Bothell Pins Hopes On Condon -- Kingco Champion Ready For Region Ii

Sean Condon won the 168-pound championship at the KingCo Conference wrestling tournament last Saturday night. He pinned three of four opponents to sweep to the title.

And he hopes to do the same thing tomorrow in the Region II tournament at Juanita High School. The tournament includes KingCo and Greater St. Helens League wrestlers. The first round starts at 10 a.m. The championship finals are scheduled to start at 7 p.m.

Condon is a senior at Bothell High School. He has lost only three times in 19 matches this season. But he is 11-0 against 168-pound or lighter KingCo opponents.

"The losses he took were when he was struggling with the flu," Bothell Coach Jack Peterson said. "He can do whatever he sets out to do. I think he'll be a dominant force at that weight as long as he keeps his head clear and mind focused."

That has been a strength for Condon since he qualified for last season's state tournament after third-place finishes at KingCo and regionals. He figures he's even better now.

"I definitely feel stronger right now," he said. "I've been a little more confident. My real challenge is going to be regionals."

Condon has been wrestling for only four years, but he has come a long way.

"Out of the four schools we wrestled in junior high and in tournaments, I only won three of nine matches," he said.

Now he wins three or four in a given day.

And he contributes to Bothell's KingCo power in more ways than

one.

"He's a team leader," Peterson said. "When we go out and run as a team, he's always out in front. He's always giving 110 percent."

That attitude is apparent as he heads into tomorrow's tourney.

"I expect to make it to the finals - that's my goal," he said. "And then we'll see how it goes. I fully expect to be in the top two."

He already is the top-seeded regional wrestler from the team that finished second to Inglemoor in the KingCo tourney.

Six more Cougars - 141-pound Shawn Rose (second place), 108-pound Andy Puckett (third), 122-pound Preston Eichmann (fourth), 129-pound Joe Okleberry (fourth), 148-pound Trace Blethen (fourth) and 158-pound Nate Jones (fourth) - also have qualified for their eight-man regional brackets with top-four KingCo finishes. Another Cougar, 178-pound Derek Campbell, placed fifth to earn a winner-to-regionals qualifying match against a GSHL opponent at 9 a.m. tomorrow.

Several of them are strong enough to qualify for the Feb. 18-19 state tournament in Tacoma.

None are stronger than Condon. He should get a chance to improve on his 1993 state performance.

"Last year, my first time there, it was quite a shock to me," he said. "I've never been out in that big of a stadium like that with that many people watching you and that many mats out there. It was overwhelming.

"But it makes you want to be there again."