Wrestlers step up to a gut check week

The Raiders wrestled in the Jeremiah Schmunk Invitational in Warden last week, as well as the Gut Check tournament in Kent, where three Raiders competed for the first time in LR history.

In Warden on Saturday, the Raiders had 10 placers, with the only first place going to Steven Flowers, who wrestled in the 195 weight division.

Raiders placing second at the event were Brandon Long at 182, Sherwin Vargas at 220, and Terrance Saulque at 285. Placing third were Colton Jackson at 106, Moses Luevano at 182, and Joey Tynan at 220. Placing fifth were Dylin Wiles at 160 and Trevon Johnson at 220; and placing 6th was Kadin Palmer at 170.

“The competition was tough, we had some good matches in there,” Head Coach Steve Hood said. “We had a good day.”

Hood noted that Saulque defeated Braeden Shannon from Mount Baker as a nice turnaround, since Shannon had defeated Saulque earlier in the season in Cashmere.

The Gut Check tournament was held in Kent on Friday and Saturday, where, instead of competing at Warden, Raider David Crowe wrestled at 132, Kaleb Horn wrestled at 138, and Tony Nichols wrestled at 152.

Crowe and Nichols each won two and lost two matches at the event, while Horn won two and lost three, but placed seventh.

This was the fifth Gut Check tournament, the first attended by LR, and included mixed competition of state champions and high placers, from schools ranging in size from 4A to B classifications.

“I would say it’s the toughest tournament in the state of Washington, because it’s not divided up by classification,” Hood said. “Every guy we didn’t beat went on to place.”

“These guys have done a lot of extra work beyond the high school season,” Hood said about Crowe, Horn, and Nichols. “Camps, freestyles, wrestling since they were little. We just felt they were ready to compete and compete well in that high level. Most of the matches we didn’t win were close, two- to three-point matches.”

Hood was satisfied with Raider efforts at both the tournament in Warden and the Gut Check.

“As the season goes along and the competition level gets higher, you keep finding areas to work on or polish on, and we have plenty of that to do,” Hood said. “The good thing is, this weekend we found high-level competition for everybody.”

The Raiders leave Friday to compete in the Sgt. Norton Memorial tournament in Rainier on Saturday, scheduled to start at 9:30 a.m.

Jeremiah Schmunk Invitational

106: Johnson (MTB) p. Jackson (LR), 2:38; Jackson (LR) def. White (LB), 10-0; 152: Haworth (WAR) p. Palmer (LR), 1:24; 160: Stewart (KB) p. Wiles (LR), 3:55; Wiles (LR) def. Wagar (MTB), 9-3; Wiles (LR) p. Padilla (RV), 2:38; 170:Anderson (RV) p. Palmer (LR), 3:11; Palmer (LR) def. Juarez (NACH), 11-6; Paez (MTB) p. Palmer (LR), :51; 182: Luevano (LR) def. Zabreznik (TON), 9-6; Llernas (KB) def. Luevano (LR), 13-0; Long (LR) p. Isaacson (MTB), 3:17; Llernas (KB) p. Long (LR), 2:38; Luevano (LR) def. Isaacson (MTB), 11-5; 195: Flowers (LR) p. Zaragoza (WAR), 1:08; Flowers (LR) p. Andrews (NACH), 1:08; 220: Vargas (LR) p. Uribe (RV) 5:33; Tynan (LR) p. Evans (CB), 1:01; Vargas (LR) p. Tynan (LR), 1:51; Saulsbury (MTB) def. Johnson (LR), 11-2; Najara (TON) def. Klingenberg (LR), 10-7; Johnson (LR) p. Klingenberg (LR) :17; Johnson (LR) p. Uribe (RV), :58; 285: Saulque (LR) p. Day (RV), 1:11; Saulque (LR) p. Shannon (MTB), 2:39; Mata (MAB), def. Saulque (LR), 7-3

Gut Check Tournament

132: Crowe (LR) p. Slayback (KIT); Crowe (LR) def. Canta (MARY), 16-2; Behnke (ORT) def. Crowe (LR), 7-0; Blinkov (FIFE) def. Crowe (LR), 8-4; 138: Horn (LR) def. Walker (Aub), 3-2; Coronel (ZILL) def. Horn (LR), 10-9; Horn (LR) def. Blas (BETH), 9-3; Romero (TOPP) p. Horn (LR), 4:16; Smith (Lake) def. Horn (LR), 4-3; 152: Nichols (LR) p. Barakoff (SILV), 3:32; Nichols (LR) def. Sofianos (PRAI), 6-4; Lyver (WHRI) def. Nichols (LR), 5-3; Adams (LAKE) def. Nichols (LR), 8-6