Kamiakin and Southridge rule the day at regionals

If the 3A Region 3 Tournament is any indication of what is come at state, Kamiakin and Southridge should have a prosperous weekend.

The Braves and Suns won nine of 14 titles Saturday at Edmonds-Woodway High School, with Kamiakin crowing five champions and Southridge four.

Kamiakin also ran away with the regional title for the second consecutive year, rolling up 305.5 points, while Southridge was second with 257.5. Marysville Pilchuck was a distant third with 208.

The top four individuals from each weight class advance to state Feb. 16-17 at the Tacoma Dome.

“We had a good showing,” Kamiakin coach Jordan Anderson said. “We got 11 through (to state), we are excited about that.”

Of the 11 going to state for the Braves, five won titles and four placed second.

“They are putting themselves in a good position by getting getting first,” Anderson said. “Our team did a good job of rallying around each other and keeping everyone motivated.”

Southridge will send a school record 12 guys to state, four of whom won regional titles and three who placed second.

“Our previous record was nine last year,” Suns coach Steve Isley said. “We had a couple of big wins. Breyden Baratone knocked off (Kamiakin’s) Rece Quintana (at 138 pounds), who was fifth at state last year. At 195, neither guy (Eric Stayrook and Ozeas Cervantes) has wrestled at state before. Both are seniors and both are going to the Dome for the first time.”

Winning titles for the Braves were Xavier Zavala (113), Austin Almaguer (132), Sione Halo (152), Jacob Olson (170) and Luke Eskelsen (220).

Halo, ranked No. 2, beat Southridge’s Steven Saltz 5-3, while Eskelsen topped Southridge’s Atsamaz Pliev 3-1.

Almaguer, the No. 2-ranked man at 132, won by technical fall over Will Rush of Arlington, 15-0.

Southridge’s Mikael Failor beat Kennewick’s Emilio Ramos 3-1 in the 160-pound title match, while Jevon Johnson beat Kamiakin’s Ben Hollenberg 6-3 at 182 pounds.

“For Jevon, this is all new to him,” Isley said of the California transfer. “Before the season, we thought he would go to state and place. Being a district and regional champ is new to him. The Dome does weird things to kids. For some, it produces anxiety, but he likes the show. I think he will go up there and wrestle well.”

At 195, Stayrook pinned Cervantes in 4:42. Stayrook, a second-year wrestler, also beat his teammate in the district finals.

“Every week, Eric is looking more and more like a wrestler,” Isley said. “He is so strong and so powerful, and his technique is getting better.”

The Suns wrapped things up with a title by Yuriy Slutskiy at 285. The fourth-ranked senior beat Joe Lawrence of Marysville Pilchuck 11-3.

“That regional final was the best I have seen him wrestle,” Isley said. “He looked really, really good. He looked like a 3A state champion in that match.”

This story was originally published February 10, 2018 at 9:34 PM with the headline "Kamiakin and Southridge rule the day at regionals."