Jennifer Fremd and Cody Fakkema each placed third to pace Oak Harbor at Mat Classic XXIV, the state high school wrestling championships, at the Tacoma Dome Friday and Saturday, Feb. 17 and 18.
Fakkema and four other boys helped Oak Harbor finish 26th in the team standings with 28.5 points. Enumclaw was the 3A boys champ with 126 points.
Fremd and Brittany Johnston combined to score 23 points and Oak Harbor finished 23rd out of 104 schools which were represented in the girls division.
Fakkema and Fremd took different routes to their third-place spots on the podium.
Fakkema (126 pounds) was upset by a pin in the first round and had to plow through the losers’ bracket to nab third. After the opening loss, the junior recorded three straight pins, won 11-6, and then won by a fall to claim third.
Fremd (145) started with two wins (fall and 7-2) to reach the semifinals where she lost 7-5 to Lateah Holmes of Fife, who would go on to get second.
Fremd then picked up two more pins to nail down third place.
Fremd took fifth last winter; Fakkema qualified for state last year but did not place.
Four of the other five Oak Harbor wrestlers each recorded one win in three matches.
Junior Joshua Crebbin (152) was the only one to win his first-round bout, that came with a pin. He then lost 17-3 to the eventual state champion, Billy Goforth of Mount Spokane, and by a fall.
Freshman Jeremy Vester (106) was pinned in the opening round, won 14-11 and then lost 16-4.
His sophomore brother Jahleel Vester (120) lost 16-2, won 16-0 and lost 6-5 and did not place after earning a surprising eighth-place in 2011.
Senior Brittany Johnston (170) was pinned in her initial match, then won by a pin before losing by another fall.
Freshman Mark Johnston (132) lost both his matches, 14-2 and 9-1.
