Auburn schools send 17 wrestlers to state

On Feb. 11, the region wrestling tournament came and went, and the Auburn high schools are sending 17 wrestlers to the state tournament.

The boys competed at the 3A Regional Tournament at Edmonds Woodway High School, and the girls traveled to Todd Beamer High School.

Auburn and Auburn Riverside had the same number of wrestlers qualify for the state tournament, but the makeup of those wrestlers is a little different. Riverside has six boys advancing and one girl — junior Gillian O’Neal finished in third place at 125 pounds.

Auburn has three boys and four girls competing at the next level.

Riverside was led by Chase Hansen, who finished in first place of the 106-pound weight division, and Payton Eklund, who finished second. Nate Pritchard had one of the more remarkable runs in the regionals for the Ravens. Pritchard lost his first match of the tournament, but went on to win four matches in a row and clinched third place in the 285-pound weight class.

Bryce Rowland, Quinn Tongue and Mary Rush had the best finishes for the Trojans, winning their division at the regional tournament, while Juan Gallardo-Luna was dropped in the 120 pound finals.

Nayeiri Cisneros and Ashlie Murrufo both moved on to state, sneaking in as fifth placers in the regional competition.

Auburn Mountainview had a solid showing as they battled the titans of 3A wrestling and fierce city rivals. Michael Skarin and Yusif Hesham both placed fourth in their respective brackets. On the girls side, the Lions had Natalie Marcyes-Weeks and Sandy Gayed make it to the main draw of the state tournament in the same eight division, 115 pounds.

The first round of state takes place at 10 a.m. Feb. 17 inside the Tacoma Dome and will continue to Feb. 18.