Hey all, the Paul Reiman tournament went off without much of a hitch on Saturday (there was a small scoreboard issue in the finals but it only lasted a few minutes).  It was a great tournament and the coaching staff really appreciated all the help from the parents and the wrestlers who helped even though they weren't wrestling.  It takes all kinds of help to put on a tournament like that especially one that runs as well as ours did.  It was great.  Thanks for the help.

 

As for the results, Mount Vernon generally wrestled pretty well.  We had all but one wrestler place and saw some great improvement in all of the wrestlers as well as seeing some great action in the matches.  As a team we finished in 4th place out of 8 teams.  We were the leaders of the second pack (the top three teams were all way ahead of everyone else), and we were able to finish ahead of Stanwood due to great wrestling and pushing the issue by our guys.  We finished a half a point ahead of them which came from our guys going after bonus points in their matches.  That is a huge deal to me that our guys push until the final buzzer and really try to expand their lead to get those bonus points.  We did that on Saturday.  Here's a summary of how our wrestlers did:

112 - Frank Burge - 1-1 - Second Place - Frank wrestled two matches on the day and really looked good in his first winning by fall over Sustaita of Anacortes.  In his second match he was wrestling Luis Cardona of Marysville.  This match was a really close match until Frank got turned to his back, in a scramble situation.  Frank was pinned in the second round of the match.  This match again gave us some things to work on with Frank which is good, and we should be able to get to work on those over the Christmas break.

 

119 - Ricarda Garcia - 1-3 - Sixth Place - Ricarda had some ups and downs yesterday.  She wrestled Van Baush from Anacortes in her first match.  She went out and controlled the match for most of it and won 10-7.  She looked really good in beating the Anacortes wrestler who had beaten her earlier in the season.  She then had to wrestle one of the top ranked wrestlers in 2A from Burlington, Enrique Medina, who is a very tough wrestler and was just a little too much for Ricarda on this day, she lost by fall.  She then went on to wrestle Daurie from Marysville.  We found a few things we need to work on in this match but Ricarda really wrestled hard.  She ended up losing a decision 1-7.   She then had another match with Van Baush from Anacortes.  This match ended scoreless in the first period then Ricarda started down and got an escape, but she later gave up a takedown in the period.  The third period she started on top and rode him for a little over a minute but was unable to get a turn so had to cut him loose and go for a takedown, but she was unable to get one before she ran out of time.  It was an excited but heart breaking match as she lost 1-3. 

 

130 - Jacob Morales - 1-3 - Sixth Place - Jacob had a tough first match wrestling Studley from Stanwood.  This match ended with Jacob losing by fall.  He came back in his second match against Barnes from Blaine.  Jacob wrestled well and won this match by fall.  His third match of the day was against Mendoza of Marysville, this match had a few scrambles and in the last one Jacob was caught on his back and he lost by fall.  He then was scheduled to wrestle for fifth and sixth place.  Jacob, however was suffering a little bit from an injured nose and decided to injury default this match finishing him in sixth place for the tournament.

 

140 - Jordan Watts - 3-0 - First Place - Jordan wrestled really well throughout the tournament and had a few matches go the distance which was good as it will prepare him for the post season.  Jordan was able to control all his matches and though the scores weren't always huge differences if you watched the match you saw him control his opponent throughout.  His first match was against Johnson of South Widbey, and Jordan got a fall in the first period of this match.  His second match was against McChesney of Marysville, this match showed us something to be aware of down the road as we didn't know that Jordan would be susceptable to granbys, luckily due to Jordan's flexibility and experience he was able to fight off the danger both times.  He won by major decision 13-3.  Jordan then wrestled Weinert from Stanwood.  This match though low scoring was dominated by Jordan riding his opponent for about 5 minutes of the match.  He got called for stalling once for riding parallel but generally was working for the turn so that was the only stalling call.  Jordan won that match by a final score of 4-0.

