SEQUIM — Everything pretty much went to script as Port Angeles continued to dominate the area wrestling scene.
The Roughriders captured the 15th annual Rainshadow Tournament team title as expected Saturday.
Eighteen Port Angeles wrestlers placed, including five individual champions and five runners-up as the Riders claimed the six-team tourney with 238 points, holding off a stiff challenge from second-place North Mason.
The Bulldogs had 193.5 points at the granddaddy of North Olympic Peninsula wrestling tourneys, held at Rick Kaps Gymnasium at Sequim High School.
North Mason had 15 wrestlers place, including four champions and five runners-up.
The host Wolves took third with 150 points, followed by Bremerton with 97, Port Townsend with 54 and Clover Park with 47.
Sequim had 10 place in the top four with three champions and one in second place while the Redskins had two place, a champion and one who claimed third.
Sequim head coach and tournament director Len Borchers said he wasn’t surprised to see the Riders win it all.
“Port Angeles just has a lot of quality kids in every weight,” he said.
Everything went pretty much as planned, Borchers added.
“There were no remarkable upsets.”
Port Angeles coach Erik Gonzalez said he wasn’t surprised to get a strong challenge for the title from North Mason.
“We expected them to give us a battle and they didn’t disappoint,” he said.
There weren’t a lot of surprises for the Riders.
“Our kids came in and did what they were supposed to do,” Gonzalez said. “North Mason did take a couple of wins away from us.”
The Riders beat the Bulldogs in an Olympic League dual meet Wednesday, and a couple of Bulldogs who lost in the dual meet turned the tables around at the Rainshadow.
But in the end, those upsets didn’t affect the tourney’s outcome.
Winning individual titles for the Riders were freshman sensation Brady Anderson (17-2) at 106 pounds, Kody Steele (16-4) at 152, Kacee Garner (15-2) at 160, Brian Cristion (17-3) at 182 and Zach Grall (9-1) at 195.
Anderson rarely breaks out a sweat in his matches because he doesn’t seem to make it into the second round most of the time.
It was the same at the Rainshadow as he earned three pins in the first round in three matches.
In the championship match, he pinned North Mason’s Matt Zink in 1:37, his second-fasted pin of the day.
It took until the second round to pin Zink in Wednesday’s dual meet.
“Wrestling is a huge mental thing,” Anderson said. “I mentally prepared myself for the match.”
Since Anderson wrestled Zink before, he said he knew what to expect from the North Mason wrestler.
In other championship rounds, Steele beat Bremerton’s Devon Gipson 3-1, Garner won by forfeit when North Mason’s Morgan Grewell pulled out because he was sick, Cristion — who had three falls in three matches — pinned Chase Davis of North Mason in 3:03, and Grall — who had two falls in two matches — pinned North Mason’s Tommy Marsh in 1:23.
Cristion, who has been on a roll lately, was ahead of Davis 10-2 when he earned the pin in the second round.
“I’m feeling pretty confident right now,” Cristion said.
He had pinned the same wrestler in the second round in Wednesday’s dual meet.
“He came out ready to fight this time,” Cristion said about Davis.
It also has helped Cristion when his older brother, Nathan Cristion — a Port Angeles state champion who went 40-0 — was in town during Christmas break.
“Nathan worked with me and helped me out,” Brian Cristion said.
Winning titles for Sequim were regular standouts Dakota Hinton (20-4) at 170 and heavyweight Clay Charley (21-6), and first-time tourney champion Luke Mooney (19-10) at 138.
Hinton, who had two falls in two matches, pinned Tehvyn Goodwin of North Mason in 3:14 for the championship.
Charley, meanwhile, had a rare win over Port Angeles rival Michael Myers (13-5) with a pin in 3:22 in the title match. Charley also had three pins in three matches.
Myers has had Charley’s number in head-to-head matches, Borchers said.
“Myers has beaten Charley several times.”
But Charley didn’t let his Port Angeles rival win at Rainshadow.
Mooney, meanwhile, captured his first tournament win.
“I haven’t even been in a championship match until now,” the excited junior said right after he pinned Davon Johnson of Clover Park in 2:32 for the 138 title.
Mooney, who was behind Johnson 2-1 when he got the pin in the second round, also had three pins in three matches.
“It felt pretty good [to get the tourney win],” Mooney said.
Mooney doesn’t plan to stop with the one tourney win, though.
“I’m looking forward to the rest of this year, and to next year as well,” he said.
Borchers was impressed with Mooney’s performance.
“Luke Mooney had a good tourney,” he said.
Port Townsend’s lone winner was Justin Mead at 132 pounds.
Mead pinned Tyler Philp of Port Angeles in 1:36 for the title.
Mead got into the championship match by beating North Mason’s John Day 10-4 in a tough semifinal match.
Day had Mead on his back at one time and seemed to have control of the match.
But Mead got off his back and dominated the rest of the match.
Practice makes perfect for Mead.
“I did what I have been learning in practice,” Mead said about getting off his back.
“We have been practicing getting off our backs this past week. It has been more intense in practice.”
The honor for having perhaps the toughest match was Ozzy Swaggerty of Port Angeles, who was runner-up at 120 after going against defending state champion Zac Joaquin of North Mason in the title match.
Joaquin pinned Swaggerty (12-4) in 2:28.
The Sequim Wolves have a tough week ahead as they host North Mason on Wednesday in league dual-meet action and then travel to Port Angeles for the annual showdown between the two rivals Thursday night.
Then the Wolves participate in the Bainbridge tournament Saturday.
The Riders, meanwhile, travel to Silverdale to take on Olympic (3-0 in league) and then host the Wolves on Thursday.
Port Angeles is 2-0 in league and will put its perfect dual-meet record on the line against the Trojans.
The Riders will also host their own alumni tourney Thursday.
The annual Bud Dire Memorial alumni tourney features all Port Angeles wrestling alumni.
“We invite all alumni to come out Thursday,” Gonzalez said.
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Sports Editor Brad LaBrie can be reached at 360-417-3525 or at brad.labrie@peninsuladailynews.com.
