Arlington Eagles send 10 wrestlers to regionals

MARYSVILLE — The Eagles sent a pair of wrestlers to the championship matches of the Western Conference tournament Feb. 6, but were unable to secure any titles.

"With a little bit of luck, some of those could have gone the other way, but we're not interested in anything but getting to wrestle next week," said Arlington coach Shaun Williams.

And for 10 of Williams' boys, that will happen as Arlington qualified two hands full of spots at the regional tournament Feb. 13 at Auburn High School.

Leading the way for Arlington were Nathan Shortt at 145 pounds and Dustin Ward at 152, both of whom finished runner-up in their weight class.

Wrestlers had to finish in the top eight of their bracket to advance. Also earning a regional seeding was Blake McPherson (3rd place, 160 pounds), Seth Henderson (4th, 171), Brady Quinton (4th, 215), Ben Torve (3rd, 285), Hunter Amundson (5th, 125), Chris Berg (7th, 135), Daniel Lopez (8th, 135) and Matt Badgley (8th, 140).

"All of the guys we thought would make it, did," Williams said. "There were no surprises. I think we could have finished a little higher, but I'm happy with where we are."

Arlington finished sixth with 199 points. Crowned conference champion was defending 4A state winner Lake Stevens with 399 points.

While Williams praised his wrestlers in the championship matches, he also pointed out the effort of two alternates, Joseph Nunez (112 pounds) and Cole Himmelspach (152).

Contact Arlington Times Sports Reporter Travis Sherer at tsherer@marysvilleglobe.com or 360 659-1300 Ext. 5054.

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