Wrestling - Mat Classic Day 2

Day 2 was nicer to the Wildcats as day one.

First an update on the girls 170 lb class. Brittany Johnston lost her second consolation bracket match and did not place.


Jennifer Fremd lost in an overtime 7-5 decision in her semifinal match then pinned two opponents to stand on the podium at the end of the day in 3rd place.

After losing his first match on Friday, Cody Fakkema also rebounded well, winning all but one of his consolation matches by pin, and the one that wasn't a pin was an 11-6 decision. Cody also ended the day on the podium in 3rd place.

In team scoring, the girls finished with 23 points and was in 27th place out of 104 teams. 31 teams scored no points at all. The girls team champion was Sedro Woolley with 83 points. Stanwood and Mt. Vernon were also in the top 10. The only WESCO 3A team to finish higher than the Wildcats was Everett, in 21st place with 27 points.

For the boys, the Wildcats earned 28.5 points and finished in 26th of 61 3A schools. The team champion was Enumclaw with 126 points. The top local team was Sedro in 6th place with 69 points. Glacier Peak (12), Shorecrest (15), and Everett (16) were WESCO 3A teams that finished ahead of Oak Harbor in the team standings.

Wrestling - Mat Classic Day 1

After the first day of wrestling, only 3 Oak Harbor wrestlers are still alive in the tournament.

Jennifer Fremd, at 145 lbs, got a pin in her first round match then won 7-2 to put herself in the semi-finals.

Brittany Johnston got pinned in her first round match but rebounded to pin her opponent in just 24 seconds. Her third match results are not posted yet.

For the guys, Cody Fakkema got pinned in the 3rd round of his first match, then pinned his next two opponents in 1:44 and 2:44 to stay alive in the consolation bracket.

Mark Johnston, Jahleel Vester, Jeremy Vester and Josh Crebbin are all eliminated.

Wrestling 2012-02-11 - Regional Tournaments

Eight Oak Harbor wrestlers started the 3A Region 1 tournament at Skyline HS on Saturday and five of them are going on to state with one more going as an alternate.

Freshman Jeremy Vester and brother Jahleel Vester, a sophomore, both finished 4th to move on to State.

At 126 lbs, Junior Cody Fakkema was the regional champion, winning by pin, 4-0, and 4-1.

Mark Johnston, another freshman, will go to state at 132 pounds after finishing 3rd.

In what many were calling the match of the day, junior Josh Crebbin lost in the championship match by one point, 15-14, but will go to state as the 2nd place finisher.

The final OH state competitor is yet another freshman, Jackson Constant, at 285 pounds, who finished in 5th place and will go to state as an alternate.

Senior Colling Higinbotham and sophomore Ray Quinday both wrestled in the regional tournament but will not advance.

In Bellingham, Oak Harbor had 3 girls on the mat - Kylene Ayer at 106 lbs, Jennifer Fremd at 145 and Brittany Johnston at 170.

Kylene won the district title and was seeded 1st in the regional tournament, but a nagging back injury affected her wrestling and she finished in 6th place and will not advance.

Senior Johnston had a first round bye, and although she lost her first match against eventual winner Allen of Mt. Vernon, she won her first consolation match by fall to guarantee a trip to the state tournament. She finished the regional tournament in 4th place.

Fremd, also a senior, only wrestled 3 times in the tournament, winning each of her matches by pin. She is seeded 2nd in the state tournament next weekend at the Tacoma Dome.

Video highlights from the girls tournament are posted HERE.

Photos from the girls tournament are HERE.

Wrestling 2012-02-03 and 04 Sub-regional tournament

Oak Harbor did well at the 3A District 1 tournament held at OHHS last weekend, with 7 wrestlers placing in the top 5 and moving on to the regional tournament. In addition, the future looks good for the Wildcat wrestling team as all of the placers are underclassmen, and 3 are Freshmen!

District champions are juniors Cody Fakkema, currently ranked 2nd in state at the 3A level at 126 lbs and Josh Crebbin, currently ranked 11th at 152 lbs.

Sophomore Ray Quinday finished 2nd at 220 lbs.

Brothers Jeremy and Jahleel Vester both finished 3rd in their weight brackets. Freshman Jeremy at 106 lbs and Sophomore Jahleel at 120 lbs.

