Sports SHS senior takes 2nd at girls’ wrestling tourney 10 boys advance to weekend regional By EMILY HANSON emily@masoncounty.com
Kaitlin Woods advanced further in the wrestling postseason than she ever has. The Shelton senior finished second in the 124-pound weight division at the girls’ sub-regional tournament Saturday at Hoquiam High School. Woods entered the tournament as the No. 2 seed in her weight division, earning a
first-round bye. The top four wrestlers in each weight class advance to regionals Saturday at Hoquiam High School. “In her first match, she came from behind to pin her opponent from Ocosta at the end of the third period,” SHS assistant wrestling coach Chris Frazier said. “She had a very close semifinal match with her opponent from Yelm, winning 8-7.” In the first round, Woods took the lead, but then had to fight off her back in the second round. “In the third, she came from behind to secure a berth to regionals,” Frazier said. Knowing she had qualified
for regionals, Woods entered the finals to face Laura Ditell from Foss. “Kaitlin attacked from the beginning of the match and earned the first takedown,” Frazier said. “Ditell is a very experienced wrestler and fought for a reversal and pinned.” Woods finished sub-regionals in fifth last year to be an alternate for regionals. “Woods was the captain and leader of not only the girls, but the entire team as a whole,” Frazier said. “She has a great opportunity next when she travels back to Hoquiam for the regional tournament.” Ten wrestlers from the Shel-
ton boys’ team also advanced through the sub-regional tournament (held Friday and Saturday at Foss) to the regional tournament. “The team wrestled very well throughout the weekend,” head coach Chris Lacy said. “We did not finish as strong as we needed to and that will be the focus of our training this week.” The Highclimbers took third at the sub-regional tournament. That is the highest the team has finished at a tournament this season. As with the girls’ tournament, the top four wrestlers in each weight division advanced to the regional tour-
nament at Bonney Lake High School. “Many of our wrestlers had their best tournaments of the year,” Lacy said. Four Highclimbers finished in second place: Gil Ramos at 126, Chase Salisbury at 138, Benny Olivas at 145 and Hector Gaspar at 160. Three of the Highclimbers — Caleb Ragsdale at 120, Irvin Garcia at 170 and Colton Paller at 182 — finished in third place. Finally, Rudy Mackiewicz at 170, Jesus Jimenez at 182 and Drake Meacham at 220 took fourth place. See WRESTLING on page B-7
Lady Owls win two close games Mary M. Knight girls start district basketball tournament Monday By EMILY HANSON emily@masoncounty.com
know where the team’s performance came from Friday night. “I thought Klahowya was a team we could play with and make them shoot over the top,” Hawkins said. “Klahowya wants to play uptempo, so we really focused on slowing the ball down and playing our pace.” This strategy worked well for the Lady Bulldogs, who went into halftime leading 23-19. By the end of the third, Klahowya had tied the game at 28 points. Throughout the game, the teams tied the score four times and the lead changed 10 times. But North Mason took control in the fourth quarter and never gave it up. The Lady Bulldogs outscored Klahowya 16-6 in the final eight minutes, and held the Lady Eagles off the scoreboard until the clock read 2 minutes, 16 seconds.
With two more victories under its belt, the Mary M. Knight girls’ basketball team will begin the Southwest District IV tournament Monday. As the No. 2 independent team, the Lady Owls earned a bye in the first round of districts with wins against Montesano and Lake Quinault last week. The team will play in the second round at 2:30 p.m. Monday at Castle Rock High School against the winner of the 3 p.m. Saturday game between Oakville and Columbia Adventist. The Lady Owls finished second among the independent schools after winning two close games last week. The team’s first win was a 41-39 victory against the Montesano junior varsity team Feb. 5. “This was a defensive battle throughout the game,” head coach Lance Valley said. “We came out 9-0 in the first three minutes of the game, but then Montesano settled down and we couldn’t get any shots.” With Miranda Sowle in foul trouble throughout the game, Jaycee Valley had to play point guard and did a good job of handling and controlling the defense, coach Valley said. “In the third quarter, we came out very aggressive on defense and that led to an offensive outbreak in the quarter that gave us a little breathing room,” he said. At halftime, Montesano led 20-16. After outscoring Montesano 17-6 in the third quarter, the Lady Owls took a 3326 lead heading into the fourth quarter. “Montesano clawed their way back in the fourth, but Melodie Snyder hit 3-of-4 free throws down the stretch to seal the victory,” Valley said. Carlie Adsero led the team with 17 points and 13 rebounds, while Jaycee Valley had eight points, seven rebounds and three steals.
See LADY BULLDOGS on page B-7
See LADY OWLS on page B-7
Journal photo by Emily Hanson
After a steal, North Mason junior Mikaela Shumaker gains control of the ball Friday during the Lady Bulldogs’ senior night home game against Klahowya.
Not with a fizzle...
Lady Bulldogs earn big senior night victory By EMILY HANSON emily@masoncounty.com
Everything came together for the North Mason girls’ basketball team during its final game of the season. On Friday, the Lady Bulldogs defeated Klahowya 44-34 at home on senior night. “We played really good, I’m proud of my team,” said senior Ali Gibson while wiping away tears. “I wish (the team playing well) had started from the beginning, but I’m happy the young girls get so much time to keep playing,” senior Alivia Sandquist said. “They’re a young team and they’ll do well.” Head coach Dave Hawkins said he didn’t
Mason County Journal - Thursday, Feb. 13, 2014 - Page B-1