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Sports

MI Wrestlers Still in Contention for State Titles

Mercer Island senior Colton Knebel and junior Phil Frazier are still in contention for first-place finishes at the 3A state tournament as the team currently holds ninth-place overall.

Mercer Island posted a surprising first-round on Friday at the Mat Classic at the Tacoma Dome, before a difficult second-round moved the Islanders down the leader board.

Mercer Island finished the first round in fourth place after five MI wrestlers won their matches. But the second round told a different story, as just two wrestlers won their second-round matches, moving Mercer Island down to the ninth position following day one.

Phil Frazier is in the semifinals in the 171-pound division, following two impressive wins to open the state championships. Frazier beat Jacob Evens of Wilson via pin in the first round, before battling out a 6-2 win over Rowland Gaydosh of Decatur in the second round.

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Colton Knebel is also in the semifinals of the 189-pound division, after demolishing his first two opponents. Knebel’s first two matches lasted a combined 1:26 with two pins.

The Islanders also have three wrestlers still alive for a third place finish, including TJ Blackburn in the 215-pound division.

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“Good first round, tough second round,” Mercer Island coach Creighton Laughary said. “The guys are doing real well, they’re prepared, there’s still a lot of wrestling left to go.”

Enumclaw was the top team on the first day, as it took care of business and looks primed to make a run at its third state title in four years.

The Hornets emerged as the big winners of the day, advancing seven wrestlers past the first round and three into the semifinals, to give the Green Hornets a 66-57.5 lead in the team rankings over second-place University.

Enumclaw’s only real set-back came when defending state champion Hunter File was shocked in the 130-pound quarterfinals by Josh St. Marie of Glacier Peak, dropping File into the losers bracket and ensuring that he will finish no higher than third the year after winning it all.

Still, Enumclaw was confident of their chances to win the overall title.

“We almost feel like we got it in the sack,” Kario Wallin, who qualified for the semifinals at 160 pounds, said of the team title. “It’s meant to be, everything’s going together so well.”

University, Sunnyside and Kelso all placed in the top 5 of team rankings, as expected, along with Yelm. University and Enumclaw entered the tournament as the favorites, while Sunnyside and Kelso were expected to compete.

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