Cruiser Wrestlers Podium At State

The Eatonville Cruiser wrestlers that competed at Mat Classic XXXIV State Championships this past weekend and the Tacoma Dome all managed to podium and finish within the top 10 in their weight classes.

Eatonville wrestlers Kasey Whitney, Carsen Pero, and Ashlynn Kistenmacher stop to pose for a photo following their successful day at the State wrestling tournament in Tacoma. Photo: Gayle Pero

Sophomore Ashlynn Kistenmacher battled her way through and took home a 4th place finish in the 120lb weight class.

Kistenmacher would receive a bye in the opening round due to her winning the regional championship the week before. That would put her in the quarterfinals. She would wrestle Jayde Coleman from Naches Valley and would lose by an 8-6 decision, dropping her into the consolation rounds.

In her first match in the consolation bracket, she would win that match over Life Christian's Tebisi Wright in an ultimate tie-breaker 6-5.

She would receive a victory via a medical forfeit in her next match when Mary Walker's Serenna Swiger wasn't able to compete due to a dislocated elbow in her previous match.

In the consolation semifinals, she faced Afton Wood out of Okanogan HS. She would defeat her by decision, 8-6 putting her in the 3rd/4th place match.

In the 3rd/4th place match, she would come up against Jayde Coleman again, but this time Coleman would come out on top in a 12-6 decision giving Kistenmacher a 4th place finish.

Senior Carsen Pero wrestled in the 285lb weight class and came away with a 4th place finish.

In the opening round, Pero would fall to Wapato's Angel Leyva by pin dropping him into the consolation bracket.

In round 1 of the consolation bracket, Pero received a bye directly to the next round. He would take on Gavin Chaffee of Medical Lake and pin him to advance.

In his next match, he would take on Tenino's Andres Capilla-Zamudio who defeated Pero in the regional championship match the week prior. This time it was Pero who would come out on the winning end, as he took down Capilla-Zamudio in a 4-3 decision to put him into the consolation semifinals.

In that semifinal match, Pero would pin Omak High School's Noah Bigboy-Gribble to set himself up for a possible 3rd place finish.

In the 3rd/4th place match, Pero would fall to Toppenish High School's Miguel Camacho via a sudden victory (overtime) and that would hand Pero a 4th place finish.

In the 138lb weight class, Eatonville's Kasey Whitney would take home a 6th place finish.

Whitney would pin Klahowya's Kano Clare in the opening round putting him in the quarterfinals.

In his quarterfinal match, Whitney would fall to eventual champion Marcos Torrez out of Toppenish High School to drop him into the consolation rounds where he would defeat Omak's Jesse Garcia by a 9-decision. He would then pin Blaine High School's Cal Fitzgerald in the next round, before falling to another Toppenish wrestler, Ruben Rios.

That would put Whitney in the match for 5th/6th place where he would lose to King's Way Christian's Ashton Baker by a 5-4 decision.

Both Head Coach Mario Ragazzo and girls coach Trinity Potter were very proud of their wrestlers that made it to state.

"Our wrestlers represented the community with pride!! They left it all on the mat and overcame adversity all tournament long. I'm very proud of their finish and the amount of heart they wrestled with," Ragazzo said.

"Ashlynn has put in so much work to get to State and her perseverance has paid off! Placing 4th as a sophomore only allows her to shine over the next 2 years of her wrestling career. We all look forward to her growth and achievements that lie ahead. It is an honor to coach our kids at EHS and these kids make it so worth it," said Coach Trinity Potter.