The outcome of the wrestling match between Oak Harbor and Arlington Thursday, Jan. 14, wasn’t nearly as important as what came before the contest.
Prior to competing, Oak Harbor High School honored the late Rich Linsenmayer, who coached Wildcat wrestlers from 1969-1998. Linsenmayer died Dec. 26; he was 78.
Oak Harbor presented Linsenmayer’s wife, Myrna, with a plaque that will be mounted next to the entrance to the OHHS mat room, which was dedicated to the former coach.
Brian Farmer, who replaced Linsenmayer as the head wrestling coach in 1998-99, said it was “daunting” following such a talented coach as Linsenmayer, but the task was made easier by the skill of the wrestlers trained by Linsenmayer that Farmer inherited.
Linsenmayer had such an impact on the Oak Harbor program that “his style is still seen in today’s wrestlers,” Farmer said.
“Wrestling is alive and well in Oak Harbor because of Linsenmayer,” he added.
Dr. Warren Howe, who volunteered his time as the OHHS team doctor for many years, praised Linsenmayer for his willingness to implement a healthy weight-loss program in 1974 before it became mandatory by the state.
“Kudos to Rich for being a good coach,” Howe said. “And, kudos to Rich for understanding the science of wrestling.”
Fighting back tears, Oak Harbor High School assistant wrestling coach Joe Brannon, who wrestled for Linsenmayer, said, “With coach Linsenmayer, there was an expectation to wrestle a certain way. I learned a lot of life lessons from him, and I feel blessed and fortunate to have wrestled for him.”
Rick Iversen, Arlington’s veteran head coach, faced Linsenmayer’s teams many times in the past.
“When you wrestled his teams, you would see the best technique in the state,” Iversen said. “He was the dean of technique in the state.”
Iversen had his wrestlers, one-by-one, greet Myrna Linsenmayer.
Arlington (9-0), which is ranked fourth in the Washington Wrestling Report 3A state poll, defeated the Wildcats 62-15.
The Eagles feature 10 wrestlers ranked in the top 12 of their individual weight classes; Oak Harbor has one, Sam Zook (285 pounds).
After Oak Harbor’s Blake Servatius (106 pounds) lost by a fall (2:37) in the first match, the Wildcats won the next two. Zion Gomez (113) recorded a pin (4:21) and Garrett Stahl won 9-3.
From there, the Eagles won 10 straight bouts, nine by falls.
The Wildcats broke the streak in the final match when Zook won by a fall (1:44).
The night’s most entertaining match was at 152 pounds. The Wildcats’ Dymond Piper nearly upset second-ranked Cooper McAusian. McAusian, who finished fifth in the state last season, needed a reversal and near fall in the final 10 seconds to win 11-8.
“I was happy with what I saw,” Oak Harbor coach Larry Falcon said. “We are young (only two seniors) and are only going to get better.
“We went out and wrestled the way I wanted. We wrestled to win, not to not lose.”
Oak Harbor (5-3) travels to Issaquah to compete in the Jack Reynolds Memorial Tournament Saturday, Jan. 16, and heads to Everett (8-2) for a Wesco North match at 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 22.
Other Oak Harbor results versus Arlington:
126, Caleb Fitzgerald lost by pin, 2:21.
132: Michael Lym lost by pin, 2:44.
138: Trevor Vaughn lost 22-6.
145: Zack Aketch lost by pin, 1:59.
160: Eriq Boler lost by pin, 3:49.
170: Nick Dugin lost by pin, 4:12.
182: Joshua Margraf lost by pin, 3:47.
195: Nate Mecom lost by pin, :30.
220: Isaiah Edmon lost by pin, 1:09.
================
From the top, Oak Harbor’s Sam Zook pins Arlington’s Jacob Gwordske. Dymond Piper, right, escapes from Arlington’s Cooper McAuslan. Zion Gomez pins Arlington’s Robin Hernandez. Garrett Stahl controls Arlington’s Brantly Stupey on the way to a 9-3 win. Photos by John Fisken.
