It was an eventful week for Borderite winter sports, with boys wrestling earning a district title and girls bowling claiming 10th place at the state tournament in Tukwila on Tuesday.
Blaine boys wrestling earned the District 1 1A championship on Saturday, February 7, with seven wrestlers earning first place in their respective weight classes. Blaine scored 276 team points, blowing out runners-up Mt. Baker, which scored 198.
Of the 20 wrestlers who participated in the district tournament for Blaine, 17 qualified for the state tournament, with one alternate bringing the total to 18 wrestlers headed to the Tacoma Dome for Mat Classic XXXVII.
Noxx Briner, Chris Zamudio, Cole Voigt, Sam Saia, Matt Campion, Rhys Milligan and Sam Green all earned first place. Head Coach Tom Hinz called the success across the board for the Borderites “an exceptional accomplishment.”
“They’re all driven young men that have come together and worked really hard throughout the season,” Hinz said. “They’ve really grown and from the beginning of the season to right now have improved so much.”
With a team so deep and with talent ranging from 106-pounders to 285-pound heavyweights, Hinz credited his coaching staff for being able to assist each and every wrestler, no matter the style of play and weight class. He specifically mentioned assistant coach Mike Magnussen, who won state championships while wrestling lightweight at Blaine, for help coaching lightweight wrestlers.
“Me and Mikey are just two great friends that do great coaching, but we’re able to coach two different styles,” Hinz said before mentioning a host of other assistant coaches and volunteers who helped the Borderites sustain their success.
“It’s the strength of our community. It’s the support of our community,” Hinz said. “We’re really well supported in our community financially and our guys know it. We get to travel a lot and go to tough tournaments. We’ve been all over the place this year and seen everybody around the state. That really helps when we get to districts because we’ve been around and we’ve grown and put in the hard work.”
The preliminary rounds of the boys 1A state tournament begin at 8 a.m. Friday, February 20 at the Tacoma Dome. The boys 1A finals will begin at 8 a.m. Saturday, February 21.
Tickets for the event can be purchased at wiaa.com/tickets with two-day passes available for $39 ($26 for students, seniors and military) and single-day tickets for $23 ($16 for students, seniors and military).
Results provided by trackwrestling.com
Blaine girls wrestling is sending six athletes to the state tournament on Friday, February 20 at the Tacoma Dome, along with four alternates hoping for an opportunity to compete as well.
Kiera O’Reilly, Lyah Sandell, Gurnoor Gill, Sophia Ferrell, Ella Jo Klander and Jasmine Delo-Santos all earned top-two finishes in their divisions and bids in the tournament. Nevaeh Taylor, Taylor Estes, Tallyn Zayn Bleak and Leah Salinas will go to Tacoma as alternates, and could get on the mat with a chance at a state championship if another wrestler of the same weight class drops out.
At the District 1 1B/2B/1A tournament on February 7 at Squalicum, the Borderites finished in third place with 139 team points and four wrestlers made it to their respective first-place matches.
With the Mat Classic up next, Head Coach Damon Higgins said he wants the team to focus on being grateful for the opportunity ahead of them, understand the stress and pressures of wrestling, and to be fully present by the time they get on the mat. As Higgins is quick to point out, that can be a tall order for high school athletes.
“Being grateful for something isn’t, ‘Oh look at me, lucky me,’” Higgins said. “It’s, ‘I know that if I work hard, continue my training and dedicate myself to the sport I’ve put myself in a better situation to succeed.’”
The stress of a massive tournament in a daunting environment such as the Tacoma Dome is not lost on Higgins, who said he focuses on how his wrestlers respond to those big moments.
“We’ve talked about acknowledging the stress, acknowledging the pressure, and instead of ruminating on it, say, ‘It’s there, what do I do? How do I prepare?’” Higgins said. “And we trust in our training, we go back to our fundamentals. We concentrate on the things that have gotten us here.”
It’s a strong message, and one that Higgins said he’s been able to communicate to a relatively young team thanks to the help of his two captains: seniors Keira O’Reilly and Leah Salinas. The pair have had stellar senior seasons, and will both have a chance to see the mat, with O’Reilly qualified for state and Salinas in as an alternate.
“They’re present. That’s what I’ve asked of them, to be present on the mat,” Higgins said. “They’re still students. They have classwork and relationships and parents and the stress of everything else. But once you step on the mat, you have to be present, 100 percent ready to go.”
Preliminary rounds of the girls 1B/2B/1A Mat Classic XXXVII begin at 8 a.m. Friday, February 20. The final round will begin 8 a.m. Saturday, February 21.
Tickets for the event are at wiaa.com/tickets with two-day passes available for $39 ($26 for students, seniors and military) and single-day tickets for $23 ($16 for students, seniors and military).
Results provided by trackwrestling.com
It’s been a whirlwind two weeks for Blaine girls bowling. A come-from-behind victory to win the District 1 2A/1A championship on January 28 in Ferndale preceded a seven-athlete group earning its way to the 2A/1A state championships on February 10 in Tukwila.
The Borderites finished the season as district champions, 1A academic state champions for the team’s success in the lanes and in the classroom, and 10th overall in the 12-team state finals.
Ainslee Ellis, Mackenzie Schreiner, Danika Morecombe, Thora Engen and Nevaeh Zaddack each placed in the top-75 in a field of 105 athletes, and Della Cochran and Olivia Carlson-Vega earned spots as alternates.
It was Blaine’s second consecutive state appearance and second consecutive district championship.
Head Coach Matt McAuley said this team has a tight culture and camaraderie built over years of playing together.
“There’s a great team feel. They want to be around each other and spending time with each other,” McAuley said. “They’re friends off the lanes as well. They talk to each other. They hang out with each other. That friend aspect of the team is important.”
Seniors Engen, Schreiner and Ellis bowled their final match for the Borderites at the state tournament, and McAuley said the emotions ran high during those final frames.
“It was bittersweet,” McAuley said. “It was great seeing them get to bowl at state, but knowing that was their last match they’d be bowling for Blaine was hard because our whole team is going to miss them.”
McAuley said this year’s team was unique because of its depth of talent, close-knit culture, and the camaraderie of teammates who have competed side by side, season after season, welcoming new players with open arms.
“We have people who can step up and bowl really well,” McAuley said. “It was just a great team, and they each cheered each other on so well, and really lifted each other up.”
