Community Sports
8 - Edmonds Beacon
www.edmondsbeacon.com
February 21, 2019
Two Mavericks earn medals at 3A state tournament Junior Kruger battles his way to 285-pound semis BY DAVID PAN REPORTER @ YOURBEACON . NET
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he future look bright for Meadowdale’s wresting team. Two Mavericks claimed medals at Mat Classic XXXI Saturday, Feb. 16, in the Tacoma Dome. Junior Alex Kruger advanced to the semifinals in the 285-pound division before losing by fall to senior Joshua Guzik of Rogers (Spokane). Kruger then dropped two close decisions in the consolation bracket to Kelso senior McKinnie Franklin (4-3) and Cleveland senior Aram Gould (5-2) to take home a sixth-place medal. “He’s just put in a lot of hard work and preparation,” Meadowdale coach Josh Knowles said. “He’s kind of turned that corner to being at that elite level where he can compete with anyone at state.” Kruger pinned Lynnwood’s Elisha Abuhanna in 20 seconds in his firstround match and then won by fall over Lakeside’s Sam Petersen in 47 seconds. The Meadowdale junior then pinned Squalicum’s Dominick Mack in 59 seconds in a quarterfinal match. “This tournament he didn’t really make that mistake that cost him a match,” Knowles said. Expectations are likely to rise for Kruger in his senior season. All five state placers ahead of him were seniors and the six wrestlers ranked above him by the Washington Wrestling Report also are seniors.
Beacon photo by David Pan Meadowdale coach Josh Knowles (left) and assistant coach Matt Leonard celebrate as Alex Kruger pins Squalicum’s Dominick Mack in a 285-pound quarterfinal match at Mat Classic XXXI Saturday, Feb. 16, in the Tacoma Dome. Kruger went on to place sixth in his division. “He should be highly rated coming into next year, which is exciting,” Knowles said. In one of the most competitive weight classes (126), junior Jinho Lee finished sixth. After pinning Kelso’s Jacob Fowler in 2:59, Lee lost 15-0 to eventual state champion Clayton Gilliam of North Central, who defeated EdmondsWoodway’s Grayson LeCompte 10-1 in the finals.
Lee rebounded with four victories in the consolation bracket (two pins and two decisions) before losing his final two matches. Earlier this season, Lee went to the Tri-State tournament where he wrestled against some of the top individuals in the region. “He had a lot of tough competition all year long, which I think helped him in the state tournament,” Knowles said. “That really helped prepare him
physically and even more mentally. Jin always has had the technical skills. He changed his mindset. He’s really believing in himself.” Two other highlights for Knowles were junior Saul Hernandez advancing to the quarterfinals at 170 and senior Tyler Paul wrapped up his high school career at state. Twelve Mavericks made the trip to the Tacoma Dome. “Over half our team is juniors,” Knowles said.
Edmonds-Woodway rides the wave to the finals King’s boys, girls
head to regionals
Warriors take seventh place in 200 medley, 200 free events
BY DAVID PAN REPORTER @ YOURBEACON . NET
BY DAVID PAN REPORTER @ YOURBEACON . NET
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Beacon photo by David Pan Edmonds-Woodway’s Daniel Eno competes in a 200-yard individual medley preliminary heat at the 3A state championships Friday, Feb. 15, at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way. Logan Schnitzius and Mraz clocked in at 3:18.75, more than two seconds faster than their prelim time. Wang placed 11th in the 100 butterfly and Eno finished 14th in the 100 breaststroke and 18th in the 200 individual medley. Teplouhov took 16th in the 50 freestyle and was 22nd in the
Athlete of the Week This week’s Edmonds-Woodway Athlete of the week is senior Grayson LeCompte. In his 4th year on the varsity wrestling team Grayson has had a phenomenal season on the mat, taking championships at the 33 team Edmonds Invite, the A-Town Throwdown, the Lumberjack Classic and placing 7th in the 65 team El Cajon Invitational in San Diego. Grayson’s postseason couldn’t have been stronger for the Warriors; after winning the District Championship, he traveled to the Mat Classic at the Tacoma Dome and took 2nd in State! His strong showing helped propel the team to a 7th in State finish. Grayson wraps up his high school career as a 3-time State Placer with an impressive 121-30 record. Grayson receives inspiration from his parents who have shown him what it means to work hard and who have helped him make it through the challenging parts of the season. Congratulations to Grayson on finishing 2nd in State and to the EW Team for a 7th place finish!
Grayson LeCompte Boys Wrestling
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100 freestyle. Schnitzius placed 22nd in the 200 freestyle and 500 freestyle and Inadomi was 22nd in the 50 freestyle. Plum finished 17th in the 100 backstroke and 21st in the 100 butterfly and Mraz placed 24th in the 50 freestyle. The Warriors finished 12th overall in the 32-team meet.
KING’S SCHOOL
edmonds-woodway
wo of Edmonds-Woodway’s relays advanced to the finals and the third made it to the consolation finals at the 3A state swimming and diving championships Saturday, Feb. 16, at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way. The Warriors’ 200-yard medley relay team of sophomore Jeff Plum, senior Daniel Eno, junior Yuteng Wang and junior Anton Teplouhov finished seventh with a time of 1 minute, 39.73 seconds. The 200 freestyle relay squad of Teplouhov, Eno, junior Niko Inadomi and senior Lukas Mraz also placed seventh in 1:29.04, which was .52 seconds faster than the prelim time. The Warriors closed out Saturday’s meet with a 10th place finish in the 400 freestyle relay. Wang, Plum, sophomore
he King’s girls basketball team is headed back to the 1A state tournament in the Yakima Valley SunDome, while the boys team is looking to secure a trip to Yakima. Claire Gallagher scored 17 points and Mia Flor added 13 points to lead the Knights to a 58-39 victory over Seattle Academy in a winner-to-state regionals/loser-out game Friday, Feb. 15, at Seattle Academy High School. A day earlier, King’s defeated University Prep 56-16 in a loser-out Bi-District contest at King’s High School. Gallagher scored 11 points and Flor had 10 points. King’s coach Dan Taylor was reviewing the RPI (Rating Percentage Index) and noted that only one other team has played more games than the Knights. see
KNIGHTS page 17 u
Athlete of the Week Congratulations to freshman Jada Wynn for being named King’s High School Athlete of the week. Jada is #24 for the girl’s basketball team. In the team’s last game, she racked up 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists. Coach Dan Taylor said about Jada, “Jada joins our varsity team as a freshman who has already played at a high level participating at the national level in the first ever Jr. NBA championships. She can score from inside and out and is physically strong and active defender. Her passion and love for the game is contagious and will help is take our program to another level.” Jada’s future goals are to play Division 1 college basketball and then move on to the professional level. For now, the team and her community are excited to see her growth over the next three years. Way to go Jada!
Jada Wynn Girls Basketball
GO KNIGHTS!
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