Johns wins title at Warrenton tournament

Last Saturday, the Wahkiakum Mule wrestlers traveled to Warrenton High School to take part in their annual eighth-way tournament of large and small schools from Oregon and Washington.

By the end of the day, the Mules finished fifth in the tournament as a team, had one champion, and reached a milestone as a program.

Brady Johns (171 lbs) was the lone Mule champion.

“Brady was great all day,” remarked Mule coach John Hannah. “He had his takedowns working for him from the start, and he was able to control his opponent with tough and aggressive rides.”

Though Johns was the only champion for the Mules, he was not alone in the finals. Other finalists were Kevin O’Connor (119 lbs), Ben Miles (125 lbs), and Jeff Vik (145 lbs). All placed second in the tournament.

“Jeff outworked his opponents in all of his earlier matches and had probably the most exciting match of the day for us,” Hannah said.

Vik defeated a Castle Rock wrestler in overtime in the semifinals. Hannah said the match was back and forth as each wrestler built a big lead, only to see it vanish at the end of each round. In overtime Vik secured his takedown and scored back points as he put himself into his first finals of his career.

Other placers for the Mules were Kyle Bergquist (140 lbs) who repeats his last weekend finish of a third place medal, and Ben Doumit (189 lbs) who earned his first medal of the year with a third place finish as well.

The current Mule wrestlers also helped the wrestling program reach a milestone. With the wins this weekend the Mule wrestling program has reached and passed 2,500 wins.

“The guys knew we were getting close to the 2,500 number,” Hannah said, “and they wanted it. Going in to the day we knew we had a shot if we could get a lot of placers, but we also knew how tough the Warrenton tournament is. They set their minds and reaching 2,500 wins on Saturday. I am very happy for them and all of the past wrestlers and coaches who have made this possible.”

The Mules will host their annual Down River Challenge on Saturday at 9:30 a.m. This is one of the toughest tournaments in the state for 2B schools.