State Wrestling Match Tough for Eastlake and Skyline High Schools - Only one Athlete Advances

Skyline and Eastlake high schools sent a total of six wrestlers to the Mat Classic in Tacoma this weekend but suffered through a brutal first day that saw only one of those six advance.

Eric Harper of  finished sixth in the 160-pound division for the Wolves lone place. Chris Dallas, the other Eastlake wrestler who qualified for state, did not make it out of the first day, splitting his first two matches before faltering in his third to be eliminated.

 sent four wrestlers to the Mat Classic, but did not score a single team point, as each of its representatives lost their first two matches. Three of the Spartans who qualified were underclassmen, including freshman 103-pounder Joseph DeMatteo. That means Skyline could improve on its state performance in coming years.

Lake Stevens created some breathing room for itself in the 4A team title race in the first half of the day and held on to take the championship at the second day of the Mat Classic.

The Vikings led the 4A division for most of the tournament, but Moses Lake was on their heels much of the way. Lake Stevens  began the day with a narrow lead and relied on a big victory from Steven Walkley in the 140-pound final to ensure that it controlled its own fate.

“Moses Lake was knocking on the door,” Lake Stevens head coach Brent Barnes said after the match. “We needed to close it a little bit.”

Mead finished third in the 4A division with a score of 108.5, followed by Central Valley with 91.5 points and Graham-Kapowsin with 91 points.

Edmonds-Woodway got its first state champion in over two decades (when it was still just Edmonds High) when Ryan DeWeese dominated in the 130-pound division, winning 19-6 to complete his title run. DeWeese is the first Warriors champ since Marcus Requa in 1989, who was in attendance to see the schools second champion in the last 22 years.

“It’s amazing, I’m so proud of Ryan, he did it,” coach Joe Trieu said of DeWeese.