As promised by Montesano High School wrestling coach Jeff Klinger, the Bulldog team shifted into midseason mode this past weekend. By splitting his team into two squads, his wrestlers were able to place second in two invitational tournaments.

One squad, composed almost entirely of veterans from the successful 2017-18 Bulldog team that placed 10th in the state tournament last season, traveled to the sixteen team Mount Rainier Invitational in Des Moines. The second squad, made up of a single junior, one sophomore and ten freshmen, participated the annual Bash at the Beach Invitational at North Beach High School in Ocean Shores

Both Bulldog teams hauled home a considerable collection of hardware.

“Our veterans really stepped up at Mount Rainier,” Klinger said. Only perennial power Orting was able to slip past the Bulldogs as six of Monte’s 10 entrees wrestled their way into the finals.

Mount Rainier

When the dust had settled, the Bulldogs at the Mount Rainier Invitational came away with three champions: seniors Andy Fry at 106 pounds and Kai Olson at 182 pinned their way through the entire field, and junior Aaron Lano won a hard-fought 5-2 decision over Lakeside’s Brent Takayama at 126 pounds.

Three wrestlers finished in second place: sophomore Cooper Johansson at 113 pounds, sophomore Ty Ekerson at 132 and junior Brent Hollatz at 160. Junior Jordan King and sophomore Klayton Fry finished in fifth. Monte’s two additional entries also won matches with Maleki Osbekoff winning two matches at 145 and Colby Jones winning one at 170.

The final team score had Orting leading Montesano 177.5-164. The short-handed Bulldog squad defeated teams from Lakes, Highline, West Valley Yakima, North Thurston, Evergreen and other high schools. Montesano was the only Class A team in the tournament with the majority of the squads representing 4A and 3A schools.

“We had a great day, and for the guys who worked hard over Christmas break, it was a rewarding experience,” assistant coach Jeff Catterlin said. He was particularly impressed with the performance of Lano at 126 pounds. “Aaron had a good tournament and showed that he will be a real threat in the post season. … He is improving rapidly, and with a month remaining to prepare, he should have a great finish!”

For his continued improvement and performance this past week, Lano was named one of two Wrestlers of the Week for the Bulldogs.

Bash at the Beach

The younger squad travelled to North Beach so the large freshman contingent could experience varsity competition.

“We have a great group of freshmen and they have tremendous potential,” Klinger said. “They just need mat time so that they can see value in utilizing the techniques that we are teaching them and come to realize the importance of the conditioning that we are subjecting them too.”

Assistant coach Darrel White, also Monte’s junior high wrestling coach, said the step up from junior high wrestling to the high school level is a long one.

“The junior high program has, by design, elements similar to an intramural program, and the season is several weeks shorter. As a result, the emphasis on technique and conditioning is significantly less than what these kids experience in high school.”

Klinger said he was pleased with the spirit that the young wrestlers showed and expects their improvement to accelerate in the weeks leading to the post season.

“We have three additional opportunities for this group to experience tournament competition and look forward to watching their progress,” he said.

Leading the Bulldog contingent at North Beach were junior Augie Arrequin at 182 pounds and freshman Isaiah Pierce 160 pounds who both placed first. Placing second were freshmen Lucas Salstrom at 106, Konnor Odekirk at 120 and Kenny Koonrad at 285. Third place finishs included sophomore Lucas Salstrom and freshmen Cannon Foster, Isaac Pierce and Nathan Ryker.

In winning the first high school tournament championship of his career at North Beach, Pierce was named by his coaches as co-Wrestler of the Week.

“This may have been Isaiah’s first tourney championship but it won’t be his last,” Klinger said. “He has amazing talent and can be a state champion some day if he continue to display the work ethic and dedication he has shown so far this season.”

The Bulldogs traveled to Forks for a dual meet Wednesday, which ended too late for this edition. The squad will split again Saturday, visiting tournaments at Hoquiam and Rainier high schools. Most of Montesano’s varsity wrestlers will be competing at Rainier, but both are varsity level events.