Finishing in 4th place were freshmen Mark Johnston at 132 lbs and Jackson Constant at 285 lbs.

Senior Collin Higingbotham (170)and Freshman Carl Meders (195) both finished in 6th place and will go to the regional tournament as 1st alternates.

Also, in the girls tournament at Squalicum, Senior Jennifer Fremd and Junior Kylene Ayers both placed first and will compete in the regional tournament this weekend at Bellingham HS.

Video highlights are HERE.

Day 1 photos are posted HERE.

Day 2 photos are posted HERE.

Wrestling 2012-01-26 vs Marysville-Getchell

The Wildcats finished their regular season Thursday at OHHS by honoring the graduating seniors before the match, then went on the mat and pounded the visiting Getchell Chargers 56-15.

For their first year in sports, Getchell had a large team, which led to a total of 18 JV matches. Oak Harbor won 10 of them, all by pin. JV winners were Bertram, Zaiha Sams, Pralle, Charlesworth, Cheeseboro, Dedobbelaere, Shavers, Carter, Wotring and Adamson.

Bertram, Sams, Cheeseboro and Shavers all took less than a minute to pin their opponent.

In varsity action, Jahleel Vester and Cody Fakkema both won by pin, Mark Johnston won 12-0, Nate Stanford and Josh Crebbin both pinned their opponent, David Payne won 13-5 and Collin Higingbotham 8-4. Josh Orritt was down 5-9 in the third period when he scored a takedown then pinned his opponent.

Jeremy Alonzo won a very close 6-5 match, Jacob Dugin won by pin and Christian Bertram won by forfeit to finish the night's wrestling.

Next for the wrestlers is the sub-regional tournament, which this year is being held at OHHS on Feb 3rd and 4th.

Volunteers are still needed to help with concessions and at the scoretables. If you can help go to the team website at LeagueLineup.com for more information.

Varsity photos are posted HERE.

JV pics are HERE.

Video highlights are HERE.

Wrestling 2012-01-24 at Meadowdale vs Meadowdale and Mountlake Terrace

Due to a missed date due to the snow last week, the OHHS wrestling team wrestled in two meets last Tuesday night at Meadowdale. The first was the make up, against Mountlake Terrace. The Hawks did not field a JV team, so there are only varsity results.

Out of the 14 weight classes, Terrace forfeited five to the Wildcats. Of the 9 matches wrestled, Oak Harbor won 8, 6 by pin. The final score was 72-3 in favor of OH.

MLT video highlights are posted HERE

MLT photos are HERE.

In the Meadowdale matchup, there were 12 JV matches. Oak Harbor won 9 of them, with Ben Pralle, Chris Carter, CJ Shavers, Jen Fremd, Kekai Tarrant all winning their matches by pin. Shavers and Carter wrestled twice and won by pin both times.

While Oak Harbor dominated the varsity event, Meadowdale was still able to score team points against the Wildcats.

Jahleel Vester, Mark Johnston, Josh Crebbin and Jacob Dugin all won by pin. Johnston's pin was probably the fastest of the year - he needed just 14 seconds.

Other OH varsity winners were Cody Fakkema (tech fall), David Payne (6-5) and Collin Higingbotham (10-7)

The final score in the Meadowdale meet was 47-24 in favor of OHHS.

HERE are the Meadowdale video clips

Click HERE for Meadowdale photos.

The Wildcats are in action again tonight, hosting Marysville-Getchell for Senior Night. Tonight's meet ends the regular season. This weekend, Oak Harbor is hosting the sub-regional tournament. Wrestling starts Friday afternoon then continues all day Saturday.

Wrestling 2012-01-12 vs Everett

Thursday night at OHHS two unbeated teams matched up for what was likely to be the WESCO 3A championship on the line.

Everett was ranked #7 in 3A and #16 in the state across all classifications and had two wrestlers currently ranked as #1 in 3A.

Oak Harbor came into the meet with a #8 and #9 ranked wrestlers, but missing their 3rd ranked wrestler and 3 other varsity men due to medical issues.

The night started with #9 ranked Mark Johnston vs #1 ranked Jessie Lopez, and that match ended with Lopez ahead 11-3. Everett also won the next match by major decision to take an 8-0 lead. Sheyenne Sams and Josh Crebbin then both pinned their opponents, putting OH ahead 12-8.

