It’s no secret in the world of Washington high school wrestling — success at Sedro-Woolley’s Skagit Invitational and advancing the state tournament are nearly synonymous.

“If you placed in this tournament your chances of placing at state are pretty good,” OHHS wrestling coach Brian Farmer said.

Nobody wishes that to be more true than three Oak Harbor wrestlers who placed among the state’s best in Sedro-Woolley on Saturday.

Of the OHHS placers, senior co-captain Chris Wichers took the highest honors, finishing first in the 140 weight class. Wichers battled his way through his bracket with big wins including a pin and a major decision, before picking up a 7-3 decision over Robert Foy of W.F. West Chehalis in the championship match.

The other senior co-captain Karlson Miller also had a strong day, finishing second in the 112 pound weight class. Miller pinned his way to the finals, before losing a close 4-2 decision to Eastmont’s Joel Robbins.

The Wildcats’ Jeff Lang took fifth at 135 pounds. He pinned his opponent in his first match, lost his next and battled through the back door with three pins and a fifth place finish.

As a team, Farmer was very pleased with what he saw from his wrestlers.

“Most of our kids that wrestled here won at least one match,” he said. “As a team we wrestled very well.”

Oak Harbor finished seventh overall in the 17-team tournament that featured teams from as far away as Alaska. The Wildcats ended the day with 85 points. Sedro-Woolley won the tournament with 190.5 points.

Oak Harbor goes to a tournament in North Mason, Thursday, Dec. 30 before hosting its next meet, at 7 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 6 against Monroe.