 

145 - Stephan Vandenkooy - 2-2 - Fifth Place - Stephan had a really good tournament for us stepping into a hole that was left by a team that didn't have a 145 pound wrestler.  He got some really good matches and we were really able to get to see where he is currently at and come up with a few things to work on to take the next step.  Stephan's first match was against Crawford of Anacortes.  Stephan had a tight match with him but came out victorious due to the double leg that he is really getting good at finishing with a lift.  Stephan won 8-6.  He then faced Camden Nix of Blaine who is a lot more experienced than Stephan and we just aren't quite to his level yet, Stephan wrestled hard but ended up losing by fall.  His next match was against Travis Stone of Stanwood.  This match was close but showed a little bit of Stephan's inexperience on the mat as well as he was pinned in this match mostly because of getting caught with loose moves or turning the wrong way.  Stephan definately should look forward to seeing him again as we can certainly beat him after getting a couple small details ironed out.  He then went on to the fifth and sixth place match in which he faced Crawford of Anacortes again.  Stephan went out this time from the beginning and left no doubt about the match winning by major decision 14-5.

 

145 - Aaron O'Neill - 3-1 - Third Place - Aaron had a really good tournament overall.  Even the match he lost he was able to learn from and use it in his next two matches.  The only down side was late in the third place match his opponent stuck a double leg ride in and that set off Aaron's back injury again.  He was visibly in pain and could hardly walk as the tournament was finishing up.  We are all hoping it will be a quick turnaround.  His first match was against Stone of Stanwood.  Aaron went out and took care of business in this match and really controlled his opponent, scoring in each period and working hard to get the fall, but instead ended up with a Technical Fall with the score of 17-0.  His second match was against Donaldson of Marysville.  Donaldson was a state competitor at 4A last year and is currently ranked 4th in the state.  Aaron wrestled well and was ahead after an early takedown and doing some good riding, however you can't make any small mistakes against that caliber of wrestler and he did (though he learned and didn't make the same mistake later when in the same position....so very positive that it was learned now not a month from now).  Aaron lost this match by fall.  He then went on to wrestle Crawford of Anacortes.  Aaron controlled the match and won 14-1.  He then wrestled Stone of Stanwood.  Aaron again controlled this match from start to finish though at a cost in hurting his back late in the match.  Aaron was able to hold on though and won 8-1.

 

152 - Adolph Rivas - 2-2 - Fourth Place - Adolph learned a tough lesson today as well when a mistake was made, but again we aren't worried yet as it is something that can be fixed and will be fixed over the time between now and our next match.  Adolph's first match was against Biladeau of LaConner.  Adolph showed his continued progression back to where he was last year in this match and won by major decision 11-1.  His next match came against AJ Pieczynski of Blaine (side note, though we are getting closer, I'm tired of seeing this guy as we are now 0-4 against him this season between Adolph and Dylan).  This match did show how we are closing the gap and how Adolph is improving.  This match came down to a last second takedown that was nearly out of bounds but was called in bounds and gave Blaine the vicotry 4-6.  Adolph's next match was against Ferrier of Anacortes.  Adolph again went out and dominated this match in which was their third meeting of the season winning 13-6.  Adolph was then wrestling for third and fourth against Haughin of Marysville.  This match was pretty much dominated by Adolph except for the last few seconds of the first and third periods.  Adolph gave up an escape at the end of the first which we were unable to get back and then late in the match while up by 4 we tied up and Marysville was desperate for points and threw a head and arm and caught Adolph for a takedown and 3 near fall.  Final score 9-10 win for Marysville.  Very tough loss but something that we can certainly learn from and until it happens it can't be explained to the wrestlers how important those last few seconds of each period are.  Adolph learned that tough lesson saturday and will be better down the road because of it.

 

160 - Joe Barrington-Richards - 3-0 - First Place - Outstanding Wrestler Award of the Heavy weights - Joe also learned some tough lessons though he was able to get through them with victories on Saturday.  He also will be better down the road because of it.  His first match was against Monell of South Widbey.  This match was over fairly quickly with Joe getting an early fall.  His next match was against Eidsnes of Stanwood, and from my understanding this was Joe's nemisis from middle school.  Joe showed how he has improved since middle school and dominated the first two periods, however, the third period showed one of the things we need to work on as he gave up 3 takedowns in the period and was actually behind with only a few seconds to go in the match.  That's when Joe's competitive side kicked in and support from his teammates and the fans at Mount Vernon definately helped as he was able to get a reversal with only seconds left to take an 11-10 victory.  Joe then was on to wrestle Canales from Burlington-Edison.  This was a very good match, and though the score makes it look close, Joe really did dominate the match against a wrestler who is currently ranked 2nd at 2A.  There was no score in the first and in the second Joe chose down and got an escape fairly quickly.  He then worked to get a takedown and took a 3-1 lead into the third period.  He gave up an escape and a takedown in the period but shortly after the takedown he got the reversal and was able to ride Canales out for the remainder of the match and won 5-4. 

