The White River High girls wrestling team finished third at the South Puget Sound League Tournament Dec. 28.

Coach Rich Valdez was pleased with the finish, but added he and his Hornets were shooting higher. It was a day, he said, of emotional highs, lows and technical issues.

“We’ve been on a roll lately and from a coaching standpoint we felt we had a real good shot at taking home the top spot at this one,” he said. “We had some wrestlers miss weight and I’ll be honest, it hurt us. This time of the season is tough on every team with sickness, injuries and holiday schedules.  It’s the grind part of the season and you just have to keep toughing it out. Whatever happens you deal with it though and I was proud how the girls kept it together, battled and finished as strong as possible in tough competition.”

The Hornets finished 14 points behind Fife, which topped the field with 147 points, and were just five behind No. 2 Rogers at 138.

Hornets Mikaela Kilcup and Sam Mitchell earned championships. Kilcup, 170 pounds, and Mitchell, 195, both earned their title by fall.

Morgan Shirey and Dylan Fagan also made the finals, each finishing second.

Ericka Jackson, 275, Erika Nelson-Selby, 155, and Jesslyn Blue, 145, all took home third-place medals.

Kendra Blue, 130, and Kaitlyn Johnson, 106, finished fifth.

The Hornets get back to work tonight, Wednesday, heading to Enumclaw.