A few Falcons claimed top-four places at the Lynnwood Classic wrestling tournament Dec. 20.

Wrestling in a largely 4A and 3A tournament, South Whidbey finished near the bottom of the 11-team bracket.

“It was close,” said Falcon head coach Jim Thompson. “The kids all got at least two matches. It was worth it.”

South Whidbey junior Madison Evans finished in third place in the 170-pound division. He had to settle for third place as the champion of the consolation bracket after losing his second-round match. Evans pinned his next two opponents for the third-place honor.

His coach said Evans made careless mistakes in the first two bouts, but was able to recover in the final two.

“He still does goofy stuff,” Thompson said. “I was really mad at him.”

Teammates Will Holbert and Hunter Newman fought in the 132-pound consolation bracket. Holbert, a senior, lost his first-round match, pinned his opponent in the second round, then fell to Newman, a sophomore who pinned his first-round foe, fell in the second round, and pinned in the third-place match.

Josh McElhinny, a senior, pinned his first opponent, lost 10-8 in the second round, then lost in the consolation finale and settled for fourth place.

Sophomore Jack Nielsen wrestled up a weight class at the 145. He won two bouts sandwiched by a loss.

Trevor Kleinfelder, also a Falcon sophomore, was eliminated after two losses but won a pigtail match in the 160.

Logan Madsen lost in his opening bout to a grappler from Archbishop Murphy who had defeated him in a Cascade Conference dual meet the week prior. Thompson said Madsen was close to pinning the Wildcat, but was out of bounds and lost.

“It was just a bad draw, but he battled him,” Thompson said.

Mariner won the team title, followed by Bothell in second place and Lynnwood in third place.

South Whidbey’s wrestlers had Christmas week off before being expected to return in fighting shape Dec. 29. The Falcons’ next competition is the Everett Classic at Everett High School on Jan. 3.