In the battle between the two top Class 3A wrestling teams in the state, Enumclaw retained its status as No. 1 Wednesday night with a 39-36 victory over Bonney Lake.
The defending 3A champion Hornets threw everything but the kitchen sink at the No. 2-ranked Panthers and the Panthers returned the favor in the South Puget Sound League 3A season opener.
With three Hornets sidelined, the Enumclaw High girls wrestling team proved it has some depth as three earned third-place finishes at the Yelm tournament Saturday.
An added bonus, the Lady Hornets earned two wins by technical fall. Coach Jerry Scheidt said in its five-year history, the team has posted five technical falls.
“That just shows how far we’ve come,” Scheidt said.
Danielle Cormier, 155 pounds, Logan Erskine, 170, and KC Lynn Moulden, 275, were the Hornets’ third-place winners. Kasandra Renfrow finished fifth at 170 pounds.
With three champions, a runner-up and enough depth to produce a bevy of medal winners, Enumclaw High carried away the big trophy at Saturday’s White River Classic wrestling tournament.
The Hornets topped some of the toughest 1A, 2A, 3A and 4A teams in the state with 212 points. Despite putting five wrestlers in the finals, South Puget Sound League 3A rival Bonney Lake didn’t produce a winner and finished second with 169 points.
Enumclaw and Bonney Lake square off Wednesday night on the Panthers’ home mat in the SPSL 3A season opener. The Hornets will put its 37-match league win streak on the line in the 7 p.m. contest.
Graham-Kapowsin was third with 167, defending 1A state champion Orting finished fourth with 161.5. Yelm was fifth with 153.5. Sunnyside from eastern Washington was sixth and host White River finished seventh among the 16 teams.
Right out of the blocks in the season opener Thursday, the Enumclaw High boys 200-yard medley relay qualified for February’s 3A state meet.
The Enumclaw School District’s clothing bank is sending out the call for new socks and underwear.
Six years ago, the White River School District was staring at lackluster test scores, a dismal on-time graduation rate of 51 percent and a dropout rate at 13 percent.
Hard work, a love for people and a zest for life are the keys to living to centenarian status, said Milla Slettedahl.
Local business owner Ted DeVol made a plea to the Enumclaw School Board to provide high school students with training to fill a need in the manufacturing industry.
White River School District Superintendent Tom Lockyer announced his retirement Monday afternoon during the State of the District address at White River High School.
Lockyer plans to close out his seventh year July 1 and turn over the reins of the district to current Deputy Superintendent Janel Keating.
“The timing is right,” Lockyer told the crowd gathered to celebrate the district’s successes.
Lockyer has spent more than 40 years in education, the past six and a half as White River’s leader.
The White River School Board approved a three-year contract with the district’s Public School Employees union during its Nov. 16 regular meeting.
Just a few days into practice and Enumclaw High’s girls wrestling team is looking good. The Hornets finished 21st at the 3A state tournament in February and have been anxious to get back on the mat since.
With a multitude of returning state-participating swimmers and divers, the Enumclaw High team expects to better last season’s Top 20 state finish.
Coach Joe Klein doesn’t mince his words when he looks at the gaping hole graduation has left in the White River High wrestling room.
