Two Peninsula Wrestlers Take Seventh and Eighth in Their Divisions

While Michael Sly and Casey Larson each placed for , Enumclaw won the team title on Saturday at the Mat Classic at the Tacoma Dome.

Sly advanced unbeaten to the quarterfinals and eventually finished seventh in the 189-pound division. Casey Larson finished eighth in the 130-pound weight class.

Enumclaw pulled out the 3A team title in dramatic fashion, taking home the top team spot for the third time in four years.

A year after losing out on the team title in its final two matches of the tournament, the Hornets were anchored by the two wrestlers who came up just short last year.

Josh Musick and Kario Wallin each won titles the year after finishing second in their weight classes. Musick’s loss last year knocked Enumclaw out of team title contention, a fact that he said stayed with him for nearly a year since.

“It stayed with me for about a year,” Musick said of the loss. “Until I watched the video of that finals.”

Aided by a desire to avoid the frustration of 2010, Musick pulled out a 6-2 victory over Hamilton Noel of Liberty (Issaquah). The win came after sophomore Lucas Somera got things started for Enumclaw with a title in the 135-pound weight division. Musick’s victory assured at least a share of the team title for Enumclaw and Wallin locked it up for the hornets, pinning Connor Boyce 1:29 into the second period.

“They’ve worked hard all season long,” coach Lee Reichert said. “I put them through the toughest schedule I could put them through and they just continued to get better. I’m so proud of these guys.

University finished second in the 3A division with 129.5 points after playing catch-up to Enumclaw since the start of the tournament.  The Titans had a shot at the team title heading into the championship round, but Enumclaw’s champions made sure University never got any closer than second.

Kelso was a distant third with 100.5 points, followed by Yelm with 95 points and North Central with 82 points.