TACOMA — Three Port Angeles wrestlers are alive in their respective winners’ brackets after today’s first session at Mat Classic XXXI, the state wrestling tournament at the Tacoma Dome.
Forks, Port Townsend and the area’s three girls wrestlers from Port Townsend, Sequim and Forks are wrestling in the afternoon/evening session underway now.
Port Angeles senior Daniel Basden reached the Class 2A quarterfinals at 120 pounds for the Roughriders with a first-round win by pin at 1:41 of his match with Steilacoom’s William Smith.
He then earned a 7-2 decision against Burlington-Edison’s John Seth to reach Saturday’s matches unscathed.
Basden will wrestle Toppenish’s Gonzalo Aleman Saturday morning for a spot in the semifinals.
Sophomore Adam Borde also picked up two wins at 126, grinding out a 4-3 win by tiebreaker against Steilacoom’s Vincent Parry in the first round and earning another close call victory with a 9-8 decision against Davis Cook of Burlington-Edison.
Borde will face Othello senior Robert Ramirez in the quarterfinals.
Roughrider senior Riley Gale also reached the quarterfinals with two wins by decision.
Gale defeated Steilacoom’s Johnathan Wegleitner 7-4 to open the tournament and outpointed Tumwater’s Carson Greenwell 8-3. He’ll face Selah freshman Donny Schmidt Saturday morning.
Port Angeles’ Jackson Larson (145), Grant Abrams (152), Jason Kibe Jr. (182) and Dominick Timperio all wrestled Friday but were eliminated.
Sequim’s lone male wrestler, sophomore heavyweight Noah Eveland, went 1-2 and was knocked out of the tournament. Eveland won his first match with a first-round pin at 1:12, but was pinned twice after that to end his run.
