The first day of competition at the WIAA Mat Classic state championship wrestling meet was not kind to the Bellevue area.
Nine of the 17 participants from the area went “0-2 and barbecue,” as some in the wrestling circles refer to a winless first day at state, and only two wrestlers from the city made it to the second day of competition at the Tacoma Dome.
Only Bellevue senior Aki Chinen and Interlake’s Brandae Grein were left standing after day one, and both lost all three matches on Saturday to finish in sixth place.
Bellevue High School sent eight wrestlers to state, with four of those going 0-2 on the first day. Matt Casimes, Matt Verstegen and Eric Ovens each won their first match before being eliminated in the consolation round.
“I’m happy we got so many kids to state, but I’d have liked to see more success at this level,” said Bellevue coach Tom Ovens. “That’s got to be the expectation.”
Chinen, Bellevue’s first two-time state participant in over three decades, won his first match of the tournament in the 119-pound weight class in only 25 seconds with a quick pin of Bonney Lake’s Robby Slick. He then beat Glacier Peak’s Joshua St. Marie 11-8 to advance to the semi-finals, where he lost 12-6 to Hudson Bay freshman Emillo Alcantar, who finished second in the class.
After a loss to Patrick Mucha of North Thurston, Chinen was defeated by Shadle Park’s Darren Bunke 11-9 in the fifth/six place match.
“I wish I could have won the last match of my high school career,” Chinen said after the match. “It wasn’t a match I couldn’t have won if I redid it.”
Chinen, who won the regional tournament and finished second in KingCo, helped Bellevue score 15 team points and finish in 30th. Ovens said the team’s goal was a top-10 finish, but that his team still exceeded all expectations except their own.
“It’s a good foundation,” Ovens said. “When you haven’t had success in the past, you can’t expect to do it all in one year.”
Enumclaw took the 3A title with 174 points.
Interlake’s Brandae Grein may have been the surprise of the area qualifiers. The sophomore went 2-0 in the 152-pound class of the girls tournament on day one, winning both matches by fall.
Like Chinen, Grein lost her semi-final match to Kentwood’s Antonia Navejas, then lost two-straight to finish in sixth place.
Sammamish’s Cameron Akana went 1-2 in the 215-pound weight class, and Interlake’s Preston Mui (103) and Ryuji Kawashima (112) both went 0-2 in the 2A tournament. Newport’s Kevin McCanta went 1-2 in the 4A 145-pound class.
Bellevue Christian’s Tyler Erme, Jon Fouquier and Matt Del Moro all went 0-2.
Other team winners included Sedro Woolley (girls), Orting (1A), Deer Park (2A) and Lake Stevens (4A).
