By Oliver Lazenby
After a strong opening tournament, the Blaine boys wrestling team looks like it can live up to the school’s decades-long legacy of wrestling success. The seniors led Blaine to a third place finish out of 30 teams at the Return of the Seahawk tournament on December 1 at Chief Sealth High School in Seattle.
Blaine senior Alex Hall won at 145 pounds, senior Jacob Westfall won at 190 pounds. Senior Ethan Deming placed second at 160 pounds and senior Aidan Button finished second at 170 pounds.
New head coach Tom Hinz was pleased with more than the team’s place on the podium. “We’re doing the things that we’re coaching and we’re listening well, so that’s really inspiring,” he said. “We were a pinning team. It was great to see; we were pinning a lot of guys.”
Blaine’s squad this year has nine seniors, including two who placed at the state championship last year – Westfall finished third and Button placed fifth. Hall, Deming and fellow senior George Cheatham all wrestled in the regional tournament.
Hinz has high expectations for the season and is excited about the spread of weight classes his team fills out. Having wrestlers in each weight class is crucial to earning a high team score, as it gives the team more chances to earn points.
“From 113 [pounds] to heavyweight, I really think we have a kid in every weight class who, if they meet their potential, could be a state participant,” Hinz said.
The Borderites will get another test against wrestlers from around the state at the Battle at the Border on Friday, December 7 and Saturday, December 8 at Blaine High School. Wrestling starts at 1 pm. on Friday and 10 a.m. on Saturday.
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