Mount Si took one more step toward establishing its lead in KingCo 3A wrestling by defeating the Issaquah Indians 51-15.

With the loss of Liberty to Mercer Island, the only undefeated team remaining in KingCo 3A is Cedarcrest, whom the Wildcat’s face this week. But standing in the way of its continued rise to the top was Issaquah, which is always a solid team.

Four pins, four decisions and two forfeits helped push the team to victory with several close matches.

The meet started in a low-key fashion as Jason Rothgeb won by forfeit in the 103-pound class. The Wildcats’ Alex Haas then toyed with the Indians’ Nate Dybravic in the 112-pound class, eventually winning a 17-6 decision.

Jordan Prior had his hands full at 119-pounds against the Indians’ Ryann Leslie. Leslie scored a takedown in the first minute of the match, and those would be the only points scored as he won 2-0.

Andy Lund dominated his Issaquah opponent in the 125-pound class, scoring six in the first round, nine in the second round and four in the third before pinning Nate Potts with 40 seconds left on the clock. The pin gave the Wildcats a 16-3 lead.

Jon Emerson faced a tough opponent in Issaquah’s Chris Yansera in the 130-pound class. Emerson led the first round, scoring two takedowns. In the second, Yansera came back with an escape, a takedown, a two-point near fall, a reversal and another two-point near fall. In the third, Yansera found the hold he needed to turn Emerson on his back and get the pin.

Mount Si rebounded in the 135-pound class. Nick Martindale, sporting his now trademark black and white striped socks, pinned the Indians’ Chris Schaeffer with 1:28 left in the third round.

Sophomore Brad Trombley took to the mat for the ‘Cats against the Indians’ Jon Katayama, a veteran wrestler. Trombley, at 140 pounds, wrestled tough but had trouble gaining any advantage. He eventually lost by decision 8-2.

In one of the closest matches of the night, Eddie Roberts, wrestling at 145 pounds for Mount Si, defeated Nate Freeberg. Roberts scored first with a takedown, but Freeburg escaped. Roberts came back with another takedown to end the round.

In the second, starting from the down position, Roberts reversed. Freeburg reversed as well, but Roberts escaped and scored another takedown. Combined with an illegal hold point, Roberts led 6-4 going into the third. Starting again from the down position, Roberts scored a reversal. Late in the round Freeburg reversed, causing the audience to jump to its feet and encourage Roberts to hold on. As the clock ticked by, a visibly tired Roberts iced the win.

Kyle Jacobsen dominated his match in the 152-pound class for Mount Si. Before the damage was done he had scored 18 points to Eric Eagle’s one. The technical-fall win gave Mount Si a 30-12 lead.

In what had to be the meet’s best match, a determined Tyler Austin took on the Indians’ Travis Johnson in the 160-pound class. Austin scored first with a takedown but couldn’t hang on as Johnson escaped.

In the second round, Johnson started from the down position and escaped. He then took Austin to the mat for a 4-2 lead going into the third.

Both wrestlers poured every ounce of energy into the match. Austin scored on an illegal hold by Johnson. He scored another point when Johnson, who had been warned for stalling earlier, was called for stalling again. That tied the match at four each, sending it into overtime.

All eyes were on Austin as he moved for position. Finally, less than 30 seconds into overtime, he gained the advantage and scored two points for the win.

The next two matches went to Mount Si on pins in the first round. At 171 pounds, Nick Ippolito pinned the Indians Marty Clark. At 189 pounds, the ‘Cats’ Trevor Moore pinned Peter Lacher.

Dylan Seubert faired well in a tough match, wrestling a muscle-bound John Bodecker of Issaquah. But in the end, he lost despite showing some great patience and moves, 13-10.

At 275 pounds, Cory Anderson recorded a forfeit for Mount Si to make the final score of 51-15.

“You just never know in a match like this,” said Mount Si coach Bruce Caldwell. “It’s great to see the team finish like this.

“Brad [Trombley] did a great job with an outstanding opponent, and Prior also wrestled tough,” he added.

The win gives Mount Si a shot at first in KingCo, which will be decided this Thursday, Jan. 17, at Cedarcrest.