Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Shelton will send seven boys wrestlers to state
Seven wrestlers from Shelton High School's boys wrestling team finished in the top four at regionals Saturday and advanced to compete at the Mat Classic on Friday and Saturday at the Tacoma Dome.
Shelton had five wrestlers finish second in their weight classes to lead the Highclimbers to a fifth-place finish at the Region 3 wrestling tournament Saturday in Aberdeen.
"This team has been incredibly steady all season," Shelton coach Chris Lacy told the Journal in an email. "We have had a consistent mental approach and readiness all season. We wrestled well at subregionals, but some of our wrestlers felt too much pressure. Our regional wrestlers seemed to be poised, this allowed them to wrestle freely for the most part. At regionals, we qualified seven of our nine wrestlers to the state meet."
This is the first time since 1977 that seven Shelton wrestlers have qualified for state.
Ty Fleshman finished second in the 120-pound tournament. He won his opening match against Washougal's Dylan Ledbetter in a 15-5 major decision and won the semifinals by an 8-1 decision against Ridgefield's Lance Draper. Fleshman lost in a 7-5 decision to Centralia's Jesus Campos in the finals.
Cole Borden placed second at 126 pounds. He won the opening match by a 6-4 decision against Hockinson's Justin Martsolf and won the semifinals against Tumwater's Brayden Weiks by a 4-2 decision. Aberdeen's Michael Hatton defeated Borden in the finals by a 13-9 decision.
Logan Peach finished second at 132 pounds. He defeated Woodland's Lincoln Ponder in the opening match by pin and in the semifinals beat Washougal's Grady Lieziert 8-2. He lost by a 4-3 decision in the finals to Hockinson's Jacob McKee.
Mario Boxley finished second at 170 pounds. He pinned Hockinson's Thomas Kovalchuk in the opening match and defeated Washoutal's Isaac Gil by an 8-7 decision. Boxley lost to W.F. West's Tucker Land by pin in the finals.
Shelton's Daniel Tausa placed second at 285 pounds. Tuasa won in a 7-0 decision in his opening match against Mark Morris' Colten Reynolds and won by a 6-4 decision in the semifinals to Columbia River's Diego Carrion. W.F. West's Daniel Matagi pinned Tausa in the finals.
"Daniel Tausa's semifinal match had been on his calendar for 365 days," Lacy wrote. "Last year Daniel was eliminated by his Columbia River opponent. Daniel had different plans for this season. He had a great takedown and two-point near fall at the edge of the mat. This was after trailing 3-0. His focus and determination led to a 6-4 victory in which he dominated the last four minutes of wrestling."
Shelton's Richard Lingle at 113 pounds and Jaxon Wolfe finished fourth at 182 pounds to earn a spot in the state tournament.
"Our fans and families have been an amazing support system for the entire season and we look forward to giving them lots of chances to make some noise in the Tacoma Dome," Lacy wrote.
The Shelton wrestlers will compete at the Mat Classic on Friday and Saturday at the Tacoma Dome.
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