Following 4 straight losses, the Wildcats were down 30-12, but a pair of forfeits to the Wildcat heavyweights closed the gap to 30-24.

Dropping to the 106 weight class, Everett fielded Justine Palabrica, currently #3 in state against Tricia Desquitado. Tricia wrestled well but was pinned, putting Everett up 36-24.

At 113 lbs, Jeremy Vester hit the mat against Bagdadi. Bagadadi took a 5-0 lead into the 3rd round, but an escape by Vester, a penalty point for stalling, then a takedown made it 5-4. With time running out, Jeremy needed a takedown for the win, but the match was stopped with 3 seconds left due to Everett blood, and it turned out to be 2 seconds too little, as Jeremy took down his opponent just after the buzzer ending the match.

Brother Jahleel (ranked #8) made up for the loss by pinning his opponent in just 54 seconds, but Everett still led 39-30 with just one match left.

Ben Pralle wrestled one of his best matches this year, but also came up just seconds short of winning, as opponent Norton won 9-8.

The JV matches were exciting, with two matches standing out. Ewing took on Everett's Walkley, and it was a back and forth battle all the way. With time running out, Ewing was on top but down by one point, 13-14. He tried his best to turn his opponent and get near-fall points, but the buzzer sounded before the official started his count. As the wrestlers shook hands, even the referee applauded their efforts.

The other match was Holloman vs Turner. It was Holloman's second match of the day, having been pinned in the first match of the day. She wasted no time at all getting Turner on his back and getting back points, but Turner held her off until the end of the period. In the second, Hollman needed just 30 seconds to turn her opponent and record an emotional pin.

Other JV winners Thursday night were Scrum (12-7), King (pin), Adamson, Tarrant and B. Johnston.

The wrestlers travel to Renton Friday night for a double-dual fundraiser for Pancreatic Cancer, and on Saturday the varsity squad goes to Mercer Island and the JV team to Everett for tournaments.

The Wildcats return home on Thursday, Jan 26th for senior night against Marysville-Getchell.

Video clips from the meet are posted HERE.

Photos are posted HERE.

Wrestling 2012-01-07 - Edmond Tournament

The Oak Harbor varsity wrestling team went to Edmonds on Saturday and came out winners, earning 212.5 points, ahead of 2nd place Edmonds Woodway with 207.

Here are OH wrestlers who were in the top 8:

106 - Jeremy Vester - t-3rd
126 - Cody Fakkema - 1st
132 - Mark Johnston - 2nd
138 - Ryuta Meany - 4th
145 - Nate Stanford - 4th
145 - Sheyenne Sams - t-5th
152 - Josh Crebbin - 2nd
160 - David Payne - 6th
170 - Collin Higingbotham - 3rd
182 - Josh Orritt - 4th
195 - Jeremy Alonzo - 4th
220 - Hunter Vail - 1st
285 - Ray Quinday - 2nd
285 - Jackson Constant - 3rd

Wrestling 2012-01-03 vs Glacier Peak

The Oak Harbor Wildcat wrestling team hit the mat against Glacier Peak Tuesday night with much success.

Starting with JV, Ben Pralle, Keikai Tarrant, Alex Rutter, CJ Shavers each earned pins, with Pralle, Shavers and Rutter getting first-round pins.

Other JV winners were Sheyenne Sams, Brody Dedobbelaere and Chris Carter, who won a close 15-14 decision.

The varsity match started with Nate Stanford going up against #11 ranked Jacob Elledge. Nate wrestled hard but Elledge got the decision 12-4.

The next 3 bouts all went to Oak Harbor. Josh Crebbin won 14-5, David Payne by pin in 1:19 and Collin Higingbotham 10-8 in OT.

At 182 lbs, Josh Orritt faced #3 ranked Sean Elledge and was pinned in the first round.

Oak Harbor then reeled off 8 straight wins. Jeremy Alonzo won 11-7, Hunter Vail by pin, Ray Quinday 4-1, Tricia Desquitado by forfeit, Jeremy Vester by forfeit, Jahleel Vester by pin, Cody Fakkema 14-2 and Mark Johnston by pin.

In the final match of the day, Glacier Peak's Douglass, ranked 11th, pinned Ryuta Meany.

