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Vikings win showdown against Emerald Ridge
[January 24, 2013]

Vikings win showdown against Emerald Ridge


Jan 23, 2013 (Puyallup Herald (Puyallup - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Lyrics from Metallica's "Enter Sandman" blasted through the Puyallup High School gymnasium during warmups prior to the Vikings' wrestling match Thursday night against the Emerald Ridge Jaguars.



The amped-up Vikings didn't disappoint on senior night and cruised to a 47-22 victory in their regular-season home finale.

Puyallup 220-pounder Matt Voss, who pinned Emerald Ridge's Zach Carnicle with just 0.2 seconds left in the third round, said senior night was just another day at the office.


"Emerald Ridge is a really tough school," Voss said. "They fought real hard. We just had a good, solid dual meet. You feel good about it, and it's good for the future of our team, but right now, it's just all practice for when you're wrestling later in the season at regionals and state." Voss said he's been friends with Carnicle since they were in sixth grade.

"We go back and forth every time," Voss said. "He is a really tough wrestler. I'm glad we had a good match. It just happened to be one of those matches where I got it." Joey Meyer, a 195-pounder for Puyallup, said everything will be on the line in upcoming postseason tournaments.

"We've still got a lot of work to do," he said. "It's nice to know that we are seeing some improvement throughout the year. I'm not too worried about the rest of the regular season. We're all just focused mostly on the postseason." Puyallup head coach Aaron Lee was impressed with Tristan Cleck's 7-6 triumph in the 138-pound match against Emerald Ridge's Ethan Stutz.

"Tristan got thrown to his back and was able to escape," Lee said. "He won by one point and was able to hold in the final seconds. That was one of the best matches of the night.

"A lot of our wrestlers in the lower weights stepped up tonight. It was good to see our little guys make an impact. We have been waiting for that all year." Lee expects his team to be mentally and physically prepared for the postseason, beginning with the district tournament in late January. The Mat Classic state tournament will be held next month at the Tacoma Dome.

"It is going to be a tough haul," Lee said. "Our regional tournament with teams from the South Puget Sound League North and South is like a mini-state wrestling tournament right there.

"I know our wrestlers are looking forward to it. It is going to be tough, but the wrestlers that make it there will be ready." Puyallup wrestlers who won their matches against Emerald Ridge opponents were Chris Sprague (pin), Joe Asis (pin), Tyler Grajek (pin), Meyer (pin), Voss (pin), Ryan Colkitt (decision), Tristan Cleck (decision), Brandon Franich (decision) and Trent Nivala (forfeit).

Emerald Ridge winners were Will Mahan (forfeit), Josiah Arnold (decision), Ethan Martinez (pin), Nolan McBride (decision) and Cesar Quintanilla (decision).

___ (c)2013 the Puyallup Herald (Puyallup, Wash.) Visit the Puyallup Herald (Puyallup, Wash.) at www.thenewstribune.com/puyallup Distributed by MCT Information Services

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