It was almost as if the youngsters were receiving a Christmas present early, when Sumner High’s wrestling squad hosted Bonney Lake Dec. 10 in the annual rivalry match, which came substantially earlier than usual.

The gift, as things turned out, was a little something bestowed upon a large throng of local high school wrestling fans, who were the grateful recipients of an intense showdown which the visiting Panthers eventually pulled out by the score of 35-28.

Sumner 135-pounder Tyler Wooding furnished an early 3-0 advantage for the Spartans, winning a 7-3 decision over Bonney Lake senior Patrick Bendon.

The tide turned, the Panthers built a gradual lead and by the time senior 152-pounder Addison Tracy defeated his Sumner challenger, Bonney Lake had accrued a 25-3 upper hand and it looked as if the onslaught was well under way.

The momentum shifted again in this topsy turvy tilt though and saw Sumner slowly battle its way back into the thick of things. The Spartans were not gaining ground by leaps and bounds, but thanks to Sumner’s Shliesman brothers (Jared and Jordan), Colby Grant, Keiffer Comstock, Colin Fielding and a forfeit at heavyweight, the Spartans managed to make things interesting.

Sumner’s 103-pound freshman, Curtis Downing, finally prevailed over James Jackson, getting a five-point technical fall.

With Downing’s victory, the Spartans had come back from a seemingly insurmountable deficit to go up by a slim 28-23 lead.

This seemed only to irritate the Panthers’ Tyler Anderson and Robby Slick, at 112 and 119 pounds respectively, as they both nailed down pins over their hosts to crystalize the final 35-28 score.

“We were fully anticipating Sumner pins at 160, 171, 189 and 215, but that never came to pass as our Evan Dorsey, David Vance, Sam Mebarki and Jared Dorsey gave Sumner a bit more of a fight than it expected,” Bonney Lake coach Anthony Clarke said. “And what about Jackson at 103 pounds? That little freshman fought his tail off to keep from getting pinned.”

“This is sort of a rebuilding year for us, so we are probably not going to win a lot of dual matches,” Sumner coach Jeremy Horsley said. “Our goal is to get some kids back to state and finish among the top 10 as a team this time around.”

While 0-2 Sumner travels to Franklin Pierce tonight, Wednesday, 2-0 Bonney Lake will host Lakes High. Both matches begin at 7 p.m.

Reach John Leggett at jleggett@courierherald.com or 360-802-8207.