The final score was 53-16 in favor of the Wildcats.

Next for the wrestlers is a trip to King County where they will take on Shorecrest and Shorewood, the face Everett on Thursday, Jan 12th at home on Alumni Night. If you are a former Oak Harbor Wrestler, come to the meet and be recognized.

Video highlights are posted HERE.

Click HERE for photos.

New wrestling rankings

Four Oak Harbor wrestlers are now ranked in the top 10 in the state.

At 120 lbs, Sophomore Jahleel Vester is #8
At 126 lbs, junior Cody Fakkema is #3
At 132 lbs and new to the rankings is freshman Mark Johnston at #9

Jennifer Fremd is currently ranked #5 for girls in all classes at 137 lbs.

See them all in action on Tuesday when the wrestling team hosts Glacier Peak. JV starts at 5:40, Varsity at 7pm.

Wrestling 2011-12-21 at Anacortes Duals

Wednesday afternoon the Wildcat wrestling team headed up SR 20 to Anacortes HS for a series of dual meets. In addition to Oak Harbor and host Anacortes, there were Mt. Vernon, Clover Park, Archbishop Murphy, Sehome, Shorewood and a catch-all team called the All-Stars.

Oak Harbor started the day against Mt. Vernon and performed well. Freshman Jeremy Vester started the day going against fellow freshman and 7th ranked Anthony Cook. Jeremy worked hard but lost 15-4. Next was Jeremy's brother Jahleel, currently ranked 4th in the state in 3A and he earned a pin in 3:47. Mark Johnston won a close 6-4 bout and Ryuta Meany was pinned by #7 Pavel Okara.

Josh Crebbin, at 152 lbs, beat his opponent 11-2, then David Payne went up against #2 ranked Jordan Watts and was pinned. Collin Higingbotham won 8-5, Jeremy Alonzo 6-4, Hunter Vail 9-4 and Jackson Constant by pin in 3:48 and won the dual 34-25

In the second dual, the Wildcats face host Anacortes and cleaned up 69-6, winning every bout except for one. Only one of the OH wins was not by pin, that a close 4-3 decision to Jeremy Alonzo.

Oak Harbor beat Sehome 63-15 behind pins by Cody Fakkema, Mark Joynston, Nate Stanford, Josh Crebbin, David Payne, Josh Orritt, Hunter Vail and Jackson Constant.

OH also dualed against the All-Stars and won 77-0. Jeremy Vester won the opening bout 17-1, then there were 12 straight pins by the Wildcats.

The wrestlers host the first sporting event of the new year when Glacier Peak comes to town on January 3rd.

131 photos of JV and varsity wrestlers are posted HERE.

6 video clips are posted HERE.

Wrestling 2011-12-15 vs Lynnwood

Thursday the Wildcat wrestling team hosted their first home meet of the year against the Lynnwood Royal. The Royals, although without a lot of depth, came into the meet with 3 wrestlers ranked in the top 10 in 3A. The Wildcats had two, Jahleel Vester and Cody Fakkema.

There were 15 JV matches total, four of them exhibition matches featuring two Wildcats wrestling each other. Of the 11 matches against the Royals, Oak Harbor won 7, all by pin. Kekai Tarrant needed only 21 seconds to pin his opponent, and Kylene Ayers stuck her man 36 seconds into the final period. Other OH winners were Gage Perner, Josh Schrum, Alex Rutter, Nathan Pacheco and Ben Pralle. Exhibition winners were Sheyenne Sams and his sister Zaiha, Wiatt Charlesworth and CJ Shavers.

The varsity meet started with the 106 lb weight class, which Oak Harbor forfeited.

In the first match wrestled, freshman Jeremy Vester pinned Hayes in just 49 seconds.

At 120 lbs, 4th ranked sophomore Jahleel Vester took on 5th ranked senior Alex Basabe. While Jahleel scored points, Basabe stayed in control and won the match 11-4.

126 pounds also featured two ranked wrestlers. Cody Fakkema at 6th and Matt Calkins at 7th. Cody had to work, but with just 6 seconds left in the 2nd round, he got Calkins on his back for the pin, putting the OH team up 12-9.

Following that, 8th ranked Zach Calkins took on freshman Mark Johnston at 132 lbs. This was an exciting bout between two good wrestlers, Johnston grabbed and early 5-2 lead and held on to win 7-4.

