He got his trophy.
Oak Harbor High School assistant wresting coach Peter Esvelt parades around with a T-shirt that says, “I want my trophy!” He got his wish when the Wildcat varsity won the 10-team Edmonds Invitational Saturday, Jan. 7.
Unranked 3A Oak Harbor captured the tournament with 212.5 points, topping several ranked opponents along the way.
Host Edmonds-Woodway, ranked ninth in 4A, finished second with 207 points. Ellensburg, third in the 2A polls, and Everett, seventh in 3A, followed in third and fourth.
The Wildcats (2-0, 8-1) and Everett (1-0, 5-2) meet in Oak Harbor Thursday, Jan.12, at 7 p.m. in what most likely will decide the Wesco 3A championship. In head-to-head matches between Oak Harbor and Everett wrestlers at the Edmonds Invitational, the Seagulls won six of nine matches.
Before facing Everett, Oak Harbor goes to Shorecrest to face the Scots (0-2, 2-2) and Shorewood (2-0, 4-1) in a double-dual meet Tuesday, Jan. 10.
At Edmonds, Cody Fakkema (126 pounds) and Hunter Vail (220) won individual championships.
Coach Mike Crebbin said that before Vail’s championship bout with sixth-ranked Corbin Richardson of Ellensburg, he told the unranked Wildcat senior, “Not to add any pressure, but you need to win so the team will get first place and coach Esvelt will get his trophy.”
Vail responded with “gee, thanks” and a pin.
Esvelt got his trophy and a water-bottle shower from the Wildcat wrestlers at the awards ceremony.
Crebbin said, “It truly was a team effort with every varsity wrestler placing. We also had some extra wrestlers participating as non-scorers who wrestled very well.”
Vail reached the finals with a pair of pins.
Third-ranked Fakkema rolled to his title with a pin and 13-0 and 10-2 decisions.
In other notable matches, according to Crebbin, ninth-ranked Mark Johnston (132) came back from a 4-2 and 7-6 deficits in the final round to pin 11th-ranked Zach Caulkins of Lynnwood in the semi-finals. Johnston lost the title pout 8-1 to top-ranked Jesse Lopez of Everett and finished second.
Joshua Crebbin (152) also finished second, losing to fifth-ranked Kamal Qteisthat of Ellensburg by a fall. In the semi-finals, Crebbin was down 8-4 before moving ahead 11-10 and then winning by injury default over Lynnwood’s Hunter Lord. Earlier this season, Lord defeated Crebbin 20-5.
Rey Quinday (285) added another second. Jeremy Vester (106), Collin Higingbotham (170) and Constant Jackson (285) earned thirds.
Finishing fourth were Ryuta Meany (138), Nathanael Stanford (145), Josh Orritt (182) and Jeremy Alonzo (195).
Sheyenne Sams (145) was fifth and David Payne (160) sixth.
Eighth-ranked Jahleel Vester (120) did not wrestle because of an injury.
Individual match results:
Jeremy Vester (106): won 19-3, lost by pin, won 8-4.
Fakkema (126): won by pin (1:05), won 13-0, won 10-2.
Ben Pralle (126): won 7-2, lost 4-3, won 12-0, lost by pin (2:11).
Johnston (132): won by pin (:40), won by pin (5:55), lost 8-1.
Meany (138): won by pin (4:46), won by pin (3:54), lost 6-0, won 11-6, lost by pin (4:58).
Stanford (145): lost 8-2, won by pin (4:41), won by pin (:48), won 3-2, lost 6-1.
Sams (145): won by pin (3:07), lost by pin (5:31), won 10-0, won by pin (4:56), lost by pin (4:59).
Crebbin (152): won by pin (2:34), won by pin (:37), won by injury default, lost by pin (3:06).
Payne (160): won 10-8 (OT), lost 12-4, lost 16-7, lost (score not reported).
CJ Shavers (160): lost by pin (1:11), lost by pin (3:24).
Higingbotham (170): lost 4-3, won by pin (3:38), won by pin (2:34), won 4-2.
Orritt (182): won by pin (4:09), lost by pin (1:09), won by pin (3:23), lost by pin (4:56).
Alonzo (195): lost by pin (:58), won by pin (2:01), lost by pin (3:27).
Vail (220): won by pin (2:39), won by pin (1:01), won by pin (2:22).
Quinday (285): won by pin (3:00), lost by pin (4:35).
Jackson (285): lost by pin (1:14), won by pin (:23), won by pin (:52).
