Eagles fly high against 4A competitors

The Klahowya Eagles may be a Class 2A school, but that doesn’t mean its wrestling team pays any attention. Going up against seven Class 4A schools in the Olympic Team Tournament on Saturday, the Eagles finished tied for third, dropping an early match to Bethel but recovering with wins over Bremerton and North Kitsap at Olympic High School.

The Trojans, hosting the annual tourney, lost their third place match against Bethel but had several strong individual outings.

All in all, it was not a bad day for local wrestlers.

“We’re starting a lot of young kids,” Olympic coach Rick Griffith said. “It’s a great experience. That’s the biggest thing for us. We have to keep everything in perspective.”

Olympic fell to Marysville-Pilchuck in the opening round, the team that would go on to win the tourney, 52-18. Oly, likely with the day’s toughest draw, defeated Prairie 57-18 before losing its third-place match 58-24 against Bethel.

“We’re getting there,” Griffith said. “We’re still young, and it’s early in the season. But I have confidence these kids will want to do well.”

For Oly, Mick Polillo had a huge day. Wrestling at 119 pounds, Polillo went undefeated, beating Marysville-Pilchuck’s Matt Barnes in a 12-2 decision. He then topped Prairie’s Teddy McKown, pinning him in 2:50. He then beat Bethel’s Brandon Davis 5-2.

“For Mick, it was getting in on the legs,” Griffith said. “He did a good job of executing technique on his feet.”

Technique was one thing Oly wanted to center on, Griffith said.

“This is what’s nice about this tournament,” he said. “These are solid teams. Early in the season, it’s some good mat time. It comes down to tweaking the little basic things.”

At 275 pounds, Paul Kogut also went undefeated for the Trojans. He had pins in each of his matches, taking down the Tomahawks’ Dennis Moinahan in 1:31, Prairie’s David Thompson in 1:35 and Bethel’s Jeremy Williams in 3:04.

“Paul had a nice day,” Griffith said. “He’s like the Energizer Bunny, he just keeps pushing.”

Ben Pierce and Joe Flores had strong days, with Pierce winning each of his matches and Flores winning two of three.

Griffith said the biggest thing for Oly was getting in some early tournament experience for his younger guys.

“Especially with the sophomores, it’s a long season,” Griffith said. “They go from a few weeks to two months. The young kids have to realize that wrestling is a hard sport. But some of these young kids have potential for state.”

Most of Oly’s younger wrestlers went back and forth, but Griffith said they’ll be ready for the Sundome Mat Classic in Yakima this weekend.

For Klahowya, which lost to Bethel and responded with big wins over North Kitsap (40-26) and Bremerton (56-18), Cody Kirkpatrick, Andy Hedman, Jerid Sturman-Camyn and Zac Becker, amongst others, all had great days. Sturman-Camyn won each of his matches, pinning all of his opponents, including NK’s Aaron Melius in just 52 seconds, and Bremerton’s Wes Wilson in 1:30. Hedman had two quick pins against NK’s Mike Storey in 54 seconds and over Bethel before drawing a forfeit against Bremerton.

Jeff Young, Jason Hippe and Brent Todd also had strong outings for the Eagles.

“I’m really happy with the way they (all) wrestled,” KSS coach Brad Hamblet said. “I was a little concerned about us being in shape. But for the most part, we were where I expect to be. All in all, it was a very positive day.”

Hamblet said he was pleased Klahowya had such a strong outing against the bigger schools.

“It’s a good sign,” he said. “Especially when we’re wrestling 4A competition. It’s a good indication of strength and ability. As long as our progress keeps going, we get in better shape, no injuries occur, that sort of thing, then it looks like we’ll be on the right track.”

Klahowya co-coach Rob Hawley agreed, saying it was nice to be able to see a lot of the kids that didn’t get to wrestle in the Eagles win over Foster two nights before.

“We’re slightly farther ahead than I thought when the day started,” Hawley said. “It was hard to tell much after Foster. I thought our kids wrestled tough and aggressive.”

One thing Hamblet said he noticed was the team’s strength in the top weights.

“Our strength is definitely in the upper weights,” Hamblet said. “Once we hit around 145 pounds, and up, we’re pretty strong. But the smaller guys are getting experience.”

He said the biggest difference between the competition here and the 2A schools the Eagles normally face is the ability for a school to field a lineup that is competitive at every weight.

“What you see here is strength through the entire lineup,” Hamblet said. “With all the teams, they are pretty solid at all the weight classes. Every one of our kids has to be ready to wrestle.”

Klahowya will get a chance to build more experience Thursday with an away match at Cascade Christian. The Eagles also will be in Yakima for the Sundome Mat Classic starting at 10 a.m. Saturday.

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