Jason Moody East Valley Year: Senior Sport: Wrestling Event:190 Pounds

Jason Moody reminded a Dream Duals fan of his favorite cartoon.

In the drawing, according to the man, a stork has a frog nearly swallowed except for the amphibian’s front legs, which are wrapped around the bird’s neck.

The caption reads: “Never give up.”

Moody capped a 3-0 day at the non-sanctioned state dual championships by pinning his counterpart from Sedro Woolley. Pins were common at last Saturday’s tournament at Auburn High, but Moody notched his after trailing 13-2.

“He was kind of gassing out, throwing his head over my shoulder,” said the East Valley 190-pounder. “I just grabbed his head and hoped for the best. He already had me, so I thought I might as well take a chance.”

Two days before the Dream Duals, Moody nailed down the No. 1 seed into this weekend’s District 7-AA Tournament by defeating Josh Paparazzo of Colville 12-11.

Moody (23-6) entered the year thinking he could place at state. His head didn’t inflate after he had three pins against some of the state’s best Class AA teams.

“The guys who were there - it was because their teams made it,” said Moody, adding that Mat Classic qualifiers will reach the Feb. 17-18 tournament in Tacoma on their own merits.