Twenty wrestlers from the North Olympic Peninsula advance to state, including four individual regional champions.
That does not include several girls wrestlers, at least two from Forks and one from Sequim.
Area regional winners are Cutter Grahn and Joel Ward of Forks, Port Townsend’s Addison Harper and Sequim’s Dakota Hinton.
Again, the Forks Spartans — with only two seniors — leads the area schools with 10 boys and two girls qualifying for state.
“We have a good young group of kids,” Forks coach Bob Wheeler said.
The Spartans captured third place in the boys tournament, the Class 1A Southwest Washington District regional at Castle Rock High School on Saturday.
Forks was seventh out of 46 teams in the girls meet, also held at Castle Rock.
The Spartans also have three alternates, two boys and a girl.
Even though the Spartans may be loaded with underclassmen, they are led by four-year senior Cutter Grahn, who is 31-1 on the year and became a four-time regional champion Saturday, earning a pin in the first match and then winning 8-2 and 6-2 decisions at 132 pounds.
Also taking a title was Ward, a sophomore at 195 pounds, who will be taking a 25-6 record to state after winning subregional and regional titles.
Top-five wrestlers qualified for state in the Southwest regionals.
Others qualifying for Forks were runners-up Sebastian Barragan at 120 and Jake Claussen at 285, third place for Javiar Contreras at 120 and Eugene Haynes at 285, and fifth place for Sebastian Morales at 106 and Ricky Barragan at 126.
A state alternate who claimed sixth place was James Salazar at 152.
Girls making state were Dawna Chase at heavyweight, second, and Brooke Peterson at 145, fourth. The top four girls make state.
Trisha Williams is an alternate after taking fifth at 106.
2A regionals
SILVERDALE — The Port Angeles Roughriders didn’t have a regional champion but will be sending seven to state, including three who went to the finals, each capturing second place.
The runners-up were freshman Brady Anderson at 106 pounds, Brian Cristion at 182 and Zach Grall at 195.
Claiming third place for the Riders were Kody Steele at 152 and Michael Myers at heavyweight, who nudged Sequim’s Clay Charley 4-3 in the third-place match.
Taking fourth place for Port Angeles were Ozzy Swaggerty at 120 and Corey Roblan at 220.
The Riders captured third in the 15-team West Central District regional tourney, held at Olympic High School on Saturday.
The Sequim Wolves have three advancing to 2A state with senior Dakota Hinton leading the way with a title at 170 pounds.
Luke Mooney took third at 138 and Charley was fourth at heavyweight, losing by the one point to Myers.
Port Townsend
BELLEVUE — The Redskins are sending two to the 1A state championships after junior Addison Harper won the 132-pound title and senior Dylan Kelly took second at 182.
Only the top three from the regional tourney at Bellevue Christian Academy advanced to state.
The Redskins were sixth at regionals.
Harper, 25-10, won by pin in his first two matches and won the title match 14-9.
The junior is hungry this year because he missed state as a freshman when he was injured at regionals and he missed all of his sophomore year because of that injury.
“Addison’s goal is to get a state medal,” Port Townsend coach Stephen Grimm said.
Kelly, meanwhile, pinned his way through regionals.
Alternates to state for the Redskins are Dillon Ralls at 138 and Shae Shoop at 106, who both claimed fourth place, which would have been good enough to go to state last year.
Also going to state for Port Townsend is girl wrestler Kaylee Ditlefsen, a freshman who went 3-1 at regionals to earn third at 124 pounds.
Ditlefsen, who had three pins, was a subregional champion the week before.
Sequim sophomore Emily Halverson went 1-2 at 118 pounds at regionals, just missing a state berth.
