A tough trio of Mount Si athletes are making their mark on the wrestling mat this season.
It’s been a winter of growth for the young Wildcat squad, according to head coach Tony Schlotfeldt, and the wrestlers jumped into the fray against top-notch competition at the HammerHead Invitational in Bremerton, the Doc Herren Wrestling Invitational in Auburn and the Everett Classic.
Sophomore Tryon Kaess grapples at 113 pounds and amassed a 12-4 record at press time, including a HammerHead championship. He also invaded the mat at the Washington Who’s #1 event in Maple Valley, dropping a gritty title match to Toppenish’s Horacio Godinez.
“He’s a go-getter. When the whistle blows, he gets at it. He likes to set the tempo of the match,” said Schlotfeldt of Kaess, who competes with the Washington USA Wrestling Club and stands in the top eight nationally in his weight class. “He’s a technician, does year-round wrestling and knows his wrestling well.”
The freestyle and Greco wrestler, who competed at 106 at the 4A state tourney last year, is big on takedowns and throws and can handle upper-body attacks, the coach said.
Another solid sophomore is Mark Marum, who weighs in at 106 pounds and sported an 18-2 record at press time. He ruled his weight class at the HammerHead and Herren events and notched a pair of titles.
Also a freestyle and Greco guy, Marum came to Mount Si for the first time this season and honed his skills on the club circuit.
“He’s got the aggressive wrestling. He’s not gonna sit back and let anything be dictated to him. He puts his nose to the grindstone,” the coach said.
Senior Spencer Marenco is the Wildcats’ 160-pound man and grabbed a 24-5 record at press time. He placed third in the HammerHead and Herren meets and plowed his way deep into The Gut Check, a 64-man tournament in Bremerton featuring athletes from Washington, Oregon and Alaska.
Marenco has tackled the state terrain for the last three years and Schlotfeldt said the grappler has set his goal high to medal at this year’s Mat Classic.
“He is a takedown technician and has got a lot of motion and athleticism. He’s quick,” the coach said. “He’s gonna take his time to set things up to get the shot he likes.”
Schlotfeldt added that all three wrestlers possess a sense of humor and leadership qualities. In order to get them wrestling even stronger, the coach tries to pit them against the highest-caliber athletes at each event.
At press time, the Wildcats were 2-2 as a team and stood in the middle of the pack in the 4A KingCo standings.
Other key Wildcat wrestlers are sophomores Braedon Haynie, Connor Knowles and Brody Belaire, juniors Sage Phelps and Jaedon Durham-Delvalle, senior Antonio Gil and freshmen Brody Sauvage and Victor Ciprian.
