Inglemoor Wears Mat Crown -- Vikes Stop Bothell, Eye Newport Match

BOTHELL - Inglemoor High's Jared Novak and Bothell's Shawn Rose had last faced off in a wrestling match three years ago - at football practice.

That match ended in a draw when the two tired and decided to stop.

With more on the line and more of a weight disparity, the rematch cost Rose his unbeaten status and helped Inglemoor to a 40-20 KingCo Conference victory at Inglemoor High.

Novak's 13-5 major decision over his former Little League football teammate in last night's 148-pound match gave the Vikings their fifth straight victory and a 24-11 lead in the dual meet. The victory clinched the Crown Division title for Inglemoor.

"When I knew I'd be facing him, I remembered how strong he was then," said Novak, now 21-0.

The pair had never faced in high school because Rose usually wrestles at a lower weight. But when Bothell Coach Jack Peterson inserted Mike Christiansen into Rose's 141-pound spot and bumped Rose and the next four wrestlers up a weight class each, it put the two unbeatens head-to-head.

"I can't get over how strong he is," Novak said. "A move I usually use was (ineffective) on him."

But, alas, a Rose at any other weight does not always look as sweet on the mat.

After a scoreless first round, Novak scored his first takedown 35 seconds into the second round, then traded five one-point escapes by Rose for five two-point takedowns. All but one of the takedowns followed the previous escape in eight seconds or less. Rose fell to 20-1.

The Peterson Switch in the six weight classes did not surprise the Vikings - several said they had heard it might happen - and that showed in the results. The Vikings won four of the six matches affected by the changes - one by pin, one by a technical fall and two by major decisions.

The pin - by Inglemoor senior Tony Carr over Sean Condon at 178 - gave the Vikings a 30-20 lead with two matches to go after Bothell had closed the margin to four points with back-to-back victories. Carr is now 19-4this season; Condon, who usually wrestles at 168, is 17-4.

"We're working with some young guys," said Peterson, in his first season at Bothell. "We've got a lot of first-year wrestlers, and we wanted to bump some of our seniors up and wrestle some of their seniors."

The Vikings (5-0 in Crown, 6-0 overall) finish their regular season tomorrow night at Redmond before taking on Newport next week for the KingCo dual-meet championship. Inglemoor, which improved to 57-3 in dual meets over the past five seasons, can win its fourth straight KingCo dual title and sixth in seven seasons with a victory at Newport.

Despite last night's outcome, this was only the first of at least two big battles expected between Bothell and Inglemoor, the Northshore district rivals. Both are expected to fight for the top spot at the KingCo Conference tournament in two weeks.

Inglemoor beat Bothell by a half-point for last season's title.

"Hopefully, we can carry it over," Inglemoor Coach Tom Sewell said. "You like to think you can keep it up." Other matches

Sammamish 35, Issaquah 32 - Nigel Steere, undefeated at 122 pounds, moved up to 129 pounds for Sammamish and knocked off Issaquah's Tom Kang, previously unbeaten in KingCo matches, with a 9-2 decision. The win came in the middle of four straight Totem wins. Issaquah heavyweight Jesse Schaefer, a sophomore, pinned Kyle Rutledge, who had been unbeaten while wrestling mostly at 190 pounds.