Mules place 3rd in Clatskanie meet

The Wahkiakum Mule wrestling team earned a tie for third place at the Clatskanie Tounament on December 28.

"After the major road trip to Oroville, the team was happy to compete right across the river," said Coach Matt Stacey. "Being a local tournament did not mean that the competition was in anyway inferior as Clatskanie was able to bring in such tough competition as Vernonia and Cascade JV.

The Mules added to the tournament's tough competition; the team earned 159 points, only 10 points behind the champion Vernonia's 169 points, which is less than one placing wrestler.

Individually the Mules were able to earn several places again. Arial Snodgrass (145) earned first in an all girls bracket. Mason Mackey brought home top honors from the men’s side with a second place at 132. Ben Vasion (182), Bubba Calvert (170), Adam Vasion (152), Nate Cothren (145), and Luke Stacey (120) all made it into the consolation finals matches for third and fourth places.

"All five of these wrestlers only lost one match on the day," Stacey said. "In wrestling, individual wrestlers are only allowed five matches a day. Because of the way this tournament is set up, many wrestlers were not able to wrestle their last matches, leaving many ties for third."

One of the deciding factors for team placing is dominance. Matches won by pins earn extra team points. The Mules accumulated at least 20 pins on the day as well as many superior decisions. As an example, heavy weight Dylan Hansen brought in three pins for the team. Alex Johnson and Jesús Crawford (both at 120) both earned first round pins. Freshmen Kody Vik (138) and Trystan Mendez (160) also earned pins.

"This determination to dominate and an unwillingness to surrender brought the Mules to the tie with Neah-Kah-Nie for the third spot," Stacey said.

The next competition for the Mules comes this weekend with the team splitting forces between ACH and Kelso JV and Girls tournament.

"Kelso Girls tournament is one of the qualifying tournaments for Arial as she moves towards state," Stacey said.