Woodinville Wrestlers Eliminated at State

Woodinville entered into the Mat Classic and, after the first day, all three have been eliminated from competition.

The Falcons three juniors had some moments in the first round of the state championships, but ultimately fell victim to tough draws and quickly fell out of contention for a top-two finish.

AJ Dedios (119) pounds lost his first-round match before rebounding with a victory in the first match of the consolation bracket. But Dedios found himself paired against one of the top wrestlers of the state in his next match and was eliminated.

Jake Hollister (215 pounds) had a similar run to Dedios, losing his first, but winning his second and losing his third to fall out of competition.

Jason Burrough (285) fought hard in both of his matches, but ultimately could not come up with a win.

All three were not seen as top competitors before the season began and coach Shaker Culpepper said the experience of having been to the Mat Classic will help them in their senior years.

“This is their first time here and now they’ve got the taste of what they’ve got to do to get back up here,” Culpepper said. “Their goals…it’s not about winning your districts or regions, it’s about being here and being on the podium here.”

It’s a slew of the usual suspects at the top of the 4A leaderboard. Lake Stevens is in the drivers seat with a score of 49.5, followed by Moses Lake with 41 points and Graham-Kapowsin with 40 points. Mead had the lead after the first-round, but has fallen back into fourth place with 38.5 points. Tahoma is fifth with 37 points.

It should come down to an interesting race between Lake Stevens and Moses Lake. Lake Stevens has five wrestlers in the semifinal round, while Moses Lakes has an astonishing six wrestlers left with a chance at the state title.

Remarkably the two teams have only one match in the semifinals between one another, which should make for an interesting championship round if the other wrestlers advance (the difference between first and second is four points which could be big in a close race).