At 138 lbs Ryuta Meany had little trouble with Latimere, sticking him near the end of the 2nd round. He was leading 11-1 at the time.

Nate Stanford wrestled at 145 lbs and needed just over a minute to pin Jaworski. Oak Harbor now had a commanding 27-9 lead.

Josh Crebbin wrestled Lord at 152 lbs and had some trouble. Lord won every period and ended the match with a tech fall, 20-5.

David Payne quickly got the 'Cats back on the winning track, pinning Medoza-Perez in the first round at 160 lbs.

At 170, Collin Higingbotham racked up the points, beating Anstice 15-3.

In the final match wrestled, Josh Orritt needed 1:09 to pin Due.

Lynnwood forfeited at 195 (Alonzo), 220 (Vail) and 285 (Quinday).

Oak Harbor won the meet 61-14.

The varsity team travels to Squalicum for the Graham Morin tournament on Saturday while the JV team heads to Everett. Both teams will be in Anacortes on Wednesday the 21st, then at home on January 3rd, hosting Glacier Peak.

Photos of JV and varsity action are posted HERE.

Video highlights of Rutter, Pacheco, Pralle, Johnston, Meany and Higingbotham are posted HERE.

Wrestling 2011-12-10 @ Snohomish

Saturday was a large tournament at Snohomish High School with over 30 Oak Harbor wrestlers attending. Unlike most tournaments that have distinct weight classes, this tournament arranged the wrestlers into 8-man/woman brackets with all 8 wrestlers in that bracket 'around' the same weight. This tournament is designed to get as much mat time as possible. Most tournaments are double-elimination with a guarantee of only two matches. The Snohomish tournament guarantees 3 matches.

Out of a total of 37 brackets, Wildcat wrestlers won 10, placed 2nd in two and 3rd in two.

Brackets winners were: Ben Pralle (H), Mark Johnston (I) (all pins), Nathaniel Stanfored (R), Sheyenne Sams (S), Keikai Tarrant (V), Josh Crebbin (W) (one pin and two tech falls), Jen Fremd (Y) (all pins), Josh Orritt (CC), Jeremy Alonzo (GG) and Ray Quinday (II) (all pins).

In second place were Jackson Constant (lost to Quinday in II bracket championship) and Kylene Ayer.

CJ Shavers was third in the X bracket and Cayden Cosper in U.

Also in the tournament were Black Pein-Neal, Alexia Mobley, Desiree Dillaman, Zaiha Sams, Ainsley McLoud, Noel Cheeseboro, Kody Cosper, Alex Rutter, Aimee Oliver, Olivia Hunt, Chris Carter, Ben Dugin, Kenny King, Nate Pacheco, Carl Meders, Austin Wotring, Tyler Adamson, Jacob Dugin and Austin Hwang.

If you name is spelled incorrectly, send an email to oakharborsportsreport@comcast.net so it can get fixed.

The wrestlers are at home Thursday to take on Lynnwood. JV starts at 5:45, varsity at 7pm.

Video highlights are HERE.

Photos are posted HERE.

Wrestling 2011-12-08 at Marysville-Pilchuck

Thursday night the wrestling team traveled to Marysville for a dual meet against the Tomahawks.

In JV action, Ryuta Meany, CJ Shavers, Jackson Constant, Chris Carter and Tyler Adamson all won by pin, and Noel Cheeseboro won 12-8.

For the varsity, winners were Nathaniel Stanford, Josh Orritt, Hunter Vail, Jeremy and Jahleel Vester and Cody Fakkema. All the wins were by pinfall.

Unfortunately, the Wildcats had to forfeit at 106 pounds, giving 6 team points to the Tommies, and the Wildcats fell in team scoring 36-40.

Next up is a JV tournament this Saturday at Snohomish HS, and next weekend the JV team goes to Everett and the varsity to the Graham Morin tournament at Squalicum HS in Bellingham.

The wrestling team won't be at home until December 15th, in a dual meet against Lynnwood, then are close to home on December 21st in a dual at Anacortes.

JV and varsity photos, along with some pre-season group pictures, are posted HERE.

Video highlights are HERE.

