Nick Karis continued his dominating wrestling season with an ultra-impressive performance at the inaugural South Puget Sound League All-Division championships at Auburn High School.
The Decatur High School sophomore remained unbeaten after winning the 160-pound title with a pin over Enumclaw’s Kario Walin in the championship. The win improved Karis’ record to 17-0 on the season.
The 160-pound title also earned Karis the coveted Wrestler of the Meet during the SPSL All-Division championships Wednesday and Thursday, which included all 31 Class 4A, 3A and 2A schools in the league.
Making Karis’ title even more impressive is the fact that Walin finished second at last year’s Class 3A state tournament at 160 pounds. Karis finished one match short of qualifying for the 2010 Mat Classic as a freshman.
The performance led Decatur to a ninth-place finish at the SPSL All-Division championships. Enumclaw won the title with 198.5 points, Auburn finished second (187.5), Graham-Kapowsin was third (184) and Tahoma finished fourth with 167 points.
Although Karis was the lone Federal Way school district champion during the SPSL championships, both Beamer and Jefferson had a pair of wrestlers lose in title matches.
Ares Carpio and Deshar House lost in back-to-back weight classes Thursday for the Titans and TJ’s Zeke Nistrian and K.W. Williams also finished second.
In a rematch of a final from last year’s state championships, Rogers’ Joey Palmer got a little revenge against Carpio in the 125-pound final Thursday at Auburn.
Palmer tallied a two-point takedown with just over 30 seconds left to break a 1-1 tie and went on to win a 3-2 victory over Carpio. The victory allowed Palmer (16-0) to avenge a disappointing 9-3 defeat in the state final after winning both the league and regional titles over Carpio a season ago.
House, who also wrestled at last year’s state tournament, was beaten by Enumclaw’s Hunter File in the 130-pound final, 10-7.
Nistrian dropped his first match of the season in the 152-pound championship to Enumclaw’s Josh Musick, 13-4, and Williams was beaten by Emerald Ridge’s Colten Williams, 4-1, in the 189-pound final for the Raiders.
South Puget Sound League All-Division Championships
at Auburn High School
Team scores — Enumclaw 198.5, Auburn 187.5, Graham-Kapowsin 184, Tahoma 167, Rogers (Puyallup) 117.5, Bonney Lake 115.5, Kentwood 114, Bethel 112, Decatur 109.5, Emerald Ridge 106, Jefferson 100, Kentridge 86, Curtis 81, Kentlake 77, Kent-Meridian 68, Lakes 67, Fife 62.5, Steilacoom 62, Peninsula 62, Auburn Riverside 60.5, Beamer 58.5, Federal Way 49, Eatonville 48, Mount Rainier 45, Auburn Mountainview 44, Puyallup 43.5, Spanaway Lake 35, Washington 25.5, Franklin Pierce 20, Sumner 20, Clover Park 3.
CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHES
103 — Eddie Cuevas, Curtis, dec. Brian Alonzo, Auburn, 9-4.
112 — Ruben Navejas, Kentwood, maj. dec. Andrew Cunningham, Bonney Lake, 8-0.
119 — Bryce Evans, Rogers, dec. Steve Hopkins, Tahoma, 3-0.
125 — Joey Palmer, Rogers, dec. Ares Carpio, Beamer, 3-2.
130 — Hunter File, Enumclaw, dec. Deshar House, Beamer, 10-7.
135 — Ian Steen, Graham-Kapowsin, pinned Lucas Somera, Enumclaw, 1:59.
140 — Adam Garcia, Auburn, dec. Tanner Sturdervant, Graham-Kapowsin, 6-5.
145 — Grant Steen, Graham-Kawpowsin, maj. dec. Austin Henderson, Bethel, 9-1.
152 — Josh Musick, Enumclaw, maj. dec. Zeke Nistrian, Jefferson, 13-4.
160 — Nick Karis, Decatur, pinned Kario Walin, Enumclaw, 1:56.
171 — James Souza, Emerald Ridge, dec. Lucas Huyber, Auburn Mountainview, dec. 9-6.
189 — Colten Williams, Emerald Ridge, dec. K.W. Williams, Jefferson, 4-1.
215 — Dylan Rutledge, Auburn, pinned Jonnie Mooney, Emerald Ridge, :56.
285 — Nick Conlan, Auburn, pinned Jean-Claude Atkinson, Kent-Meridian, 1:49.
Outstanding wrestler awards — Palmer, 125, and Karis, 160.