The Sumner High wrestling squad’s 56-24 loss to a determined Steilacoom Jan. 26 rendered the following evening’s South Puget Sound League 2A engagement at White River a bit less meaningful.

Coming into the meeting with Steilacoom, both Sumner and White River boasted untarnished SPSL 2A marks and Sumner’s Thursday rendezvous at White River was being billed as a battle for the league crown.

As fate would have it, Sumner suffered its initial league setback of the 2010-11 campaign on the eve of the big event, spoiling the showdown.

White River featured nine upperclassmen in the 60-15 defeat of the Spartans, three of whom were awarded forfeit victories.

Sumner’s roster was graced by the presence of a single senior, team captain, 152-pounder Matthew Wilson. He accounted for one of the few positive Spartan outcomes during the evening’s proceedings. Wilson dominated his WRHS foe, notching a 14-1 major decision.

The only other Spartan highlights were furnished by 125-pound, junior Markus Forhan and 130-pounder Jed Schliesman. While the experienced Forhan recorded a 17-2 technical fall, Schliesman earned a pin in 48 seconds.