Mule wrestlers claim two championshipsat district meet

Mule wrestlers claim two championships at district meet

Ben Miles earned near fall points against Howie Herdle of Tacoma Baptist in the District Championship Match last Saturday. Photo by Keith Burns. The Wahkiakum Mules entered the Saturday Class 2B District 4 Wrestling Championship as the defending champions with only two wrestlers seeded number 1, and by the end of the day the Mules had two champions, two seconds, two thirds, two fifths, and advanced all wrestlers to this weekends Western 2B/B Regional Tournament at River Ridge High School in Lacey.

The two champions were freshman Ben Miles (103 lbs) and junior Kevin O’Connor (112 lbs).

O'Connor went 2-0 for the day and won both of his matches by pin.

“Kevin made quick work of both opponents today," said Mule Coach John Hannah. "He wrestled very smart, and very aggressive.”

Miles won his first match by pin and his second match by decision. “Ben’s championship match was his best match of the year," Hannah said. "He wrestled one of the top ranked kids in the state, took control early and never let up."

The two second place finishers for the Mules were senior Jared McEntire (119 lbs) and junior Brady Johns (140 lbs). McEntire made his fourth trip to the district championship match, but came up short this year by one point.

“Mac has had a great career and is having a great season," Hannah said. "He just missed out on his fourth consecutive district championship.”

Johns also had a great day for the Mules. “Brady wrestled the best he has since last year at the Regional tournament. He faced two of the tougher wrestlers in the state at his weight class, beat one and lost by one point to the other,” Hannah said.

Third place finishers for the Mules were senior Jon Murphy (152 lbs) and junior Ben Doumit (160 lbs). Each of them had to wrestle back through the consolation rounds, and both won matches in these rounds with pins.

Fifth place finishers for the Mules were junior Jake Goldsmith (152 lbs) and sophomore Jeff Vik (140 lbs). Goldsmith was bumped down to the fifth place match as he and Murphy had to wrestle each other.

Jake Goldsmith secured a pin versus Kris Bates of White Pass. Photo by Keith Burns. “The match between Jon and Jake was probably the best match each of them has had all year," Hannah said. "They were both aggressive, had quick moves, and battled from whistle to whistle.”

Vik was bumped to the fifth place match after a loss to an opponent who Johns put in the consolation round.

“Jeff nearly won the match, but unfortunately he pulled when he should have pushed at the wrong time and it cost him the match,” said coach Hannah.

The Mules finished in fourth place out of the 13 schools who participated in the tournament.

The fourth place finish was a good placing due to the Mules' lower numbers this year compared to the larger teams they had to face, Hannah said. This year's fourth place finish is the Mules 10th consecutive year placing in the top four at the district tournament.