 

171 - Cory Barrington-Richards - 1-3 - Sixth Place - Cory had a tough tournament on Saturday and will be working through a shoulder injury through the break that hopefully we can get healthy by the next competition.  His first match was against Aufai of Stanwood.  Cory was able to get the fall in this match just before the first period ended.  His next match was against Nevitt of Burlington-Edison.  This was a tough match that Cory ended up losing by fall.  His next match was against Sherman of LaConner.  This match was again a little bit of a heartbreaker as on another day I believe Cory would beat this kid.  However today he gave up some early points and got caught in a very tight head and arm in the second period and was pinned.  His next match was again against Aufai of Stanwood.  Cory's shoulder was visibly bothering him in this match and he ended up losing in the third period by fall. 

 

189 - Derek Almanza - 1-3 - Sixth Place - Derek had a tough draw in his first match as he wrestled Drye from LaConner.  This was a match that we were able to learn a few things from and how to stay basic as Drye is a returning state participant for LaConner, and making mistakes trying to muscle moves or trying moves that still need more time in the practice room cost him in this one, as Derek lost by fall.  Derek came back in his next match against King of Stanwood and really showed basics and good position.  He went on to get a takedown and nearfall twice in the period.  The next period we had him start neutral again and Derek went out and did the same thing getting the takedown right to back points and finished it this time with a fall.  Derek then wrestled Monell of South Whidbey.  This match ended in Derek being pinned in the second round.  He then went on to wrestle Rodgers of Burlington-Edison.  Derek had a really close match with Rodgers even though the score showed it being not close.  Derek was definately right there and had a chance to get the win as he had Rodgers on his back in the second period, but in a call that still baffles me the official stopped the match and awarded Burlington a penalty point for some sort of illegal hold by Derek.  This allowed Rodgers to get off his back and then when we went to the third round and Derek started down he was overpowered by a much bigger wrestler (Derek is only about 180 on his heaviest days) and turned to his back where it ended in a fall for Burlington-Edison.

 

215 - Ricky Rodriguez - 0-2 - Ricky did not place but was so very close and is really showing a lot of improvement with each match.  Ricky first wrestled Doane of Anacortes and in a match that was close for a long time it ended in a loss by fall.  His next match was against Randall of Stanwood.  This match was very exciting and Ricky really showed how willing he is to learn.  He was using moves that were just shown to him in between rounds.  He got reversals, near fall and a takedown in the match and was really working hard to get the fall but in the end lost a close 9-12 decision. 

 

285 - Angel Sldivar - 1-3 - Sixth Place - Angel showed a lot of heart and determination on Saturday in his first varsity matches of the season.  He first wrestled Shuman of Marysville.  He ended up being pinned in this one but suprised a lot of people with his strength and how determined he was.  His next match was against Parker of LaConner.  Angel won this one by fall.  He then wrestled Melum of Burlington-Edison.  This match was a pretty good match but ended in the second period with Burlington getting a fall, but Angel wrestling really hard and just not having enough experience yet.  His last match of the day was for fifth and sixth place and again the inexperience showed as he wrestled Hayes of Anacortes.  It was a close match in the first period but due to his inexperience and not having moved that much weight around much this season was reversed and got caught underneath, and ended up losing by fall.  We were really happy with how Angel wrestled though and look forward to big things from him in the next few weeks as we continue to move forward.

 

Overall the team really did good and again we learned the next set of things to work on before we wrestle on January 2nd with a lot of our inexperienced guys at the Arlington JV tournament, and then on January 6th at Mount Vernon against Bellingham in what should be a pretty evenly matched dual.  We should get a lot covered as we end up with 6 practices before the JV tournament and another 2 after that before Bellingham. 

 

It's a great day to be a Bulldog!

Paul