By John Leggett

The Courier-Herald

The Bonney Lake Panther wrestling squad came back from the holiday season an undefeated 3-0, but suffered a tumultuous double whammy of losses.

The first came Jan. 6 when Bonney Lake hosted Peninsula High and clearly underestimated a vastly improved young group of Seahawks, losing 46-30.

“I think we stunned them,” Peninsula coach Ron Powers said after the mild upset. “There were a half dozen great battles tonight and I think they expected to prevail in the close ones and they didn’t. I was really proud of our guys for marching into hostile territory, sucking it up and not being afraid of or intimidated by Bonney Lake like they were last season.”

Then the Panthers took a bus ride Thursday to Buckley.

Once there, they experienced wake-up call No. 2, falling 46-22 to a stirred up hive of Hornet wrestlers who had been edged out by Enumclaw 33-26 the evening before.

White River took it out on Bonney Lake, although the Panthers did accrue a few points from the usual suspects. Andrew Cunningham, the Panthers’ 112-pounder, schooled his foe with a major decision. Next up, 119-pounder Robbie Slick pinned his Hornet opponent in 3 minutes, 19 seconds. Additionally, 145 pounder Nick Bendon earned a 10-3 decision and Josh Peart made it two in a row by claiming a narrow 7-4 decision.

The only other White River win came from Jared Dorsey, who prevailed over WR’s Dave Meagher, with a fall at 35 seconds into the second round.

The Panther grapplers hosted the 16-team Bonney Lake Classic on Saturday, coming in fifth with 111 points. Title belts were secured at 145 pounds by Peart and at 285 pounds by Dorsey. Tahoma High was the winner, gleaning 194 points.

Coach Anthony Clarke said that his team is focusing on improvement each week, as Bonney Lake ever inches toward the state tournament. Bonney Lake plays host to powerful Auburn Mountainview at 7 tonight, Wednesday,.