EVERETT — The first match of Everett’s 42-36 Wesco 3A North dual meet win over Stanwood on Thursday turned out to be one of the best of the night.
Everett junior Anthony Brown, who is ranked 11th in the 195-pound class by WashingtonWrestlingReport.net, faced unranked Stanwood senior Keegan Noel. The two wrestled to a 0-0 tie at the end of the first period before Noel got on the scoreboard first early in the second period with an escape. Noel led 4-1 late in the third period when Brown scored a point for an escape and another for a stalling call against Noel, but Brown was unable to get a takedown in the final seconds of the match allowing Noel to survive with a 4-3 victory.
Despite not being ranked, Stanwood head coach Ray Mather didn’t see Noel’s win as an upset.
“Not in my mind,” he said. “Keegan, he went to state as a sophomore and he tore his labrum last year and had to have surgery on it and didn’t wrestle at all. Now he’s back. He’s a good wrestler. We just didn’t have him last year on the team. He’s a nice addition to get back.”
Noel impressed Everett head coach Brien Elliot as well.
“Keegan wrestled a really good match,” he said.
Mather likes the idea that Noel is flying under the radar with the postseason approaching.
“I think a lot of people who remember him know he’s a good wrestler, but as far as throughout the state, they don’t know who he is,” Mather said. “Which is good, I like it that way.”
Noel’s win gave Stanwood a 3-0 lead and the Spartans increased it to 9-0 when senior Garrett Arrona, who is the No.-1 ranked 195-pounder in 3A, pinned Cash Hatem in 3:40.
The Spartans lead was quickly erased. Everett scored 30 unanswered points thanks to five consecutive pins, four of which came in the low weights. Everett’s success against Stanwood at the lower weights might lead some to believe that is where its biggest strength is, but Elliot said that isn’t the case.
“Believe it or not, our strength is in our upper weights — that’s how good Stanwood is,” Elliot said. “Normally we sweep from 182 to 220.”
Stanwood dominated the meet from 170 pounds and up. Everett’s only victory in the heavier weights came from senior Ric Stewart at 285 pounds.
Still, it wasn’t enough to match the depth of Everett, which after a 36-32 loss to Marysville Pilchuck on Tuesday finished second in the league standings.
“We’re not a good dual (meet) team,” Mather said. “It’s pretty much the story of our year. About 36-40 points is all we can muster, no matter what.
“We don’t have a deep team and we don’t have the numbers, but what we do have is good,” Mather added. “We’ll catch everybody as we get closer to the state tournament.”
Stanwood has finished third in the league each of the past two seasons, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the Spartans won’t be successful at the state meet. Stanwood finished ninth in the state at last year’s Mat Classic.
“When we get to the end we’ll have good quality guys,” Mather said.
Conversely, regular-season success doesn’t necessarily mean the Seagulls will do well in the upcoming postseason.
“We’re not going to look ahead because our district is incredibly difficult,” Elliot said. “We’re going to look at districts and focus on that. It would be very possible for us not to send any kids to regionals. I think (Christian) Bagdadi would be a for sure, but with injury you never know. We’re not going to look past districts, it’s too tough. It’s going to be unreal.”
Just three of the night’s matches ended in a result other than a pin — Noel’s victory over Brown, Everett senior Michael Allred’s win at 152 pounds by forfeit and Stanwood senior Kane Ayling’s 5-4 win over Brett Allred at 145 pounds.
“He wrestled really well,” Mather said of Ayling. “We thought we should have some more points that we didn’t get called for, but that’s just the nature of the beast. That’s one of the better matches Kane has wrestled. He really moved well in that one. I liked it.”
At Everett H.S.
106—Stephon Erosa (E) pinned Kyle Zacharias 1:40; 113—Sean Underhill (E) pinned Mike Mezzone 3:44; 120—Ryan Aboleda (E) pinned Caleb Gae 1:48; 126—Joel Delgadillo (E) pinned Carson Phillips 2:30; 132—Nate McCaughan (S) pinned Riley Solheim 3:00; 138—West Weinart (S) pinned Orlando Villa 2:46; 145—Kane Ayling (S) def. Brett Allred 5-4; 152—Michael Allred (E) won by forfeit; 160—Christian Bagdadi (E) pinned Brett Wilfong 2:33; 170—Arie Van Veen (S) pinned Silvino Garcia 5:33; 182—Anthony Ortega (S) pinned Jasen Bergesen 1:04; 195—Keegan Noel (S) def. Anthony Brown 4-3; 220—Garrett Arrona (S) pinned Cash Hatem 3:40; 285—Ric Stewart (E) pinned Carson Houk 2:55. Records—Stanwood 4-2 league, 13-8 overall. Everett 5-1, 11-2.
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