Mules wrestlers fall short at state

This past weekend the Mule wrestling team competed in the 22nd Mat Classic, the state tournament for wrestling in Washington State.

The Mules had five wrestlers compete in the tournament. Competing for the Mules were Blayne Edwards at 103 pounds, Mitchell Vik at 119 pounds, Ben Miles at 130 pounds, Kyle Bergquist at 140 pounds, and Jeff Vik at 145 pounds.

“It was another great tournament for the small schools,” said Mule coach John Hannah. “There was lots of good wrestling and competition.”

The Mules suffered a tough opening round by dropping their first five matches.

“The first round really sealed our fate,” said Hannah. “We were competing really well in four of our matches, and should have won those. All of our losses came to eventual state placers.”

To start the second round the Mules were led by sophomore Blayne Edwards who secured his first win at the state tournament with an overtime win over Wilber-Creston-Keller high school.

“Blayne’s second match was great,” said Hannah. “He started off cautious like his first match but was able to find another gear to win. He started to wrestle his style of the match and that is what earned him the win.”

Edwards was the only Mule wrestler to make it to the third round as the other wrestlers were eliminated in the second round.

“The second round was much like the first for us,” said Hannah, “we just couldn’t keep our aggressive style going throughout the match. We went hard at our opponents and then just hit a wall mentally.”

During the third round Edwards faced off versus a wrestler from Adna, a wrestler that defeated Edwards for both the district and regional title.

“Blayne’s third round match was a tough one,” said Hannah, “we were going up against a guy we lost to three times in a row. Blayne did a wonderful job of sticking to our game plan. Going into the last round the score was tied and Blayne was starting to control the match. A last second trip and throw caught Blayne off guard and cost him the match and eventually a state medal.”

“We didn’t reach our goals this year at state,” Hannah said, “but the boys now know where they stand and know that they can compete with the best in the state. Next year they should be more focused and ready for the challenges.”