Lucky Number: 13 West Sound wrestlers reach semifinals at Mat Classic
South Kitsap sends a half dozen wrestlers into the semifinals after the first day of action at the Tacoma Dome.
Jeff Graham
West Sound's five defending state wrestling champions were among the 13 competitors who grabbed spots in the semifinals following Friday's matches at Mat Classic XXXIV at the Tacoma Dome.
South Kitsap junior Stone Hartford and senior Mitchell Neiner, 4A boys champions in 2022, were two of six Wolves to reach the final four. Picking up pins in his first two matches at 132 pounds, Hartford faces No. 1 seed Alejandro Fernandez of Sunnyside in Saturday's semifinals round, which begins at 10 a.m. Neiner earned two technical fall victories as the No. 1 seed at 138 pounds. He'll face a teammate in the semifinal round, sophomore Braden Shook, who won a pair of two-point matches.
South Kitsap sophomore Gabriel Fragoso edged Central Valley regional champion Danner Smith 4-3 to reach the semifinals at 170 pounds, while senior Phillip Chobot combined a 29-second pin and a technical fall victory to earn his spot in the final four at 182 pounds.
South Kitsap's boys were in third place in 4A at the conclusion of wrestling Friday. The Wolves' 66.5 points trailed Chiawana (80) and Tahoma (69.5).
The Wolves' sixth semifinalist, senior Monica Kaiser, reached the final four at 145 pounds in the girls' 4A/3A tournament. She scored a pair of victories by pin.
In the 2A boys tournament, Bremerton junior Lars Michaelson and senior Thor Michaelson appeared primed to repeat as state champions. The brothers combined to record a pin and three technical falls to cruise into the final four, Thor at 170 pounds and Lars at 182 pounds.
North Kitsap matched Bremerton with a pair of semifinalists: junior Ben Gomez at 182 pounds and senior Sofian Hammou at 220 pounds. Gomez pinned Sedro-Woolley regional champion Owen Carpenter in the quarterfinals to reach the final four, while Hammou scored a pair of first-period pins to gain entry into the semifinals as he looks to repeat as a state champ.
North Mason senior Jake Mathews made the final four at 152 pounds in 2A. He'll face Ellensburg's Fransisco Ayala, a state runner-up in 2022, in the semifinal round.
In the 1A boys tournament, Klahowya senior Logan Wallis punched his ticket to the semifinals at 160 pounds. Like Mathews, he'll draw a state runner-up from 2022: Toppenish's Seth Ordaz.
Olympic's Alexandria Templeton, who placed second at state last year, is in the semifinals of the girls' 2A/1A/B tournament at 120 pounds. She recorded a 32-second pin in the quarterfinals after receiving a first-round bye.
