Mule wrestlers win 3 district titles

Joel Fudge won the District 4 championship at 160 pounds. Photo by Keith Burns. The Wahkiakum Mule wrestling team placed third in the District 4 2B/1B Tournament this past weekend at Ocosta high school and came home with three individual championships.

The Mules finished third out of 10 teams, two points behind second place North Beach, and 18 points behind district champion Ocosta.

Nine of the 10 Mule wrestlers finished fourth or better and thus qualified for regionals, and one qualified as an alternate by placing fifth.

The Mules had six wrestlers in the finals, with three of them winning the championship at their weight class. Champions were Kevin O’Connor, Joel Fudge, and Ben Doumit. Placing second in their classes were Ben Miles, Jeff Vik, and Brady Johns.

“We were really pleased with how hard the team worked on Saturday,” said Mule wrestling coach John Hannah. “The wrestlers came out in the first round winning and just kept it up throughout the day.”

“Kevin, Joel and Ben Doumit did a great job winning the tournament at their weight classes, and the wrestlers who placed second were so close to getting their own.”

“Ben Miles was leading by a big margin before getting upset,” commented Hannah, “and Brady did a great job as well. Unfortunately for Brady and Joel, they had to face off in the finals versus each other, and it was a great match with Joel having more points when time expired.”

Freshman Kyle Bergquist finished third for the Mules, and seniors Jake Goldsmith and Stian Vik finished fourth. Sophomore James Goldsmith finished fifth and is an alternate for regionals.

“Kyle and James had their best days of wrestling as a Mule,” said Hannah. “They fought hard all day. Kyle was able to come back in his final match to place third, and James came back to place fifth after being knocked out of regional contention by his brother earlier in the day.”

The Mules will compete in the Western 2B/1B regional tournament this weekend at Elma High School. Wrestling will begin at 9 a.m. To qualify for state each wrestler will need to place in the top three.