Published: Saturday, February 19, 2011
Glacier Peak's St. Marie wins state wrestling title
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Jennifer Buchanan / The Herald
Glacier Peak's Josh St. Marie (left) wrestles Yelm's Marcus Crone during their Class 3A 130-pound championship match.
TACOMA — Before Friday, Josh St. Marie knew he could at least be competitive at this level.
It was a quarterfinal upset of a defending state champ, however, that showed the Glacier Park senior just how good he could be. And a day after a confidence-building victory opened his eyes, St. Marie rolled through two more opponents Saturday on his way to a Class 3A state title in the 130-pound weight classification at the Tacoma Dome. It was the first state wrestling title in Glacier Peak school history.
St. Marie, a seventh-place finisher last year, turned heads Friday by knocking off Enumclaw’s Hunter File, a state champion in 2010, in the quarterfinals. Riding high off that result, St. Marie won his semifinal match 14-6 over Sunnyside’s Rigo Valdez, then dominated Yelm’s Marcus Crone in the championship match before pinning Crone in final minute of the third round.
“That was huge for my confidence,” St. Marie said of his quarterfinal win over File. “I took seventh last year, and I always knew I was up there, but my match yesterday kind of proved it to myself that I had the confidence for a match like this.”
In a final that started with a scoreless first round, St. Marie took control in the second round, building a 9-1 lead. St. Marie could have played it safe in the final round and won by decision, but with Crone having to gamble to overcome a big deficit, St. Marie saw a chance to go for the kill and took it.
“I saw an opportunity,” he said. “He knew he was down, he had to do something crazy, so I knew it was coming. I stayed in good position and I squashed him.”
Two years ago, St. Marie made state at 119 pounds but didn’t place. Crone, meanwhile, won the state title in the same classification. That same year, Stefan St. Marie, Josh’s older brother, won a state title for Snohomish. By his own admission, the younger St. Marie didn’t work as hard at wrestling as he should have before this season. Knowing it was his senior year, and also training with Stefan over the holidays, gave St. Marie the motivation to improve his work habits.
“He has one and knew I wanted one,” St. Marie said of his older brother. “He worked a lot harder at wrestling than I did.”
After beating Crone, Josh was greeted by a group of friends, teammates, coaches and family that included Stefan, who flew in for the weekend.
“That is the coolest thing ever,” said Stefan, who now wrestles at Boise State. “I’m more excited than when I won it.
“He’s always had more talent than me, but he really put it together the last couple of weeks.”
Everett junior Connor Boyce also made the finals, but lost in a second-round pin to Enumclaw’s Kario Wallin. Boyce’s finish gives the family three top three finishes at state. Oldest brother Justin won a state title in 2005, while Taylor, the middle brother, earned a third-place trophy while wrestling for Everett.
Boyce’s Seagulls teammate Jessie Lopez took third place at 119 pounds, two spots ahead of Shorewood’s Brandon Leach in the same weight class. Joel Palabrica of Everett finished fifth at 140 pounds, and Glacier Peak’s Sean Elledge took fifth at 160 pounds. Shorewood’s Matthew Floresca (112 pounds), Oak Harbors Brandon Stratton (145) and Shorecrest’s Drew Arbanasin (152) all earned seventh-place finishes. Oak Harbor teammates Corey Trimbur (103) and Jahleel Vester (112) finished in eighth place, as did Lynnwood’s Nick Ulke (189)
Stanwood girls take fifth
Despite being drastically outnumbered by the other top-placing schools, Stanwood finished fifth in the girls tournament with just three wrestlers. Senior Whitney Weinert advanced to the 135-pound final and junior Laura Charboneau made the finals at 285 pounds. Both had to settle for second, but their efforts, along with the fifth-place finish of junior Casey Mather at 103 pounds propelled the Spartans to a top-five finish.
“Our goals were to get everyone to wrestle Saturday and get a medal, and to be in the top 10,” Spartans coach Bruce VanScoy said. “We achieved all of that. We were definitely hoping to do better in the finals, but we’re happy with how they performed.”
Weinert, who only began wrestling as a junior, fell 7-1 in the final to Kiona-Benton’s Sheridan McDonald, who became the first girl in state history to win four state titles. Weinert said she took pride in not letting McDonald pin her, and was happy with the way her tournament turned out.
“I’m really proud of myself actually,” Weinert said. “It’s my second year wrestling and I’ve worked really hard to get where I am today, and I’m proud of it.”
Everett’s Justine Palabrica lost in Friday’s quarterfinal, but won every match after to finish in third place at 103 pounds.
2A boys
Cedarcrest’s Cody Paxman, the top-ranked wrestler at 152 pounds, bounced back from a semifinal loss to take third place. Paxman, a senior, finished eighth at state last year. Granite Falls’ Jon Poyner, another semifinalist, finished fifth at 215 pounds. Chris Jenkins, also of Granite Falls, finished seventh at 103 pounds. Carlos Toledo of Cedarcrest (130 pounds) and Lakewood’s Alex Wilson (285) both earned eighth-place medals.
