SWWWC member Alexandra Puzon (left) rolls her opponent on her way to a 1st place finish in the WSWA Freestyle state championship at 95 pounds as a cadet.
UNION JUNIOR JJ Talavera (left) of SWWWC prepares to launch his opponent during a Freestyle match. Talavera would take 3rd place in both Freestyle and Greco at the WSWA state championship in the Junior 152-pound division.
WASHOUGAL SOPHOMORE Tanner Lees (right) from SWWWC works his opponent in a Greco wrestling match. Lees took 1st place in Freestyle and 3rd in Greco at the WSWA state championship in the Cadet 138-pound division.
Area wrestlers competed in the Washington State Wrestling Association state wrestling tournaments recently at the Northwest Sports Hub in Centralia, Washington. This was a USA Wrestling affiliated event. Athletes grappled in Freestyle wrestling on May 8 and Greco Roman wrestling on May 9. Freestyle and Greco are the styles of wrestling practiced in the Olympic games. While similar to the style of wrestling done in high school (called Folkstyle), Freestyle and Greco incorporate throwing an opponent and a few other unique moves. Most techniques used in Freestyle and Greco have application in high school wrestling. Many area high school standout wrestlers participate in these styles to extend their seasons and further develop their wrestling skills. The high school wrestling season runs from mid-November through February. Freestyle and Greco season pick up immediately thereafter, culminating with Fargo Nationals in July.
Over 850 wrestlers competed in the Freestyle tournament in 11 age brackets, and over 450 wrestlers battled in the Greco tournament. Wrestlers as young as 5 years old and some in their 40s took part. Competitors are matched up by weight and age brackets.
There were over 125 wrestling clubs represented, including two local clubs – North County Bobcats and South West Washington Wrestling Club (SWWWC). Matches are two two-minute rounds for Pee Wee through Schoolboy, and two 3-minute rounds for Cadets and above. Matches continue the entire allotted time unless one wrestler is pinned (called a fall) or if a wrestler scores 10 or more points than their opponent (called a technical fall). Some wrestlers had six matches in the same day, testing their endurance as well as their wrestling technique.
For each weight class the top four placers in the Junior and Cadet divisions at this state championship earn right to advance to the ASICS/Vaughan Nationals, July 16-23, 2016 at the FargoDome in Fargo, North Dakota. Our area was well represented with many athletes finishing in the top four and earning a ticket to Fargo. The most dominant performances of the weekend came from Tommy Strassenberg and Ethan Rotundo, both from SWWWC. Each of these wrestlers was undefeated in both Freestyle and Greco, and both either earned a fall or technical fall over every opponent. None of Strassenberg’s opponents even scored a point against him, which is a rare feat.
Results for the SWWWC and the North County Bobcats are shown below:
WSWA Freestyle Championships
Results for South West Washington Wrestling Club
• Scott Lees, Schoolboy, 112 pounds, 2nd place
• Natasha Puzon Girl(Schoolgirl) 113 pounds, 3rd place
• Kayla Brosius, Girl(Schoolgirl) 113 pounds, 5th place
• Noah Talavera, Cadet, 120 pounds, 6th place
• Tanner Lees, Cadet, 138 pounds, 1st place
• Kyle Brosius, Cadet, 152, 8th place
• Daniel Snediker, Cadet, 152, 3rd place
• Alexandra Puzon, Female(Cadet), 95 pounds, 1st place
• Annabelle Helm, Female(Cadet), 95 pounds, 3rd place
• Ethan Rotondo, Junior, 120 pounds, 1st place
• JJ Talavera, Junior, 152 pounds, 3rd place
• Tommy Strassenberg, Junior, 152 pounds, 1st place
• Stephanie Cuevas, Women(Junior), 159 pounds, 5th place
• Marissa Montano, Women(Junior), 159 pounds, 4th place
• Abby Lees, Women(Junior), 198 pounds, 2nd place
Results for North County Bobcats
• Chris Joner, Junior, 138 pounds, 6th place
• Sierra Joner, Women(Junior), 139 pounds, 2nd place
WSWA Greco Roman Championships
Results for South West Washington Wrestling Club
• Scott Lees, Schoolboy, 112 pounds, 5th place
• Noah Talavera, Cadet, 120 pounds, 6th place
• Cyle Workman, Cadet, 132 pounds, 7th place
• Tanner Lees, Cadet, 138 pounds 3rd place
• Daniel Snediker, Cadet, 152 pounds, 5th place
• Kyle Brosius, Cadet, 152 pounds, 7th place
• Ethan Rotondo, Junior, 120 pounds, 1st place
• Wyatt Gaspar, Junior, 132 pounds, 2nd place
• Tommy Strassenberg, Junior, 152 pounds, 1st place
• JJ Talavera, Junior, 152 pounds, 3rd place
• Austin Huynh, Junior, 160 pounds, 8th place
