Rainier, Napavine lead area contingent in 1B/2B district tourney

It was a loaded Saturday at Winlock High School on Feb. 7, site of the Class 1B/2B District 4 tournament. Eight area schools competed and several solidified multiple spots at Mat Classic. Rainier was the highest team finisher, second with 278 points. Napavine (218), Pe Ell (145) and Adna (131.5) each placed in the top 10.

Dorien Cano was the Mountaineers’ lone champion at 175- pounds. He started his day with two first period pins, then outlasted Onalaska’s Wyatt Gose 13-7 in the finals. Heavyweight Blake Roberts reached the finals, but dropped to Forks’ Kenneth Daman. Rainier will have 16 wrestlers compete at state.

Napavine saw two district champs in Hunter Hipp (138) and Tommy Deebach (190). Hipp, the four seed in the bracket, pinned Naselle’s Jason Gardner in the semis and dominated Pe Ell’s Kaiden Coates 19-4 in the finals. Deebach moved to 26-3 on the year with three pins, two of them in under 45 seconds. The Tigers will have 11 wrestlers in Pierce County in two weeks.

Pe Ell’s Hunter Harris won the 215-pound title and did so against his rival this winter in North Beach’s Parker George Harmon. Harmon won at the Ocosta Invite and Bash at the Beach, but Harris turned the tables thanks to a nine-point first period to gain plenty of cushion.

Alongside Harris and Coates, Blake Burnett (190) finished second and the Trojans will see four others compete at Mat Classic.

Toledo’s Carter Swofford, after a stellar football season, won the district crown at 132 thanks to a pair of bonus point wins, a 12-5 triumph in the semis and a 12-7 verdict in the finals. The senior finished with 11 takedowns on the day. The Riverhawks will send three total to the Tacoma Dome.

Oscar Silvestre (106) was Winlock’s best finisher with a second place performance. The Cardinals will have five wrestlers take the mats in two weeks. For Adna, its best placer was 120-pounder Alex Richards in second. The Pirates will send seven guys to Mat Classic.

Along with Gose, Onalaska’s Steven Gomes (165) made the finals and took second. The Loggers get five guys to state. Mossyrock had three wrestlers compete at districts and all three moved on to Mat Classic, paced by Kyle Brockway’s third place finish at 215.