The Bonney Lake High wresting team finished third during last weekend’s Class 3A state tournament in the Tacoma Dome with a point total of 85.
The majority of those points were accrued when 120-pounder Andrew Cun-ningham claimed the state championship, dynamic 113-pound sophomore Colton Tracy finished second and Chili Sabin, 160 pounds, took third place.
Cunningham shook off adversity to earn the state title, as while wrestling in the semis, he split his eyelid and had it stitched prior to going into the championship challenge against Enumclaw’s Tyke Reid, where Cunningham won with a 4-1 decision.
“What a way for Cunningham to end his fantastic wrestling career. He simply was not going to be denied out there no matter what fate threw at him,” coach Anthony Clarke said of his senior captain, who will be heading to Brigham Young University on a full-ride ROTC Air Force scholarship next year. Cunningham is the first two-time state champion in BLHS history, as he also earned the 103-pound state champion’s belt to cap his sophomore campaign.
Just as he had at the regional tournament two weeks ago at Bonney Lake, Tracy wound up confronting Kelso High’s Josh Newberg. Again, the more experienced Newberg prevailed, this time blanking Tracy 5-0.
“Colton told me after finishing second at state for the second outing in a row to the same guy, that he wasn’t going to let anybody prevent him from claiming the state crown next year,” Clarke said.
Clarke noted that there was more parity in Sabin’s 160-pound weight division than in any other weight class in the 3A phase at Mat Classic.
“Any of those guys could have won the title and Chili lost to the eventual champion from Mercer Island, Blake Johnson, in the semis. Sabin showed a lot of determination and just wrestled his heart out to take third,” Clarke said.
Of the three other wrestlers Bonney Lake took to state, senior Jake Leuders placed fifth at 170 pounds, Matt Yuste took eighth at 145 and Evan Dorsey, at 182, missed placing by one match.
Senior female Panther grappler, Yolanda “Yodi” Lawes took home state champion accolades in the girl’s 112-pound weight class in what was only her second year of wrestling.
“Yodi is a natural in the sport and is a wrestling fiend,” Clark said. “She hopes to take her skill set to the next level after graduating this summer and wrestle for some college. She is truly devoted and I hope some university will give her the opportunity to continue her mat career. I am certain that they won’t be disappointed.”
