan Seubert of Mount

Si, who later garnered fourth place at the meet. Ben Schlechty,

275 pounds, was pinned by Connor of Mount Si in the semifinals

at 1:17. Schlechty took sixth place in the meet, but did not

advance to regional competition.

The top five wrestlers in each weight division advance to

the regional meet that begins at 3 p.m. Friday, Feb. 9, at Liberty

High School.