By NATHAN WHALEN
Special to the News-Times
Team members received accolades during Oak Harbor’s wrestling program senior night last week.
Four wrestlers, Carter Park, Anthony Amezquita, Tony Valle and Val Estrada, as well as student manager Verity Merth, were recognized during Oak Harbor’s home match against Anacortes, which was the only home dual match of the season. Valle and Estrada are first-year wrestlers.
As a team, the Wildcats came up short against Anacortes 45-31.
“We wrestled really tough and had some close matches,” said Oak Harbor wrestling coach Aaron McBride.
He highlighted the efforts of Joel Christopherson, who had a close match with a strong wrestler from Anacrotes in a 144-pound match. Caiden Collins, wrestling at 120 pounds, dominated his opponent from the beginning of the match. Ethan Bazar, wrestling at 175 pounds, pinned his opponent in the first period and Kenny Anguiano, at 215 pounds, pinned his opponent in the second period.
“We’ve come out strong in every match,” McBride said.
Oak Harbor boys wrestling team traveled to Lake Stevens where they competed in the Vikings Invite. As a team they placed 16th with 43 points.
Percie Hatfield placed third at 157 pounds and Anthony Amezquita placed fifth at 190 pounds. Anguiano placed sixth at 215 pounds and Ethan Bazar placed seventh at 175 pounds.
The Oak Harbor girls wrestling team placed first Saturday at the Borderite Blizzard in Blaine, scoring 155 points. Stanwood placed second with 154 points, according to Trackwrestling.
Genesis Egli placed first at 125 pounds, Annabelle Suto placed first at 140 pounds, and Olivia Hudson placed first at 235 pounds. Julia Gonzales placed second at 100 pounds, and Lotoaigaola Tupu placed third at 235 pounds.
Isabella Nuno placed fourth at 105 pounds, Kayla Bodenhafer placed fourth at 125 pounds, and Zoe Beeman placed fourth at 145 pounds. Danielle Kanterman placed fifth at 130 pounds and Cady Ritz placed sixth at 165 pounds.
Oak Harbor’s boys wrestling team heads to Mountlake Terrace Thursday to compete in a match that includes Lakewood and Rainier Beach. They compete in a tournament in Lynden Saturday.
Photo by John Fisken
