Middle school wrestlers prevail in Forks match

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Twenty-two middle school wrestlers from Port Townsend and Chimacum headed west to Forks last week, hopping on the mat for the fourth wrestling meet of the season.

The team compiled a 22-17 record at the
March 15 event, with a total of 39 matches played.

“Once again, we came to wrestle and it was great to see so many different kids step up today with some great matches,” said Coach Joe Banks.

Young grapplers Dane Moore, Aiden Glenn, Brayden Lane, and Seth Neilsen were meet standouts.

Going 2-0 through the evening, Blue Heron sixth-grader Moore won his first match in overtime.

“Dane has an athletic double-leg takedown shot and is very good on his feet,” Coach Steve Grimm said. “His first attempt in regulation was deep and solid, but he paused just long enough for his opponent to sprawl out and get the two points from an effective come behind.”

“In overtime, Dane improved his offense and drove through on his first take-down attempt, not allowing his opponent to even attempt to sprawl. It was a beautiful thing,” Grimm added.

Moore won his second match by fall in the first round.

Chimacum seventh-grader Glenn has compiled a 7-2 record so far this year.

“We are thrilled to have 11 Chimacum Middle School wrestlers on the team this year. Aiden is one of the leaders of this group, both through hard work and communication,” Coach Ryan White said. “He also impresses the coaching staff by shaking each coaches’ hand and thanking them at the end of practice. He is the type of athlete that is a pleasure to mentor. He reminds me of Silas Klontz.”

Moore got thrown on his back during his first match at the Forks meet and was nearly pinned. After the first round was over, he earned a bloody nose. Moore had quite the comeback in the second round, deciding he’d spent enough time looking at the ceiling lights of the Forks gym, and decided to get aggressive and pin his opponent later in the match, White said.

Blue Heron eighth-grader Lane had a great overall performance in Forks, getting revenge on his familiar Port Angeles foes.

“Brayden had an exceptional night tonight. He is in his first season of trying out this sport and has had some challenges with the Port Angeles boys,” said Coach Jim Wilcox. “Those two heavyweights are aggressive wrestlers and had both beaten Brayden in previous events.”

“Tonight, Brayden went out there with an attack-style wrestling mentality. He pinned both Port Angeles wrestlers in a feat of mental strength,” Wilcox added.

Chimacum eighth-grader Neilsen was one of the two team captains in Forks, and demonstrated solid leadership ability with his peers.

“David [Henry] and Seth spent time creating our team warm-up for the night, then they went out and led the team on the mats to start the event,” Coach Banks said. “Once Seth found out who his opponents were for the night, he worked diligently with his coaches to think of the proper takedowns to use in each event.”

Beyond his ability to game plan, Neilsen possesses a long, lanky frame that allows him to utilize his style and add new moves to his arsenal each week.

“This week, we saw Seth use an effective ankle-pick to go 2-0 on the night,” White said. “Seth Neilsen has a 6-1 record through four events this season, in his first year of middle school wrestling.”

The middle school grapplers were scheduled to head on the road next week to complete their final regular meet of the season in Port Angeles.