Bellingham, Lynden, Mount Baker and Mount Vernon kicked off the 2024–25 boys wrestling season with a double dual Wednesday, Dec. 4 at Bellingham High.
Mount Baker 54 Lynden 21
Lynden and Mount Baker began their seasons with a double forfeit at 106 pounds. Afterward, six straight matches ended by a pin.
Mount Baker’s Ross Kalsbeck, Breckin Fowler and Isaac DeKriek gave the Mountaineers a 12-0 lead with two consecutive pins. Lynden’s Eliseo Ortiz Lopez got an early takedown then pinned his opponent to give the Lions their first six points.
Gallery: Bellingham, Lynden, Mount Baker, Mount Vernon double dual
However, Mount Baker’s Andrew Monteith, Gavin Compton and Shaun Dugger earned pins to extend the lead to 36-6.
Lynden won three straight matches, starting with Miguel Lopez at 157 pounds winning a 5-2 decision. Luis Meza followed at 165 pounds with a pin and John Jonhston stunned Mount Baker’s captain Wyatt Freeman at 175 pounds, pinning him after leading 6-1 in the match.
Mount Baker ended the match with three pins from Dylan Moa at 190 pounds, Sylis Maple at 215 pounds and Jeremiah Sheridan at 285.
Mount Vernon 56 Bellingham 25
In his first ever dual as a head coach, Bellingham’s Tylor Labelle struggled against 3A powerhouse Mount Vernon. However, the Bayhawks had a handful of wins throughout the dual.
At 113 pounds, Jacob Mccarty won by pin after getting a first-period takedown. James Button followed at 120 pounds with a 10-9 decision victory, picking up three near-fall points as time expired in the third period.
The Bayhawks lost the next six matches, five by pin and one by a tech fall, to trail 41-9. However, Conor Rodriguez Stiff broke Mount Vernon’s winning streak with a pin at 165 pounds.
Alex Scott earned another pin at 190 pounds to slim the team score to 46-21. Heavyweight Julian Montoya won the final match 11-4.
Bellingham 48 Lynden 36
Labelle finished the night with his first dual victory of his coaching career. The coach watched eight of his wrestlers win in a tight battle against the Lions.
Bryant Razo started the dual with a forfeit victory at 106 pounds. Mccarty followed with another pin and Button finished his night with a forfeit victory as well. After taking an 18-0 lead, Lynden responded with six straight pins to take a 36-18 lead.
Artiego Hernandez, Eliseo Ortiz Lopez, Grady VanDalen. Everett Taylor, Ryuu Robeson and Miguel Lopez all won their respective matches by pin. With five matches left, the Bayhawks were looking for answers.
Stiff, Nathan Laas and Scott tied the match at 36-36 with three consecutive pins. At 215 pounds, Sonny Powell earned a takedown in the first period. After battling on top of his opponent, Powell got the pin to make it 42-36.
Montoya battled Lynden’s Gurjoban Khungha for a chance to win the dual. After a scoreless first period, Montoya got on top of Khunga and pinned him to win the match.
Mount Baker 54 Mount Vernon 33
Out of 14 matches, only one of them lasted a full six minutes. The Bulldogs and Mountaineers also split the first six matches to make it 18-18, with Kalsbeck, Dekriek and Monteith winning those by pin.
Compton gave Mount Baker its first lead of the dual with a pin to make it 24-18. However, Mount Vernon responded immediately with a decision and a pin to lead 27-24.
After losing their first matches, Joe Jordan and Freeman picked up pins and Moa extended the lead with another one to make it 48-27. Sheridan ended the dual with a pin and a sweep of the local teams.
Nick Zeller-Singh is CDN's sports reporter; reach him at nickzellersingh@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 104.
