Lakeside, EV Have Title Shots Eagles Send 10 Wrestlers To A-B; Knights Take 9 To Aa

If numbers count toward a state wrestling championship challenge, both East Valley and Lakeside are in good shape.

The AA Knights dominated Region IV wrestling last weekend and advanced nine wrestlers to Mat Classic IX. Lakeside has a school-record 10 wrestlers competing in Tacoma this weekend.

“We’re extremely confident,” said EV second-year coach Craig Hanson. “We’re exactly where we thought we’d be and do feel we’re in the hunt.”

Lake Stevens, another AA contender, was second last year and qualified 11 to state. Eight are returnees and two placed.

“We got to see them at Tri State and were right with them,” said Hanson. “Toppenish won their tournament and didn’t fare well in our region.”

Monroe, with 10 entrants, and Chehalis, with eight, are other likely contenders. Tahoma returns two state finalists.

Lakeside’s numbers, including five returning state placers, bode well for the Eagles in the A-B competition.

“I gauge us as being in it,” said coach Scott Jones. “But actually, I think other teams have equal shots at it.”

Because several state performers have not returned, the A-B team race is up for grabs among five or six schools, he said.

“We happen to match up at weights against those schools in the second rounds,” said Jones. “So we control the majority of our destiny.”

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: MAT CLASSIC At Tacoma, Friday and Saturday