Mule wrestlers post wins in dual, exhibition meets

Last week, the Wahkiakum Mule wrestling team competed in back to back competition. On Wednesday, the Mules traveled to Adna High School to take part in a double dual versus Ocosta and North Beach, and on Thursday the Mules hosted three schools in an exhibition.

The Mule wrestlers lost both of their duals versus Ocosta and North Beach with a squad that was missing three key wrestlers in match-ups that would have made the difference, said Coach John Hannah.

"The three wrestlers were out of action due to illnesses and other priorities, Hannah said. "The Mules lost both duals by 15 points, which is a little less than they had to forfeit in points for not filling weight classes."

Standouts at the duals for the Mules were Joel Fudge, Jake Goldsmith, and Stian Vik.

“We really liked the way that Joel, Jake, and Stian performed at the duals,” Hannah said. “Each of them worked their matches with a balance of aggression and positioning.”

Senior Ben Doumit lost both of his matches at the duals but impressed his coaches with his technique, Hannah added.

“Ben is really coming along this year,” Hannah said. “He is so close to turning the corner. Even though he lost the matches, he showed some great ability and only lost due to two mistakes. Unfortunately for Ben, he made one mistake in each match.”

Following the duals the Mules hosted Tacoma Baptist, Willapa Harbor, and White Pass in an exhibition. No team scores were kept, but most wrestlers had two or three matches for the night.

“After the first round I was really disappointed in our performance, but as we have done all year, we turned it around from the second round on and really performed well,” Hannah said.

The Mules started the night off winning only two of nine matches but finished the night winning their last 13 of 18 matches.

“We were really impressed with many of the guys,” Hannah said. “Brady, Joel, Ben, and Stian all wrestled great. It was great to see the Goldsmith brothers, James and Jake, pick up some big wins for the night.”

The Mules will wrestle Saturday at Kalama High School's annual tournament, the Rubber Chicken, which starts at 9:30 AM. The regular season will conclude next week as the Mules travel to Kelso for exhibition matches, and then to Tacoma Baptist for two dual meets.

Districts will be held at Ocosta High School on February 7 at 10 a.m.

Editor's note: The Seattle Times and Washington Interscholastic Activities Association on January 17 named Jeff Vik the Class 2B male athlete of the week in recognition for his undefeated run up to winning his weight class championship the previous weekend in the Royal Rumble.