Wrestling 2011-02-19 - State Tournament

Of the 5 Oak Harbor wrestlers at this years' Mat Classic at the Tacoma Dome, 3 finished on the medal stand.

Junior Jennifer Fremd was the highest placer, finishing in 5th place.

Junioir Brandon finished 7th

Senior Corey Trimbur finished 8th.

Freshman Jahleel Vester, who went to the tournament as an alternate, ended up wrestling and finishing 8th.

Sophomore Cody Fakkema and senior Bailey Martinez were both eliminated after 3 matches.

With only 2 wrestlers, the OH girls team finished in 36th place out of 97 teams. The boys finished in 32nd out of 60 teams.

Wrestling 2011-02-12 - Regional Tournaments

The Oak Harbor boys wrestling team started with 8 wrestlers in the boys 3A Regional Tournament Saturday at Glacier Peak HS and finished with 3 going on to the Mat Classic next weekend in Tacoma.

103 lb District champion Corey Trimber finished in 2nd place, losing 8-9 to Reyna of Mt. Vernon, the same wrestler Corey beat 7-6 to win last weekend.

District 4th place finisher Jahleel Vester finished in 5th at 112 lbs and will to go the Mat Classic as an alternate. Hunter Vail at 215 lbs is also an alternate.

Cody Fakkema finished 3rd in the region at 119 lbs and is going to State.

At 145 lbs, Brandon Stratton lost a close 4-5 decision to the #1 ranked wrestler in 3A to finish in 2nd place.

Josh Crebbin (152), Collin Higingbotham (171), and Kyle Mellow (285) were all 2-and-out.

At the girls tournament, Oak Harbor had two entrants, both in the same weight class. Both Jen Fremd and Bailey Martinez won their opening matches, then faced each other. Bailey got on the board first with a takedown, but Jen showed her experience, reversed Bailey and recorded a pin in 1:27.

In the winner's bracket, Jen Fremd faced the #1 ranked wrestler in the state and was pinned in 1:25. She finished 2nd and is going to State.

Now in the consolation bracket, Bailey sucked it up and won a very close 6-5 match in overtime then got a pin in 4:07 to finish in 3rd place, earning a trip to the Mat Classic.

50 photos of the girls in action are posted HERE.

Click HERE for video highlights from the girls tournament.

Wrestling 2011-02-05 - District Tournament

On Friday and Saturday, the boys wrestlers traveled to Sedro Woolley while the girls went to Squalicum HS for the 3A District tournaments and Oak Harbor came away with 16 top 8 finishes with 10 wrestlers moving on to the Regional tournament and 3 finishing as champions.

At the girls tournament, Junior Jennifer Fremd pinned her way to the 140 lb championship, pushing teammate Bailey Martinez into the consolation bracket on the way. Martinez finished in 3rd, recording 6-5 and 4-0 victories and a pin to capture 3rd. Both girls will move on to the Regional Tournament Feb 12th at Sedro Woolley HS. Freshman Brittney Peppel lost two as did Sophomore Kylene Ayer and both were eliminated.

For the boys, Corey Trimbur won the 103 lb championship with a pin, a 9-0 win and a close 7-6 win for 1st.

At 112 lbs, freshman Jahleel Vester finished in 4th place, earning a trip to Regionals. Teammate Walter Castillo went 2-and-out.

Cody Fakkema recorded 4 pins at 119 lbs against 2 losses to finish 4th.

Junior Ben Pralle lost his opening match at 125 lbs but held on to finish in 7th place.

In the 130 lbs bracket, Freshman Athan Taisague lost his first match, got a pin, then lost his 2nd match and was eliminated. Ryuta Meany lost his two opening matches.

Freshman Nathan Stanford opened the 2nd day of wrestling still in the winner's bracket at 135 lbs but was quickly pinned by the eventual champion. He finished out of contention, but Junior David Payne finished in 8th place.

Cayden Cosper, a sophomore won 1 but lost 2 while Freshman Sheyenne Sams won 3 and lost two to finish in 7th place at 140 lbs.

At 145 lbs, freshman Devin Jensen went 2-and-out, but Junior Brandon Stratton pinned his way to a championship. Only the final match went past the 1st period. Stratton was down 4-1 yet found a way to get his opponent on his back and recorded a pin in 3:11.

