Kitsap wrestlers take top prizes at national wrestling championships
July 14, 2008 · Updated 8:51 AM
Summer is a busy time for area wrestlers.
In June, 548 of the nations best seventh- and eighth-grade wrestlers representing 27 different states, competed in Indianapolis in the USA Wrestling Freestyle & Greco Roman Schoolboy Duals National Championships.
Team Washington took 27 wrestlers from across the state. Kitsap County wrestlers Adam Burchett (70 pounds; Klahowya), Jake Velarde (84, Kingston), Cody Yeik (98, Fairview) and Caleb O’Halek (152, Fairview) each took first place in the freestyle bracket, while Burchett, Velarde and O’Halek also took top honors in the Greco bracket. Yeik was second in Greco.
As a result, Team Washington placed sixth in the Freestyle competition and ninth in the Greco-Roman competition.
At the Freestyle and Greco National Championships (July 2-5) in Orem, Utah, Washington state had 5 wrestlers who earned national titles, two from Kitsap. Velarde won a national championship in Greco-Roman and he also placed second in Freestyle. Adam Burchett earned a national title in Freestyle and place third in Greco. Adam’s younger brother Brian Burchett, who will wrestle for Klahowya next year, placed third in Greco and was a runner-up in Freestyle. All three wrestlers are part of the Northwest Washington Wrestling Club that practices at the Kitsap County Fairgrounds.
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