It was a rough go Friday, Feb. 16, for the three Oak Harbor High School wrestlers who qualified for Mat Classic XXX, the state tournament at the Tacoma Dome.

Juniors Caleb Fitzgerald (126 pounds), Blake McBride (145) and Michael Fisken (220) all failed to advance to the second day of action.

Fitzgerald and McBride each won one of three matches while Fisken dropped both his. The two losses eliminated each wrestler.

Fitzgerald, ranked 10th coming into the tournament by Washington Wrestling Report, lost 15-2 in his tournament opener to second-ranked Evan Tracey from Bonney Lake. Fitzgerald bounced back to blank 13th-ranked Taishi Walden of O’Dea 10-0 before losing to Walden’s teammate, 11th-ranked Hugh Curtis, 14-6.

Sixth-ranked McBride, who placed sixth in last year’s state tournament, lost by a fall (3:03) to eighth-ranked Nolan Casey of Peninsula in the first round. McBride recovered to whip 12th-ranked Nate Balinbin of O’Dea 12-4, but was eliminated with a tough 4-3 loss to 11th-ranked Zack Clark of Mount Spokane.

Tenth-ranked Fisken suffered two close losses. Bishop Blanchet’s sixth-ranked Connor Mahoney slipped by Fisken 3-0 in the opener, then 15th-ranked Cameron Dubuse of Yelm prevailed 4-3 in an ultimate tie-breaker (four overtimes).

As a team, Oak Harbor scored 4 points and was in 36th place after the first day. Mount Spokane led the tournament with 77 points.

Micheal Fisken, right, attempts to take down Cameron Dubose of Yelm. (Photo by John Fisken)

Blake McBride, top, controls Nate Balinbin of O’Dea. (Photo by John Fisken)