It’s been three years since Robert “Hurricane” Harris drown during a family barbecue at Lake Tapps. The former Decatur High School wrestler went into the lake in September 2011 to retrieve a football that was floating on the water.
It’s also been three years since the Decatur wrestling program started hosted the Hurricane Harris Memorial Invitational Tournament to honor the former standout. And it’s been only fitting that the Gators have won all three of them. The latest Hurricane crown came Saturday for Decatur.
The Gators dominated the 16-team tournament, tallying 216 team points. Lincoln finished second with 143.5 points and Kent-Meridian was third with 137.5. But to further illustrate the Gators’ dominance, the school’s “B Team” finished in fifth place in the team standings with 88.5 points.
Decatur crowned five individual weight champions Saturday at the Hurricane Harris Invite, including titles in four consecutive weight classes. Trysten Dawson won at 126 pounds, Leviticus Arizpe won at 132, Isaiah Diggs took the 138-pound title, Dennis Good won at 145 and Brandon Zimmerman won at 160.
Dawson collected four-straight pins to win his championship, including a 1:47 fall in the title match against Hazen’s Derek Nichols. Arizpe was also dominant at 132, collecting three pins on his way to a 9-2 win in the championship match against Lincoln’s Robert Mathews. Diggs, who finished third as a sophomore last season at the Mat Classic, beat teammate Zach Berry in the 138-pound championship, 6-3.
Good and Zimmerman won a pair of highly competitive championship matches to win their titles Saturday. Good beat Bothell’s Virgil Smith in the 145-pound championship, 2-1, and Zimmerman beat Kentlake’s Josh Beckler at 160, 3-2.
The Gators also picked up second-place finishes from Austin Thomas (113) and Keoni Aparis (152).