Sports

Four Seahawks, two Tides wrestlers qualify for state tourney

Four Peninsula and two Gig Harbor wrestlers qualified for Mat Classic XXXIII next weekend out of the Class 3A Regional 1 Tournament Saturday at Snohomish High School. The top five placers advanced.

The only local to reach the finals was Peninsula sophomore Justin Phipps, who dropped a 12-0 decision to Kadyn Hagerty of Capital at 106 pounds. Phipps also lost to Hagerty in last week’s sub-regional title match.

“He’s just getting better and better,” said Seahawks Coach Gary Griffin. “He keeps making better adjustments. He’s really starting to open up, working hard in practice, and it really shows up in his matches.”

Peninsula’s Justin Phipps placed second at 106 pounds. In hero photo, the Seahawks’ Kylan Sonnen finished third at 220 pounds. Photo courtesy of Leanne Casey

Emmett Casey (152) and Kylan Sonnen (220) were beaten in the semifinals, but bounced back in their next matches to claim third place.

“Once he realizes he can hang with everybody, the sky’s the limit for him,” Griffin said of Casey. “He’s in every match, never gets outclassed and is a tough kid by nature. That’s who he is. He’s tough in his heart. You can’t teach that.” The junior placed second last week.

Sonnen, Peninsula’s senior leader, matched his third-place finish from sub-regionals.

“He’s carried the torch for us the last two years as captain, leader and doing things by example,” Griffin said. “He’s just continuing to get better and better and better.”

Peninsula’s Emmett Casey finished third at 152 pounds. Photo courtesy of Leanne Casey

At the girls regionals at White River High School, senior Emilia Robles (145) reached the semifinals and finished fourth, down one rung from the previous week.

“We’ve never had a girl make it to state,” Griffin said. “She will be our first girl to make it and I hope to be the first girl to place as well.”

Peninsula as a team finished seventh among 19 squads with 70½ points.

“We’re always happy for our guys who qualify for state because they earned it, so it’s always a good thing,” Griffin said. “I was hoping for more, but I think we’re right where we probably thought we were.

Gig Harbor’s Abe Adione placed third at 182 pounds. Photo courtesy of Leanne Casey

“Next week will be exciting. It goes fast. We start wrestling on Friday. The finality of the season really hits some guys. None of these guys have wrestled in the dome before. I hope the moment doesn’t get too big. I’ll remind them that wrestling is wrestling, whether it’s in the living room or the Tacoma Dome. It’s just more space. All of our guys have a good shot at ending up on the podium.”

Senior Abe Adione led Gig Harbor with a third-place effort at 182 pounds, matching his performance at sub-regionals. He has improved greatly since his freshman year and performed solidly all season, said Coach Blake Moser, who was proud of his team’s efforts Saturday.

“It’s been fun being a part of that,” Moser said of Adione’s improvement. “He’s grown a lot. He’s huge. He’s a stud athlete. I’m really hopeful he can do well at the state tournament and hopefully gets to the finals and get a state championship out of him. We’ve just got to show up Friday and Saturday and wrestle our hearts out. I think it’s going to be fun next week just seeing what he does.”

Freshman Jonah Edmund (113) will join Adione at state after placing fifth Saturday.

The Tides’ Jonah Edmund placed fifth at 113 pounds. Photo courtesy of Leanne Casey

“He made it into the finals at sub-regionals so I was pretty hopeful he’d make it to state,” Moser said. “As a freshman, that’s huge. He’s wrestled pretty solid all season. He’s just done a great job of being really coachable and learning from his losses and growing through the season. I’m hoping we can get him placing this year.”

Gig Harbor finished 16th as a team with 42 points.

The event featured 3A squads from the South Sound Conference, Northwest Conference, Wesco 3A North and Olympic League. Yelm claimed the team title with 257 points, sending 12 wrestlers to state, including three individual title winners and three second-place finishers.

Team Scores
1. Yelm 257, 2. Stanwood 197, 3. Ferndale 154, 4. North Thurston 143, 5. Capital 117, 6. Arlington 100.5, 7. Peninsula 70.5, 8. Central Kitsap 66, 9. Oak Harbor 65, 10. Snohomish 64, 11. Monroe 50.5, 12. Marysville Getchell 48, 13. River Ridge 47.5, 14. Mount Vernon 45, 15. Marysville Pilchuck 43, 16. Gig Harbor 42, 17. Everett 40, 18. Bainbridge 35, 19. Cascade 15, 20. Timberline 12.