By CHERYL PRUETT
For The Beachcomber
The black cloud of misfortune continues to follow the Vashon Pirate wrestling team. One more member went down to unexpected injury, bringing to seven the number of key varsity wrestlers off the mats. The current injured reserve list includes four concussions, one dislocated elbow, one dislocated shoulder and one broken foot. The silver lining is the pending return of Chester Pruett and Connor Hoisington, who are in the process of getting their required number of practices in before being cleared for competition.
The team was kept busy over the holiday break with practice every day and two major tournaments. On Tuesday, Dec. 29, Vashon hosted the 26th annual Rock Tournament, with 12 teams traveling from across the state to compete in the home gym. The Pirates entered 15 in the tournament with five making it into the semi-finals. Finishing first in his weight class with a dominant performance was Logan Nelson. Making the finals and coming in second was sophomore Hunter Burger. Taking strong thirds were Luke Larson, Shane Williams and Clyde Pruett. Match of the day goes to Nelson for his brawl with a brute from Hoquiam, who kept things interesting all the way to Nelson’s eventual 3-2 victory.
Saturday, Jan. 2, a small squad of 11 traveled to Everett High School to compete in the massive Everett Classic. This tournament features 29 teams from Western Washington and has full junior varsity and varsity brackets. Vashon was the smallest school represented, with almost every other team coming from 3A and 4A schools. The Pirates entered six on the JV side, and all performed exceptionally well, each coming home with a first-place medal in his group. Freshmen Payton Bonaventura, Nicholas Nuxoll and Evan Standford all went 3-0 on the day. Sophomore Alyx Arteaga won all three of his matches by fall. Junior Cori Williams looked sharp against tough competition and was 2-1 for the day. Senior and first-time wrestler Jackson Bard took his group by storm, handily defeating all three opponents.
On the varsity side of the tournament, Vashon entered only five, with two finishing in the top three. Senior Preston Petersen was trapped in a tough bracket and came up just short in his two matches. Senior Shane Williams won his first match by pin before dropping two heartbreakers. Sophomore Burger was sharp, beating competition from Snohomish and Interlake by pin. Pruett won his first two, dropped a close one 6-7, just missing a trip to the finals. He bounced back, winning a six-minute nail biter 1-0 to take third place. Nelson ended the day atop the podium after a brilliant finals match against Meadowdale, 5-4.
Coach Anders Blomgren was pleased with the effort of all who wrestled.
“We had so much fun as a team between matches. I was impressed with our aggressive JV wrestlers and the fact that they were all rewarded with wins. I was also impressed with Clyde’s relentlessness coming back after a tough loss and Logan’s continuing domination. It was a long break with tons of competition. It will be good to have next weekend off,” he said.
On Wednesday, Jan. 6, the Pirates will travel to White River for a dual meet with the Hornets. The team will host the Vashon Duals meet at home on Thursday, Jan. 7. Wrestling is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.
— Cheryl Pruett is the mother of two Pirate wrestlers.
