Senior night went according to plan for the Issaquah Eagles wrestling team against the Eastlake Wolves.
The Eagles, who haven’t lost a dual match in KingCo Conference action during the 2016-17 season thus far, kept their undefeated streak intact courtesy of a 63-15 victory against the Wolves on Jan. 19. The Eagles improved their KingCo record to 5-0 while Eastlake dropped to 1-4. Issaquah grapplers capturing victories via pins were Cal Saper (145), Kaleb Solusod (160), Tobin Lewis (195) and Terry Zaragoza (220). Lewis, who pinned Eastlake’s Noah Morse with 1:38 left in the third round, trailed 4-2 in the second round before earning the comeback win. Solusod pinned Eastlake’s Cameron Knusten with 19 seconds left in the first round. Solusod had no doubt his team would take care of business in the final home match of the season.
“It was a really good win for us. We trained really hard for it. Coach (Hyatt) wanted to make sure we were going to take this win and move on to Skyline and Mount Si next week with some momentum,” Solusod said.
The Eagles will face Mount Si and Skyline in a double dual match on Jan. 26 at Skyline High School. The Eagles are looking forward to the opportunity to clinch the KingCo 4A regular season league championship.
“The goal is the KingCo title. That is what we’re shooting for,” Issaquah head coach Kirk Hyatt said following the victory against Eastlake.
Issaquah 132-pound wrestler John Bernardo won by decision. Carson Tanner (106), Nathan Assistin (113), William Tickman (120), Jacob Lerch (126), Kam Solowieji (152) and Dean Pearson (182) each won by forfeit for the Eagles.
Hyatt, who has coached the Eagles wrestling program since the late 1990s, was thrilled to see a large contingent of alumni in attendance at the match on senior night.
“I’m so proud to see some guys come back that I coached way back during my second year of coaching. It is just so nice to know that it is still in their heart and they still believe in the school and the sport. That is so awesome,” Hyatt said of the alumni wrestlers in the gymnasium. “You can’t ask for anything more. It is pretty cool.”
Eastlake wrestlers Eric Plummer (285) and Rogan Kopper (170) earned wins by pin against the Eagles. Plummer pinned Issaquah’s Mitchell Barnes in the first round. Kopper pinned Issaquah’s Chase Helgeson in the third round. Eastlake 138-pound grappler Matt Brookshire captured an impressive 6-0 win against Issaquah’s Ellis Losey.