First-year White River High girls wrestling coach Rich Valdez said he picked up a few more gray hairs Thursday night as the Hornets edged Rogers 37-36 in dual-match action.
Rogers handed the Hornets a forfeit at 100 pounds and WRHS gave one back at 106 for a 6-all start to the match.
“Then the craziness started,” Valdez said.
The Rams pinned White River’s 112-pounder in 25 seconds.
Hornet Morgan Shirey answered with a 59-second fall to tie the match at 12.
White River gave the Rams six with a forfeit and they picked up another quick six with a pin, six more with a forfeit and another pin for a quick 36-12 lead.
Then it was the Hornets’ turn, starting with Dylan Fagan who nailed her Ram opponent in 44 seconds.
Mikaela Kilcup followed up with a 58-second pin and then the Rams turned over a pair of forfeits to tie the match at 36.
“There is a tiebreaker system in place to decide who wins in this situation,” Valdez said.
A series of criteria are used, lettered A through P, he explained.
“We went all the way to the letter I before a winner was declared,” he said.
The Hornets won 37i-36.
“All in all it was an exciting night,” Valdez said. “Both teams were able to wrestle quite a few matches in a dual meet, which can be one of our biggest challenges in girls wrestling.”
The Hornets were also able to get in a number of exhibition matches.
Samantha Mitchell earned Outstanding Wrestler honors at the inaugural Lady Hornets Classic wrestling tournament Dec. 10.
The round-robin, skill-based tournament was a joint effort between White River and Enumclaw high girls wrestling programs. It matched athletes on skill level, weight and experience at three bracket levels – state level, experienced, but not state level and new to the sport. The tournament drew 14 teams from across the state and 125 wrestlers.
Mitchell won the upper weight division honor, 137 to 275 pounds, after topping the 195-pound experience bracket.
Kilcup scored three first-round pins on her way to the 170-pound experience bracket championship. Fagan finished second at 155 pounds with two pins.
The Lady Hornets were scheduled to be at the Rogers Holiday Tournament Saturday; results will be available at courierherald.com.
