MILL CREEK — Kamryn Mason doesn’t even want to be here. Well, at least not for too long.
The Lake Stevens junior took just 37 seconds to win the 110-pound division at the WIAA District 1 Girls’ 4A Wrestling Tournament on Friday at Jackson High School, pinning Arlington’s Kyla Brown in the final round. Her quarterfinal (:18) and semifinal matches (3:13) were also won via falls en route to the finals.
“I don’t like to be in there for a long time. The goal is always to get a pin,” Mason said. “So that’s why I’m glad, and I’m proud of how I did today.”
Mason was one of six Vikings to win their weight class – with 12 more finishing on the podium (second, third or fourth place) – powering Lake Stevens (353.0) to a landslide victory in the team championship, beating out Glacier Peak (184.5), Mariner (137.5), Arlington (133.0), Cascade (130.0), Jackson (115.0) and Kamiak (53.0).
“We run our practices hard, and we expect a lot out of the girls that we have,” Lake Stevens coach Krys DuPree said. “So at the end of the day, they just went to work, especially with having three days off (due to inclement weather). … A lot of girls showed up today, which is big, and filled some big shoes, so it’s fun to watch and fun to see.”
Numbers were certainly on the Vikings’ side, with 21 athletes qualifying for the district tournament compared to the next-highest Glacier Peak (14) and Jackson (13), but with deep runs across nearly every weight class, they proved their superiority on a pound-for-pound level.
While Mason wanted to keep her victories short and sweet, she spent plenty of time going around to different mats supporting her teammates. The Vikings’ other weight class winners were Halle Boyland (120), Lily Ganal (130), Kylee Wicklund (140), Alex Harris (155) and Dallas Kautz (170). All six, including Mason, won via falls in the first period during their final rounds.
“You have people that are there and they want to see you succeed,” said Kautz, a junior who won her division by pinning Glacier Peak’s Samantha Wilner at 1:41 in the finals. “It makes you happier when you do succeed, and they’re even there when you lose, like they’re there to support you.”
That cohesiveness, positive attitude and grueling work throughout the season allowed Lake Stevens to overcome limited practice time this week and come out “firing all cylinders right off the bat,” according to DuPree.
Kautz believed this was her “easiest” tournament, but understands she and her teammates will face a new challenge at the WIAA 4A State Championships on Feb. 20-21, where DuPree anticipates another strong showing.
“We’re not finished, we got a lot of work left to do,” DuPree said. “I think if we show up the way that we did today, I think we could have the same results, being a top 10 team this year, if we all show up.”
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Championship Match Results:
100–Alyse Gudde (Arlington) pinned Belyini Pascascio-Umana (Mariner) :47; 105–Cameron Erdmann (Glacier Peak) pinned Payton Tyson (Cascade) :37; 110–Kamryn Mason (Lake Stevens) pinned Kyla Brown (A) :37; 115–Araxi Crew (A) pinned Lexie Oliver (LS) 3:00; 120–Halle Boyland (LS) pinned Jacqueline Moran-Gonzalez (C) :44, 125–Ki Burgess (Kamiak) pinned Jaymari O’Neal (A) 3:03; 130–Lily Ganal (LS) pinned Eliana Shreve (GP) 2:58; 135–Eden Cole (K) dec. Brooke Vandehey (GP) 2-1; 140–Kylee Wicklund (LS) pinned Jannethzy Cortes-Hernandez (M) :49; 145–Emily Ortiz Marquez (Jackson) tech. fall Marisa Denke (GP) 2:51; 155–Alex Harris (LS) pinned Afebia Aemere (LS) 1:30; 170–Dallas Kautz (LS) pinned Samantha Wilner (GP) 1:41; 190–Milana Garcia (M) pinned Nadha Vemmerath-Kulangara (C) :20; 235–Airianna Gilbraith (M) pinned Katie Wheeler (A) 1:58.
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