Mount Si’s wrestling team was looking to open its home schedule last Thursday, Dec. 10, on a high note. Despite some excellent performances, the Wildcats fell to a tough Interlake Saints squad.
Andrew Sypher (119 pounds), Trey Botten (140) and Brian Copeland (285) all pinned their Saints opponents, but that wasn’t enough in the 39-31 loss. There were several other winning performances, but two close losses by Chris Hindmarch (152) and Erik Sorvik (215) ended up being the difference in the overall team battle.
“The effort was there. Tonight, I think youth got us,” said Mount Si coach Tony Schlotfeldt. “There’s some key things with being a young wrestler in certain positions that kind of ended up in their favor.”
All three pins came in the second round; Copeland’s was the quickest, as he took care of Interlake’s Fine Nguamao 28 seconds into the middle session. Copeland had built a 5-0 lead after the first period, and the pin sealed things in his match.
“Copeland stepped up big,” Schlotfeldt said. The heavyweight was filling in for an injured Josh Mitchell, who is expected to be back soon.
Sypher pinned Interlake’s Daniel Montoya halfway through the middle frame of their match. He also built a 5-0 lead after one, nearly pinning Montoya at the end of the first frame.
“I just knew I was going to win,” a pleased Sypher said. “I was going out there with full effort.”
Botten put a quick end to what looked to be a close match with the Saints’ Jake Wilson, pinning the Interlake wrestler with about 30 seconds left in the middle frame of that contest.
What turned out to be the feature match of the night was in the 160 pound division. Mount Si’s Lee Amador and Interlake’s Bobby Mueller both wrestled hard, but Amador took the contest 17-11.
Hindmarch fell in his match to the Saints’ Jordan Todd 3-0, while Sorvik, despite a late rally in his match with Interlake’s Michael Henderson, fell to the Saints opponent 2-1. Had the Wildcats won both matches, Mount Si would have won the overall team competition.
Mount Si’s Aaron Peterson (130) fell by technical fall 17-0 to Interlake’s Feynaman Liang, but Amador was pleased with Peterson’s gritty effort.
In other action, Wildcat Cody Botten (125) was pinned by Interlake’s Joshua Okrent, and Wildcat Cody Hookland (145) was also pinned, by the Saints’ Christian Schultz. Mount Si’s Zach Storm (189) fell by major decision 12-2 to Interlake’s Andy Agus, while the Wildcats’ Shane Dixon (171) took a major decision of his own, 16-7 over Interlake’s Sam Chapman.
Forfeit wins were awarded to Mount Si’s Ben Larson (130) and Interlake’s Nigel Miles (103) and Marcus Kopp (112).
