Cruisers send three wrestlers to state tournament

The Eatonville Cruiser wrestling team will send three wrestlers and one alternate to the state tournament Friday and Saturday at the Tacoma Dome.

At the regional competition, in the heavyweight division at 285 pounds, Eatonville's Carsen Pero defeated Castle Rock's Aaron Smiley 8-1 in the opening round. He then pinned Columbia-White Salmon’s Mathias Posini to advance to the championship match. He could not get past Tenino's Andres Capilla-Zamudio, who pinned Pero for the win. Pero’s second-place finish clinched a berth in the state tournament for the second year in a row.

In the 138-pound division, Eatonville’s Kasey Whitney also punched his ticket to state. After pinning Columbia-White Salmon’s Calvin Andrews in the first round, he fell to Stevenson’s Kasen Polzel. Whitney then fell into the consolation bracket and reeled off two consecutive wins over Hoquiam’s Logan Avery and Castle Rock’s Tony Ibsen. This enabled him to capture third place and a berth in the state tournament for the second year in a row, as well.

Eatonville’s Riley McFadden picked up a fourth-place finish at 132 pounds to secure an alternate spot at the tournament.

Coming off her first-place finish at the sub-regional tournament, Eatonville’s Ashlynn Kistenmacher dominated her way to another first-place finish at the regionals to claim a state berth. She pinned Aberdeen’s Claire Mottinger, Rainier’s Maddie Mounts and Forks’ Miley Blanton to take the top spot on the podium.

Tickets to the state tournament be purchased online or at the door. Ticket windows will open one hour before the first match of the day. Tickets are $35.50 for adults and $23.50 for students, military or seniors.