Mount Si wrestling rolls in dual opener
December 12, 2008
By Ryan Piersol
So far, so good for the Mount Si wrestling team in duals — and for listening to what coach Jeff Newcomer says.
The Wildcats opened up the dual portion of the season with a convincing 46-25 beating of Interlake Thursday night. The performance followed what Newcomer categorized as “disappointing” in a season-opening visit to the Auburn Invitational days earlier.
Mount Si's Ben Larson, bottom, tries to get out of a hold against Interlake.
Against Interlake, Mount Si picked up four falls and one major decision, as the Wildcats took 10 of the 14 matches on the night.
“We kind of had a rough outing last weekend in Auburn, so it was good to see them go out and pick it up,” Newcomer said. “A lot of it was just intensity. I kind of got on them after last weekend, and the intensity level and the focus was different tonight.”
The Wildcats started quickly, getting a 10-3 victory at 160 by Lee Amadur. Shelby Williams followed that up at 171 with a fall in 2:20 to make it 9-0.
After a 4-2 decision at 189 got the Saints on the board, Mount Si picked up another fall at 215 when Tony Hana pinned his opponent in just 2:50. Back-to-back forfeits at 285 and 103 moved the match to 113, where Wildcat Cody Botten picked up the night’s quickest fall — in just 13 seconds — to make the score 27-9.
Andrew Sypher followed with a fall in 4:28 at 119 and Mount Si wrapped up the victory with a 6-4 win by Ben Larson (130), a 12-10 win by Cody Hookstand (135), a 13-2 major-decision win by Ryan Makela (140) and an 11-9 win by Shane Dixon (152). Dixon’s victory came in the most dramatic fashion of all the matches, as he scored an overtime reversal to win.
At the Auburn Invitational, the Wildcats placed eighth out of eight teams with 35 points. Auburn won the meet with 203.
Mount Si has been one of the most dominant teams in KingCo 3A over the past 10 seasons, yet finds itself in a revamped league this winter. The Wildcats are in the East division of the Crest League, alongside Liberty, Eastlake, Skyline and Redmond. The South division of the Crest league includes Garfield, Newport, Issaquah, Interlake and Sammamish.
“If we can keep up the same intensity in practice, we’ll have a chance to finish in the top three in the league,” Newcomer said. “But it’s a new league, so it’s kind of hard to say.”
Mount Si has a few wrestlers who are not only ranked as some of the best in the league at their weight class, they’re also considered among the tops in the state. Leading the way is Ryan Ransavage at 285. Coming off a successful season playing each side of the line for the Wildcat football team, Ransavage is ranked No. 2 in his weight class by Washington Wrestling Report.
Ransavage won by way of forfeit against Interlake, but showed what he was capable of at the Auburn Invitational by taking first. He defeated Nick Conlan of Auburn in the finals.
“He’s looking great,” Newcomer said. “He won the Auburn tournament and has beaten some good wrestlers already.”
At 140, Mount Si has a returning state qualifier in Makela. After placing eighth at state at 119 last season, he is ranked sixth at 140.
The Wildcats could start up to three freshman throughout this season, which could make for some trying times early on.
“Our lineup is intermingled with youth and experience. We have a few ninth-graders starting for us, which is a tough way to go,” Newcomer said. “But it will be good for them. It’ll make them a lot better in the long run.”
Reach editor Ryan Piersol at editor@snovalleystar.com or 392-6434.
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