“After recording five pins against Ferndale to complete the 45-27 victory, the Wildcats took on a tough Anacortes team Thursday at home.Oak Harbor, which fell behind by nine, could not complete a comeback against Anancortes as recovery from the flu coupled with fatigue from their first meet of the evening cost Oak Harbor key matches. The Wildcats were picked off by the Seahawks, 34-29 in front of a boisterous hometown crowd.We want to wrestle teams like this, said assistant coach Rick Karjalainen. Wrestling teams and beating them 54-0 doesn’t make you better. Anacortes, Ferndale, they make us better. We win because we are wrestling tough competition. One of the closest matches of the evening pit the Wildcat’s Brent Thompson against Aaron Brown of Anacortes at 145 pounds. After Thompson jumped out to 5-0 lead during the first round, Brown proceeded to methodically work his way back into the match, finally getting the score back to within one point. But Thompson finished strong with last-second takedown that preserved the victory. Those guys had wrestled since they were 10 years old and Brent has beat him every time, said Karjalainen. He (Brown) is a great competitor and he has really upped his sport. I have been sick for a long time and during the third round I got my wind back, said Thompson following his match. They are going to wrestle us tough and they are going to want it back really bad. The Seahawks would get it back during the next match, which pit Brian Lang of Oak Harbor against Matt Cooper of Anacortes, who both placed at state last season. The 152 pounders battled for three rounds to a tie at five points each. But during the overtime, endurance became a huge factor as Lang, who had just come back from the flu, was taken down by Cooper for loss, 7-5.Brian has been sick but that isn’t an excuse, said Karjalainen. That kid is a good wrestler and he just took it to him.In another marquee matchup, Oak Harbor’s Brent Lang got a huge victory over Josh Decker as he dominated his opponent for the entire match to take home the win, 16-4, and bring his team back to a tie with Anacortes at 23-23. The Wildcats took a commanding lead in the very next match as David Kazman outwrestled and outclassed his opponent to a 15 second pin-fall victory.I was really excited and watching the last match made me wrestle better, said Kazman. It is an individual sport but it is great to have that team feeling, like you’re working for more than yourself. Oak Harbor started out with something they have not had this season as a team in the 103 weight class, a pin. After a grueling first round where neither wrestler could take control, sophomore Dale Webb, in just his second varsity match of the year, exploded on this opponent to get the victory with just 48.7 seconds remaining in the second round.The key for me was just to stay on my feet and stay off my knees, said Webb. This is a lot harder than j.v., varsity it’s a lot closer, neck and neck. Jon Garcia followed with a victory at 113 pounds to give the Cats a 9-0 lead.But the Seahawks went right after the Wildcats, earning a major decision over Kevin Lang at 119 pounds and going after sophomore Kyle Isaacson of Oak Harbor. Isaacson didn’t go easily though, as he fought tooth and nail for the entire three periods and finally got the upper hand during the final round just as the buzzer sounded. Isaacson lost the decision, 7-5. Danny Wichers at 130 pounds grabbed three points for the Wildcats with a decision over Kyle Kirkpatrick, 12-2.Jake Horn got a hard-fought victory as he jumped out ahead during the second round to a 5-1 lead which held up through he third. But the Seahawks dominated the next two matches as both Micah Pruss and Kyle Berner were pinned in the opening moments of their bouts to give Anacortes 12 decisive points.The night ended with Chris Whiteman going down to defeat by major decision. Whiteman, whose shoulders were pinned to the mat a split second before the buzzer rang, fought hard for the entire six minutes.Sean Hogan was outsized during the final and decisive match of the evening and was pinned at the 1:20 mark of the first round to end the Wildcats bid to to stay undefeated.We beat some high caliber kids out there tonight, said Karjalainen. If you look at each match, a swing either way could have been the difference. Oak Harbor 45, Ferndale 27 Oak Harbor had five pins in the non-conference voctory. 103-Ashmore (F) dec. Webb, 14-2; 112-K. Lang (O) won by forfeit; 119-Chambers (F) dec. Garcia, 8-3; 125-Mungarro (F) dec. Isaacson, 12-4; 130-Pruss (O) pinned Clidenen, 5:12, third; 135-Brocker (F) pinned Wichers, 5:30, third; 140-Garr (F) pinned Berner, 1:56, first; 145-Thompson (O) pinned Vanderlish, 3:32, second; 152-Bri. Lang (O) pinned Wunch, 1:14, first; 160-Horn (O) won by tech. fall Grimme, 18-3; 171-Bre. Lang (OH) pinned Finkbonner, 2:56, second; 189-Kazman (OH) dec.. Stevens, 11-1; 215-Meynders (F) dec. Whiteman, 11-3; 275-Hogan (O) pinned Montoya, :22, first. Records-Oak Harbor 5-1 overall. Ferndale not reported.Anacortes 34, Oak Harbor 29103-Webb (OH) pinned Morris, 5:38; 112-Garcia (OH) dec. over McKinnon, 9-4; 119-Tobey (A) won by technical fall over K. Lang 16-0; 125-Tibbles (A) dec. over Isaacson, 7-5; 130-Wichers (OH) major dec. over Kirkpatrick 12-2; 135-Thorne (A) pinned Pruss, 1:07; 140-Brown (A) pinned Berner 1:34; 145-Thompson (OH) dec. Brown, 12-8; 152-Cooper (A) dec. Bri. Lang, 7-5; 160-Horn (OH) dec. McPheter, 5-1; 171-Bre. Lang (OH) major dec. Decker, 16-4; 189-Kazman (OH) pinned Babarobich 1:45; 215-Bullfinch (A) major dec. Whiteman, 15-0; 275-Raines (A) pinned Hogan 1:43. Records-Oak Harbor 5-1 overall. Anacortes not reported.Oak Harbor 51, Edmonds-Woodway18 Brian Lang pinned his opponent 29 seconds into his bout to lead Oak Harbor to the Wesco 4A victory Tuesday. 103: Brudvik (EW) pinned McGanna, 1:25, first; 112: Garcia (OH) dec. Trieu, 5-2; 119: Hadreas (EW) pinned K. Lang, :58, first; 125: Issacson (OH) dec. Franklin, 10-6; 130: Pruss (OH) dec. Lanier, 9-5; 135: Wickers (OH) pinned Cree, :34, first; 140: Edens (EW) pinned Berner, 3:21, second; 145: Thompson (OH) dec. Hanchett, 12-1; 152: Nicolaus (OH) won by forfeit; 160: Bri. Lang (OH) pinned Reed, :29, first; 171: Horn (OH) pinned Howard, 1:27, first; 189: Bre. Lang (OH) won by tech fall Stokes, 16-1; 215: Whiteman (OH) dec. Stannard, 8-2; 275: Hogan (OH) pinned Sadowski, 1:27, first. Records-Oak Harbor 4-0 in league and overall. Edmonds-Woodway 3-3. “