Inglemoor High's Young Wrestlers Accept Challenge

The Inglemoor High School wrestling team's long-term investment appears to be paying some unexpected short-term interest.

Five of this season's 13 varsity wrestlers are sophomores, young, tough and still growing.

``This is the best group of sophomores I've ever coached,'' Inglemoor Coach Tom Sewell said.

So far, all five - David Dewey (101 pounds), Aaron Dickinson (115), Jon Mathews (122), Cody Todd (129), and Paul Berzin (190) - have winning records. As a team, the Vikings are undefeated in dual meets, with league victories over Bellevue, Redmond, Newport, and Issaquah.

``I didn't know what to think at first,'' Sewell said. ``The sophomores have been a pleasant surprise. They're getting us points.''

Most of the sophomores came from a strong Northshore Junior High program and are veterans of numerous summer wrestling camps.

``They seem to want to do more and expect more of themselves,'' said senior captain Brian Boatman. ``They never give up.''

A strong group of underclassmen might prove the difference between first place and the rest. With an experienced, proven senior class, the Vikings appear to have a good chance to win their fourth KingCo Conference championship in six years.

The KingCo wrestling schedule resumes tomorrow as teams begin the most pivotal month of the season. The Vikings will visit Mercer Island (3-1 in dual meets), the first of a four-meet run that will

likely decide the league title.

In the following weeks, the Vikings will play host to Juanita, Sammamish and Lake Washington.

``There are a lot of teams that are pretty close,'' Sewell said. ``I scouted Lake Washington, Mercer Island and Juanita, and there's no real dominant team.''

The Vikings' closest meet of the season was against Redmond, which Inglemoor beat 36-30. The Vikings have also competed in four tournaments, finishing no lower than third.

Inglemoor's best tournament showing came at the Wenatchee tournament, in which the Vikings finished second by 15 points.

``The league is a little down this year, but Inglemoor is pretty solid,'' said Mercer Island Coach Paul Jackson. ``They've got tradition and good coaching. There shouldn't be too many surprises. They've got tough kids. We don't match up with them that well. It's going to be tough for anybody to beat Inglemoor this year.''

The Vikings had one of their worst records in recent history last season, going 5-5-1 and finishing fifth in the league. In the four seasons before last season, Sewell had lost only six matches. His current record is 100-36-1 in 11 years as a head coach.

Last season the Vikings were undefeated at Christmas, but lost five wrestlers to injuries. All were not related to wrestling.

``We limped back into the season,'' Sewell said. ``We weren't as good because we didn't have much depth. We lost three or four matches by a few points. They (the injuries) were a lot of freak accidents at home. One guy sprained his ankle skateboarding.''

This season the Vikings have been injury-free and have more depth and balance throughout the weight classes.

Senior Mark Pasion, at 108 pounds, is a defending KingCo champion as is 122-pound senior Josh Chester, brother of former state champion Jason Chester. However, Josh won't be eligible to wrestle until next week. Junior Kelly Craig (168 pounds) was a state qualifier last season. Senior Mark Meissner (178) is off to 9-1 start with a championship at the Wenatchee tournament.

Dickinson is the best of the sophomores.

The rest of the lineup includes senior Justin Meissner (135 pounds), Boatman (141), junior Justin Cloutier (148), junior Kaj Selman (158) and junior Trent Laird (heavyweight).