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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
February 24, 2011     Shelton Mason County Journal
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February 24, 2011
 
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Shelton-Mason County Journal NMWRESTLING Zac Joaquin earns state title, brother Pedro loses in finals By DEAN SIEMON North Mason High School junior Zac Joaquin achieved what 1,200 grapplers across the state traveled to the Tacoma Dome this weekend have dreamed of- being a cham- pion. Joaquin won the 2A ll2-pound championship match at the WIAA Mat Classic on Saturday at the Ta- coma Dome, defeating Squalicum High School's Ren Bishop 11-9 in overtime. In the third period, Joaquin was leading 9-6 before Bishop earned an escape and takedown as time ex- pired. "It was pretty crazy," Joaquin said. "He got away from me in a split second." Aider both grapplers were de- fending each other's attempt in the first minute, Zac Joaquin was able to defend a takedown attempt from Bishop and gained position for the two points. "I was looking for the switch for a split second he showed an opening," he said. "I still had to work for it." The North Mason junior said he began Testling in 2006 while in eighth grade "I've always wanted a state cham- pionship," he said. "But I knew I had to work hard and it feels great." But only hag.the battle is win- ning the state championship, as Joaquin is already thinking about defending his title next season as a senior. "That means I have to step it up way more this year," he said. "There're some certain moves I want to work on, defensive ones." "We're already planning an off- season program for him," said North Mason head coach Tony Coppinger. "He'll be better next year." the glory of a state championship, another was unable to repeat the same success. Sertior Pedro Joaquin, Zac's "I've w; into true I teammates." brother, faced a familiar foe in North Kitsap High School's Jake Velarde during the 2A ll9-pound championship match, who won the 2010 championship at the same weight. "This season, I knew Jake was going to be tough," Pedro Joaquin said. "And if I wanted to hang with him, I had to work hard." Velarde was able to match the North Mason senior's speed in a 6-2 decision on Saturday. The two wrestled to a de- cision where Velarde won at the North Mason invitational tourna- ment in January. Pedro Joaquin was scheduled to wrestle Velarde during the 2A Re- gion III tournament the week be- fore but pulled out due to illness. "I thought people would think I coward out, but I didn't, I was ill," Pedro Joaquin said. "To wrestle him in the state finals, it felt great." said after giving everything he had on the mat, wrestling in the state finals was a good way to end his North Mason See Joaquins on page C-5 Journal ~hotos by Dean Siemon Above, North Mason High School junior Zac Joaquin gives a hug to head coach Tony Coppinger after winning the 2A ll2-pound championship on Saturday at the WIAA Mat Classic on Saturday. Right, North Mason senior Pedro Joaquin, who finished second at 119 pounds, is shown wrestling Bellingham High School's Nolan Takemura during Friday's preliminary rounds of the Mat Classic. SHSWRESTLING Journal photo by Dean Siembn Shelton High School's Colby Barber attempts to bridge out of a pinning attempt from Mariner High School's Alex Coffman on Friday at the IAA Mat Classic at the Taco- ma Dome. By DEAN SIEMON While the three Shelton High School Highclimber wrestlers who competed at the 4A WIAA Mat Classic wrestling tournament had high expectations, the competition at the Tacoma Dome was too much. In the first day on Friday, all three" Highclimbers were elimi- nated in the double elimination rounds. "It's the top 16 in the state and you have to bring you're A-game," said junior Ty McCullough, who competed in his second Mat Clas- sic. While many of the more than 500 wrestlers (ranging from 1B to 4A) feel the nerves and emotion from the tournament, some felt went 0-2 for the second straight season. McCullough's day first started with an 11-0 decision loss to Rich- land High School's Josh Andrew. "My gameplan was to get the first takedown, then it changed to turning him and pinning him," Mc- Cullough said. In a loser-out match, Mc- Culloughwas trailing before being pinned in the final second against Andrew Vulliet from Edmonds- Woodway High School. Sophomore Jakeob Garrick be- gan his day in the 125-pound di- vision with a pinfall victory over Roosevelt (Seattle) High School's Calvin Olds with 10 seconds left. "I was real surprised I was right at home. able to pin a high-level guy like "I've grown up with wrestling all that," Garrick said. "I knew all my my life and it just felt right being matches were going to be tough," here," said Shelton junior Colby But he was unable to get a good Barber. start in his second match, where At 112 pounds; McCullough See Climbers on pageC:4 • Thursday, Feb. 24, 2011- Shelton-Mason cOunty JoUmai : Page c,1