It was a quarterfinal upset of a defending state champ, however, that showed the Glacier Park senior just how good he could be. And a day after a confidence-building victory opened his eyes, St. Marie rolled through two more opponents Saturday on his way to a Class 3A state title in the 130-pound weight classification at the Tacoma Dome. It was the first state wrestling title in Glacier Peak school history.
St. Marie, a seventh-place finisher last year, turned heads Friday by knocking off Enumclaw’s Hunter File, a state champion in 2010, in the quarterfinals. Riding high off that result, St. Marie won his semifinal match 14-6 over Sunnyside’s Rigo Valdez, then dominated Yelm’s Marcus Crone in the championship match before pinning Crone in final minute of the third round.
“That was huge for my confidence,” St. Marie said of his quarterfinal win over File. “I took seventh last year, and I always knew I was up there, but my match yesterday kind of proved it to myself that I had the confidence for a match like this.”
In a final that started with a scoreless first round, St. Marie took control in the second round, building a 9-1 lead. St. Marie could have played it safe in the final round and won by decision, but with Crone having to gamble to overcome a big deficit, St. Marie saw a chance to go for the kill and took it.
“I saw an opportunity,” he said. “He knew he was down, he had to do something crazy, so I knew it was coming. I stayed in good position and I squashed him.”
Two years ago, St. Marie made state at 119 pounds but didn’t place. Crone, meanwhile, won the state title in the same classification. That same year, Stefan St. Marie, Josh’s older brother, won a state title for Snohomish. By his own admission, the younger St. Marie didn’t work as hard at wrestling as he should have before this season. Knowing it was his senior year, and also training with Stefan over the holidays, gave St. Marie the motivation to improve his work habits.
“He has one and knew I wanted one,” St. Marie said of his older brother. “He worked a lot harder at wrestling than I did.”
After beating Crone, Josh was greeted by a group of friends, teammates, coaches and family that included Stefan, who flew in for the weekend.
“That is the coolest thing ever,” said Stefan, who now wrestles at Boise State. “I’m more excited than when I won it.
“He’s always had more talent than me, but he really put it together the last couple of weeks.”
Everett junior Connor Boyce also made the finals, but lost in a second-round pin to Enumclaw’s Kario Wallin. Boyce’s finish gives the family three top three finishes at state. Oldest brother Justin won a state title in 2005, while Taylor, the middle brother, earned a third-place trophy while wrestling for Everett.
Boyce’s Seagulls teammate Jessie Lopez took third place at 119 pounds, two spots ahead of Shorewood’s Brandon Leach in the same weight class. Joel Palabrica of Everett finished fifth at 140 pounds, and Glacier Peak’s Sean Elledge took fifth at 160 pounds. Shorewood’s Matthew Floresca (112 pounds), Oak Harbors Brandon Stratton (145) and Shorecrest’s Drew Arbanasin (152) all earned seventh-place finishes. Oak Harbor teammates Corey Trimbur (103) and Jahleel Vester (112) finished in eighth place, as did Lynnwood’s Nick Ulke (189)
Stanwood girls take fifth
Despite being drastically outnumbered by the other top-placing schools, Stanwood finished fifth in the girls tournament with just three wrestlers. Senior Whitney Weinert advanced to the 135-pound final and junior Laura Charboneau made the finals at 285 pounds. Both had to settle for second, but their efforts, along with the fifth-place finish of junior Casey Mather at 103 pounds propelled the Spartans to a top-five finish.
“Our goals were to get everyone to wrestle Saturday and get a medal, and to be in the top 10,” Spartans coach Bruce VanScoy said. “We achieved all of that. We were definitely hoping to do better in the finals, but we’re happy with how they performed.”
Weinert, who only began wrestling as a junior, fell 7-1 in the final to Kiona-Benton’s Sheridan McDonald, who became the first girl in state history to win four state titles. Weinert said she took pride in not letting McDonald pin her, and was happy with the way her tournament turned out.
“I’m really proud of myself actually,” Weinert said. “It’s my second year wrestling and I’ve worked really hard to get where I am today, and I’m proud of it.”
Everett’s Justine Palabrica lost in Friday’s quarterfinal, but won every match after to finish in third place at 103 pounds.
2A boys
Cedarcrest’s Cody Paxman, the top-ranked wrestler at 152 pounds, bounced back from a semifinal loss to take third place. Paxman, a senior, finished eighth at state last year. Granite Falls’ Jon Poyner, another semifinalist, finished fifth at 215 pounds. Chris Jenkins, also of Granite Falls, finished seventh at 103 pounds. Carlos Toledo of Cedarcrest (130 pounds) and Lakewood’s Alex Wilson (285) both earned eighth-place medals.
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