ARLINGTON In their first competition of the year, the Eagles wrestling team hosted the junior varsity tournament Saturday, Jan. 6.
First-year coach Doug Byers said the annual tourney is one of the last of the season for JV kids and has been running for approximately seven to eight years.
A total of 22 schools and 450 teen grapplers were guaranteed at least three matches and instead of breaking it down by weight class they were grouped in categories such as A, B, etc.
It is good because it gives JV kids good experience, Byers said.
Senior Lady Eagle Jennifer Jayne, the returning state champion, won her first match of the day by pin.
Jayne pinned Natasha Grow of Lake Stevens in the third period.
I think I couldve done better. There is definitely some stuff I need to work on, she said with a smile afterward.
She said Grows blood timeout disrupted her rhythm, but overall she felt pretty good with her performance.
Sophomore heavyweight Matt Kratzer rallied to defeat Tyler Hall of M-PHS 4-3.
The two battled it out through all three periods before Kratzer finally escaped with the one-point victory.
In another heavyweight battle, Darrin Madrid was pinned by Ricky Dschaak of M-PHS.
The official and final results were unavailable at press time.
Arlington returns to league action Wednesday, Jan. 10, when they travel to face league leader Lake Stevens.
The Eagles return home Friday, Jan. 12, to face the Monroe Bearcats.
JV begins at 5:45 p.m. and varsity hits the mat at 7 for both matches.