Tough night on the mat for South Whidbey grapplers

The Falcon wrestling squad was hoping for a winning night Thursday as it welcomed the Sultan Turks to Erikson Gym.

By Jeff VanDerford • January 15, 2010 6:19 pm
Falcon Ben Morgen tries his best to pin Sultan's David Huckabone under the watchful gaze of referee Eric Cannon on Thursday. Morgen won a technical victory with a 17-1 point spread.
Falcon Ben Morgen tries his best to pin Sultan's David Huckabone under the watchful gaze of referee Eric Cannon on Thursday. Morgen won a technical victory with a 17-1 point spread.

LANGLEY — The Falcon wrestling squad was hoping for a winning night Thursday as it welcomed the Sultan Turks to Erikson Gym.

But the Turks turned out to be stronger than expected, and South Whidbey lost the dual match 45-24.

There were some bright spots. Falcon Montana Johnson (140-pound weight class) captured the only South Whidbey pin of the night, taking down Sultan’s Jack Boyd 55 seconds into the second round.

Falcon Van Morgen (152) won on points over David Huckabone 17-1 in a technical finish. Patrick Monell (160) beat Tyler Huddell 9-6 and brother Chris Monell (189) overcame Kely Grove 12-1.

But some wrestlers who did well last weekend at the Everett Classic didn’t step up far enough, said Falcon coach Jim Thompson.

“Yeah, I saw this meet being closer,” Thompson said. “Several of their kids were bumped up a notch in their weight classes, like Garrett Varnell.”

Falcon Evan Thompson (130) was pinned in the third round by Varnell, who was a state finalist at the Mat Classic last season.

“It started well, and I thought I could pull it off,” Thompson said. “In the second round,

I tried a switch and stood up, but it didn’t work. He pulled a stack on me twice and

I couldn’t break out.”

The sport’s rules require that when one grappler achieves 15 points, the referee can declare the bout over. That’s what happened to Morgen.

“The Sultan guy was tough, no doubt,” he said. “I didn’t position my weight very well and just couldn’t force a pin.”

A team gets six points for a pin, four for a technical win and three if the match ends with one wrestler ahead on points.

In Chris Monell’s case, he said he focused too much on referee Eric Cannon.

“My strategy, in every match, is to make it quick and get it over with,” he said. “I wanted the pin — I was close several times — but I was too busy watching the ref try to figure out where the other guy’s shoulder was. Big mistake; won’t happen again.”

Coach Thompson wasn’t sparing in his disappointment with senior Colton Vaughn (119), who lost by a single point to Sultan’s Bryce MacDicken.

“Colton needs to work on being consistent,” Thompson said. “He was great in Everett last weekend, and the kid he wrestled tonight was nothing special.”