Saints survive against Vikings

Interlake holds on for victory against Bellevue Christian

By Shaun Scott • January 28, 2016 6:47 pm
Bellevue Christian 195-pounder Christian Miller pins Interlake’s Jonathan Palagashvili with nine seconds left in the third round.
Bellevue Christian 195-pounder Christian Miller pins Interlake’s Jonathan Palagashvili with nine seconds left in the third round.

In a matchup between schools separated by a mere five miles, the Interlake Saints wrestling team survived against the Bellevue Christian Vikings in a non-league matchup.

Interlake bolted out to a 39-12 advantage but saw their lead slowly evaporate as the match progressed. Bellevue Christian 170-pound grappler Scott Graves pinned Interlake’s Arnav Iyer in the third round, cutting Interlake’s lead to 39-33 with one match remaining in the dual.

Bellevue Christian 195-pounder Christian Miller, who pinned Interlake’s Jonathan Palagashvili with nine seconds left in the third round of their matchup, said his team never gives up no matter what.

“Our coaches instill in us that we don’t quit. That is stuck in our heads. We have that written up on our wall in the wrestling room,” Miller said.

In the final match of the night with the Vikings needing a pin to tie the match, Bellevue Christian’s Alex Irizarry defeated Interlake’s Sohan Goli 9-0. Irizarry nearly pinned Goli in the first round but Goli was able to fend off Irizarry as the Saints held on for a 39-37 victory on Jan. 21 at Bellevue Christian High School. Interlake improved to 6-1 in dual matches with the victory.

The Saints will face the Mercer Island Islanders in a Class 3A KingCo dual match on Jan. 28. The winner of this match will clinch the Class 3A KingCo regular season championship.

Interlake head coach Dave Unwin said his team will be ready for its showdown with Mercer Island with the league title hanging in the balance.

“We match up pretty good. It is going to be super close. It will probably be a lot like this match where it is going to come down to a couple of points. It will probably hinge on something unexpected one way or the other for either team,” Unwin said.

Interlake 132-pounder Kenny Hoang, who pinned Bellevue Christian’s Trevor Paulson in the first round of their match, is ready for the battle against Mercer Island.

“We are going to wrestle hard. We have been working super hard all year long,” Hoang said.

Shaun Scott: 425-453-5045; sscott@soundpublishing.com