Arlington holds off Oak Harbor’s upset bid / Wrestling

By Jim Waller • January 12, 2018 1:30 am
The Wildcat bench erupts as Jakob Dailey is about to pin Arlington’s Todd Smith. In the front are Aaron Fletcher, left, and Blake McBride; seated are Shingo Johnston, left (rising out of his chair), and Giovanni Ribay; and standing, from the left, are Hayden Campbell, Ethan Pace and Michael Fisken. (Photo by John Fisken)
The Wildcat bench erupts as Jakob Dailey is about to pin Arlington’s Todd Smith. In the front are Aaron Fletcher, left, and Blake McBride; seated are Shingo Johnston, left (rising out of his chair), and Giovanni Ribay; and standing, from the left, are Hayden Campbell, Ethan Pace and Michael Fisken. (Photo by John Fisken)

The Oak Harbor High School wrestling team came up two points shy of upsetting 17th-ranked Arlington when the Eagles edged the host Wildcats 39-37 Thursday, Jan. 11.

Arlington raised its Wesco North record to 3-1, 5-2 overall. Oak Harbor fell to 0-4 and 3-8.

The Wildcats go to Marysville Getchell (0-2, 2-6) at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 18, then make their annual trip to the PanCan Tournament at Hazen High School in Renton at 7 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 20.

Oak Harbor wraps up the regular season with Senior Night when Stanwood (0-4, 1-7) visits at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 23.

Arlington 39, Oak Harbor 37

Oak Harbor forfeited two weight classes (182, 195) and Arlington one (220); those six points eventually decided the match in the Eagles favor. The Wildcats won six of the 11 matches that were contested.

The contest started at the 132 pound class, and Arlington built a 39-21 lead with three matches remaining. Oak Harbor needed to close out with three falls to pull off a tie, and Wildcats nearly made it happen.

Blake Servatius (113) and Jakob Dailey (120) pinned their opponents, getting Oak Harbor within six, 39-33, heading into the final bout.

Caleb Fitzgerald (126) dominated his match, winning 18-5, but he couldn’t stick Brendan Connelly, who came within one stall warning of being disqualified.

Coach Larry Falcon praised the work of the final three, then added that all his athletes “wrestled well.”

He noted that Servatius is rounding into shape. The junior qualified for the state tournament as a freshman but missed all of last year with a knee injury and the early part of this season with a concussion.

“Overall, it was an exciting match,” Falcon said. “You can’t get any closer than that — down to the last match.”

Falcon likes the progress of his team this season, pointing to the club’s fourth-place finish at a very tough tournament in Snohomish last weekend.

“We are geared that way, to go deep into tournaments,” he said.

Arlington started the match with falls over Oak Harbor’s Giovanni Ribay (132) and Jeremiah Dailey (138).

A win 6-2 from Blake McBride (145) and falls from Shingo Johnson (152) and Aaron Fletcher (160) gave the Wildcats a 15-12 lead.

After Ethan Pace (170) was pinned, Oak Harbor forfeited the next two matches and trailed 30-15.

The Wildcats got six points back when Micheal Fisken (220) won by forfeit, making it 30-21.

Hayden Campbell (285) was pinned and Jamal Graham (1-6) lost 11-4, setting up the wild finish.

In the latest listing by the Washington Wrestling Report, McBride is ranked fifth, Fitzgerald 12th and Fisken 13th in their respected weight classes among the state’s 3A wrestlers.

Aaron Fletcher, top, works toward the pin of Arlington’s Colby Wammack.(Photo by John Fisken)

Aaron Fletcher, top, works toward the pin of Arlington’s Colby Wammack. (Photo by John Fisken)

Wildcat Jakob Dailey, top, takes control of Todd Smith.(Photo by John Fisken)

Wildcat Jakob Dailey, top, takes control of Todd Smith. (Photo by John Fisken)

Jeremiah Dailey, right, tries to stay in control of Arlington’s Brantly Stupey.(Photo by John Fisken)

Jeremiah Dailey, right, tries to stay in control of Arlington’s Brantly Stupey. (Photo by John Fisken)

Oak Harbor’s Blake McBride, top, tries to turn Gavin Howell.(Photo by John Fisken)

Oak Harbor’s Blake McBride, top, tries to turn Gavin Howell. (Photo by John Fisken)