Josh Crebbin recorded two pins and an 8-0 win on his way to the championship bout, which was close, but time expired with Josh 2 points short and he finished the tournament in 2nd. Teammate Justin Everett finished in 7th.

The 160 lb bracket had some exciting matches. Senior Steven Souza finished in 7th place and won't advance to regionals, but he won his final match as a Wildcat by pinning his opponent in 4:07. Junior (and new wrestler) Josh Orritt came very close to finding a place on the podium. In an elimination match he came from behind and scored some late points to force overtime, but his opponent scored first on OT to end the match.

Collin Higingbotham finished in 5th at 171 lbs with a close 8-6 victory and gets at trip to regionals but freshman Kenny King was eliminated early.

Oak Harbor had nobody on the podium at 189 lbs. Jeremy Alonzo lost his first two and was out. Freshman Peter Case-Smith won his first match before losing two.

215 lbs had Hunter Vail on the podium in 3rd place after a 15-3 win but sophomore Terry Joll lost his first two matches.

Finally, at 285 lbs, Oak Harbor was guaranteed at least a 5th place finish, as teammates Kyle Mellow and Ray Quinday battled each other for the final spot in the Regional tournament. It was all Mellow as he pinned Ray in 1:36.

A variety of video highlights are posted HERE.

146 photos, covering over 8 hours of wrestling, are posted HERE.

The boys are at Glacier Peak on Saturday for the Regional Tournament with the top 4 moving on to the State tournament. The girls are at Sedro Woolley HS also with the top 4 going to State.

Wrestling 2011-01-27 vs Lynnwood

Senior night in high school sports is supposed to be an emotional night, and it was at Oak Harbor High School Thursday when the wrestling team went up against Lynnwood. After saying thanks to the graduating seniors and their parents - Captains Corey Trimbur and Steven Souza, Bryan Dillaman, Kyle Mellow, and Bailey Martinez, along with managers Holly Hernandez, Stephanie Bigelow and McKenzie McCormack, things got tense on the mat.

Lynnwood started out by jumping to a 24-0 lead on 3 pins and a forfeit. In those early matches, Lynnwood put on the mat two top-ranked wrestlers. At 112 lbs, Vester went up against #11 ranked A Basabe and Walter Castillo, our #3 guy at 119 lbs, was against #10 ranked Z. Calkins who finished 8th in state last year. Jahleen went deep into the 2nd round and Walter went to the 3rd round, wrestling hard and impressing the coaches with their determination.

OH got on the board when Nathaniel Stanford got a first round pin, as did Devin Jensen, then OH earned 18 straight team points on 3 Lynnwood forfeits, putting the Wildcats on top 30-28.

Now things got tense. Jeremy Alonzo got pinned, putting the Royals back on top 36-34, Hunter Vail got a quick 22-second pin so OH was back in the lead 36-34. Next up was Kyle Mellow, a first-year wrestler who had not won a match at home yet. If Kyle scored either a tech fall or pin, Oak Harbor would win the meet outright. If Kyle lost, Corey Trimbur, the final wrestler, would have to get win for a team win. If Kyle got pinned, Corey would need to get a major decision to tie and Tech Fall or Pin to win.

All the concern was unfounded. Kyle stepped up on Senior Night and pinned his opponent in front of the home crowd with 8 seconds left in 1st period. Trimbur then cleaned things up with his own 1st round pin and Oak Harbor won the meet 48-34.

In JV action, winners were Brittany Peppel (pin, 3:58), Athan Taisague (pin, 3:05), Sheyenne Sams (11-2), Cayden Cosper (pin 5:11). He was wrestling Alex Rutter and was down 9-11 when he got the pin. Both wrestlers did well and provided an exciting match for the crowd. Jennifer Fremd won by pin (1:24) as did Justin Everett (3:41).

Next up for the wrestlers are the district tournaments next weekend. They boys travel to Sedro-Wooley on the 4th and 5th while the girls are at Squalicum.

The following weekend the girls regionals are at Sedro while the boys are at Glacier Peak.

Video highlights are here, including Kyle Mellow's big pin in the varsity 285 match.

Over 100 photos are posted HERE.

Wrestling 2011-01-21 at Meadowdale

Another dominating performance by Oak Harbor Wrestlers. At Meadowdale on Friday, the Wildcat wrestlers won 11 of the 13 wrestled matches to win the meet 60-9.

