And then there were five

Five Wildcat wrestlers make it to state

“Oak Harbor will send five participants to the Tacoma Dome Saturday to wrestle in the Mat Classic after taking second in the team scoring at the Class 4A Region I tournament. Oak Harbor had four champions Saturday. I think we will do pretty good, said Oak Harbor senior Brian Lang. Last year we placed 14th and we had about the same amount going (to state) as this year, so we should do pretty good.According to Oak Harbor assistant coach Rick Karjalainen, the team has a good shot at cracking the top 10 or even the top five in the state this Saturday. Brian Lang entered the night suffering from pneumonia and ended the evening known simply as champion. It was tough but I wanted it pretty bad, said Lang. I knew that if I was going to wrestle I was going to get first. His championship came in the 152 pound division by a more dominating technical fall decision over Cascade’s Andy Hughes, 17-2.Oak Harbor senior Brent Lang extended his unbeaten streak to 31 straight matches as he defeated Eastlake’s Jesse Smith with a last-second reversal, 6-5. The loss came on Smith’s own home mat as Lang took first place in the 171 pound division. Brent Lang is now just one victory away from the Oak Harbor school record for consecutive wins held by Kurt Karjalainen. Oak Harbor senior Danny Wichers also won by a slim 16-15 margin over his opponent from Mountlake Terrace, Kasey Cundy, to bring home the championship in the 130 pound division. The only junior to win a championship for the Cats was Jon Garcia at 112 pounds. Oak Harbor junior Brent Thompson will also be going to the Mat Classic to wrestle. Junior Chris Whitman will be in attendance as an alternate for the Wildcats. Team scores: 1. Cascade, 128; 2. Oak Harbor, 100.5; 3. Juanita, 92; 4. Inglemoor, 90; 5. Snohomish, 88.5; 6. Eastlake, 78; 7. Bothell, 76; 8. Edmonds-Woodway, 75.5; 9. Redmond, 64; 10. Marysville-Pilchuck, 59; 11. Mariner, 57.5; 12. Sehome, 44; 13. Lake Washington, 40; 14. Mountlake Terrace, 32; 15. Kamiak, 21; 16. Woodinville, 21; 17. Shorecrest, 12; 18. Shorewood, 5.5; 19. Garfield 4. Championship bouts 103: Foster (Cas) dec. Hanks (M-P) 9-2; 112: Hadreas (E-W) pinned Phimmasane (Juan) 3:40; 119: Siccu (Both) dec. Kubec (Cas) 9-7; 125: Sewell (Ing) dec. Krier (Cas) 3-1, OT; 130: Wichers (OH) dec. Cundy (MLT) 16-15; 135: Puccio (EL) dec. Hundley (LW) 10-8; 140: Kaltbrunner (Sno) won by technical fall over Lancaster (EL) 18-3; 145: Chelone (Mar) dec. Kihm (Sno) 11-5; 152: Bri. Lang (OH) won by technical fall over Hughes (Cas) 17-2; 160: Martinez (Mar) dec. Herzog (Sno) 9-4; 171: Bre. Lang (OH) dec. Smith (EL) 6-5; 189: Tsiorvis (She) dec. Mellen (Red) 5-1; 215: Kennedy (Ing) pinned Glen (Red) 4:46; 275: Silva (M-P) pinned Elliot (Juan) 5:50. Third-fourth place bouts 103: McCarron (Ingl) dec. Brudvik (E-W), 11-4; 112: Garcia (OH) pinned Meister (Ingl), 3:25; 119: Gemin (Ingl) dec. Bothello (M-P), 11-4; 125: McGrath (Jua) dec. Pistole (MT), 8-0; 130: Garthe (LW) Garcia (Cas), 12-3; 135: Cheever (Both) dec. Douglas (Cas), 11-3; 140: Jennings (Jua) dec. Smelser (LW), 11-9 OT; 145: Quist (Wdvl) dec. Thompson (OH), 16-6; 152: Clifford (Sno) dec. Carlton (Sct), 7-2; 160: Schlosser (Red) dec. McDonnell (Cas), 6-2; 171: Maksim (Ingl) dec. Auld (Both), 2-1; 189: Stokes (E-W) dec. Burpee (Sno), 7-6; 215: Brune (Seh) dec. Dockter (Kam), 8-1; 275: Kenealey (Jua) dec. Calderon (Cas), 8-1. “