The Mount Si wrestling team will have a strong delegation at this weekend’s Mat Classic, after faring very well at the regional meet held Saturday, Feb. 13, at Liberty High School.

Of the eight Mount Si competitors who went to the regional event, six of them made state. And coach Tony Schlotfeldt couldn’t be happier.

“We were very pleased with our wrestlers today,” Schlotfeldt told the Record. “They are wrestling with intensity and a lot of internal drive to excel. Our tough tournament schedule has fostered a lot of growth in all our wrestlers. We are filled with excitement going into the state tournament.”

The Wildcat group was led by Andrew Sypher (119 pounds) and Ben Larson (135), both of whom finished as runners-up in their respective weight classes. Sypher made the finals with a pin of Ingraham’s Ryan Libed and a tight 2-1 win over Blanchet’s Alex Douglas. Sypher was pinned by O’Dea’s Zack Hamilton in the finals. Larson reached his final with a pin of Eastside Catholic’s Drew Beggs and a 9-5 win over Ingraham’s Vinh Nguyen, but was shut out in the finals 10-0 by Mercer Island’s Blake Johnson.

Another Wildcat representative in the 135, Aaron Peterson, suffered a neck injury during his first round match against O’Dea’s Dominic Nicacio, and could not continue, ending his season. Still, Schlotfeldt praised his efforts.

“Peterson will be a tough Wildcat wrestler over the next two years,” Schlotfeldt said. Peterson has been wrestling very well for the last few weeks, he added.

Cody Botten (125) recovered from a loss in the semifinals and finished third. The sophomore, after falling to Bellevue’s Josh Spiezle, blasted two Metro League competitors to grab the third-place spot.

Trey Botten (140) and Lee Amador (160) both took fourth in their respective divisions. Botten fell in the semifinals to Eastside’s Jake Cowin, then after blowing out Bellevue’s Colin Small, was forced to forfeit the third place match against Ingraham’s David Kahn after being hurt in an earlier match. “Trey showed great heart today,” Schlotfeldt said. Amador recovered from a loss in the semifinals to make the third place match with a win over Mercer’s Elliott Wittenberg. The Wildcat senior then fell to Bainbridge’s Corey Touchette in that match to end up fourth.

Josh Mitchell (285) will wrestle as an alternate, unlike the other five, who will get to compete. Mitchell pinned Eastside’s Conor Summers to take the fifth place spot. Mitchell reached that match after two straight losses.

One Wildcat who struggled was Connor Deutsch (152), who went winless in his two matches. Schlotfeldt thinks Deutsch may be in for bigger and better things, though. (Deutsch) has improved immensely over three weeks time.

“He is an extremely coachable athlete and will continue to improve over the next two years,” Schlotfeldt said.

The Mat Classic is Friday and Saturday, Feb. 20 and 21, at the Tacoma Dome.