The meet was started with Ray Quinday, stepping into the heavyweight spot in place of Kyle Mellow, pinning his opponent in just 1:17. Then Corey Trimbur accepted a forfeit to give OH an early 12-0 lead. Two straight 1st period pins by Jahleel Vester and Cody Fakkema boosted the OH point total to 24 before Meadowdale won their first match - a pin. Ryuta Meany got OH back on the winning track with a pin in the 2nd then Nate Stanford won 10-3. OH then lost a closer-than-it-looked bout 9-3 but still had a commanding lead. The final 6 matches were split between pins and decisions. Josh Crebbin, Jeremy Alonzo and Hunter Vail all got pins. Collin Higingbotham won 8-2 and Devin Jensen 9-4. In the most exciting match of the night, Steven Souza, the only senior who wrestled for OH Friday night, won his match 6-3 in overtime. Souza had a 3-2 lead late in the 3rd when his opponent was able to get an escape point to tie the match. In the 1st "sudden victory" overtime of one minute, neither wrestler was able to score points. The 2nd OT consists of two 30-second periods with each wrestler getting the down positions. In this match, Souza was the top man and controlled his man for the entire 30 seconds. In the 2nd 30-second period, Steven got a quick escape and followed it up with a takedown to win the match 6-3.

In JV action, winners were Jen Fremd (pin), Athan Taisague (19-10), Sheyenne Sams (13-1), Brody Dedobbelaere (7-0), Cayden Cosper (pin), Justin Everett (pin), Josh Orritt (pin), Peter Case-Smith (pin) and Bailey Martinez (pin).

The next day, both the JV and Varsity teams were in tournament action, with the JV at Cavalero Mid-High in Lake Stevens and the Varsity at Lynden.

At Lake Stevens, K'kai Tarrant tied for 5th at 135 lbs, Sheyenne Sams tied for 3rd at 140, Brody Dedobbelaere tied for 5th at 145, Devin Jensen tied for 3rd at 152 lbs and Justin Everett tied for 5th at 160.

At Lynden, Oak Harbor scored 88 points to finish 9th of 18 teams. Corey Trimbur was the 103 pound champion and Josh Crebbin was 2nd at 152 lbs. Jahleel Vester tied for 5th at 112 lbs and Cody Fakkema at 119 lbs.



Video highlights from Friday are HERE.

90 photos total are posted HERE.

Wrestling 2011-01-19 vs Mountlake Terrace

Just one match short. The Wildcat wrestling team came up just one match short of the perfect meet Wednesday night at OHHS against the visiting Mountlake Terrace Hawks.

The meet with Jennifer Fremd getting her first varsity match this season and she quickly dispatched Kari Roberts, needing just 43 seconds for the pin.

The next 3 matches were all pins by Oak Harbor. David Payne in 3:23, Josh Crebbin in 5:23 and Brandon Stratton in 1:48.

Steven Souza, at 171 lbs, went up against Taylor Call, currently ranked #1 in WESCO 3A in his weight class. Steven fought hard, avoided a pin, but lost by a tech fall in the 3rd period, 17-1.

The OH pin streak continued, with Jeremy Alonzo (0:34) and Hunter Vail (2:45) winning and Raymond Quinday getting a forfeit win.

Dropping from the heavyweights to the lightweights, Corey Trimbur, Jahleel Vester, Cody Fakkema and Ben Pralle pinned their opponent, then the meet ended with Ryuta Meany and Nathaniel Stanford won by forfeit.

In the JV matches, Oak Harbor split the matches with Terrace, each school winning 3 and losing 3. Due to the small size of the MLT JV team, there were several Purple vs Gold matches.

OH winners over MLT wrestlers were Josh Oritt (9-7), Justin Everett (pin 3:28) and Peter Case-Smith (pin 0:59).

In the exhibition matches, Anthony Smith pinned Walter Castillo, Athan Taisague beat Keikai Tarrant 9-6, Alex Rutter pinned Cayden Cosper (1;22), Sheyenne Sams pinned Brody Dedobbelaere (4:20), Terry Joll pinned Austin Wotring (0:15) and Castillo pinned Kylene Ayer (0:46).

92 photos are posted HERE of both JV and varsity action.

6 highlight clips are posted HERE.