SILVERDALE — There was a brief moment of anticipation among the crowd as rival Central Kitsap threatened South Kitsap’s two-decade long Narrows League domination.
But the bustle ended quickly as the Wolves won the final seven matches to claim their 187th consecutive dual league win since 1992 with a 49-28 victory Tuesday night.
After Illya Tsveytkov and Kyle Kennedy gave South a 12-0 lead with forfeit wins at 195 and 220 pounds, the Cougars responded by winning five consecutive matches to take a 28-12 lead.
That is when the Wolves’ depth in the middle weight classes was accentuated. Perhaps none were more significant than one of the few close matches of the contest — Adam Lutovsky’s 10-9 win against Brad Schaffer at 138.
“That kid was really tough,” Lutovsky said. “I was really nervous.”
Lutovsky’s cut South’s deficit to 28-21. The Wolves then regained their lead, 33-28, after Ben de Lacy and Adam Gascoyne earned forfeit wins at 145 and 152. The Cougars forfeited four matches.
Coach Mike Harter said two involved injuries, while the others involved wrestlers not showing up at practice. Even though the latter ones cost his team 12 points, he said he was not willing to be flexible with team rules.
“If they don’t practice, they don’t wrestle,” Harter said. “They sometimes think because they’re the only guy that I’m going to change my mind.”
South, which forfeited a couple of matches, did not secure the win until the second to last match at 170 when Bryce Broome pinned Kyle Stroble in 1:50.
“That is the strength of our team from 132 up,” Nass said. “I thought our seniors stepped up.”
Three days after finishing the two-day HammerHead Invitational, where the Wolves finished fifth, Lutovsky said the team was “beat up and sick.”
Nass tried to counter some of that. He rested heavyweight Damien Medeiros, who remained undefeated after scoring a 2-0 victory against Cody Ring of Ketchikan (Alaska) in the HammerHead. South’s other first-place finisher at that invitational was Caleenda Johnson, who pinned Washougal’s Sara Sanchez in 41 seconds in the girls’ 130 final.
“We wrestled well for two days,” Nass said. “It was a pretty good tournament for us.”
After winning her second HammerHead title with a 4-1 victory against Kelso’s Mireille Powers in the 100-pound girls’ final, CK’s Alison Johnson returned to pin Matt Pace in 5:08 Tuesday at 106.
“That kid came out and got really physical initially,” Harter said. “She weathered that storm and just went to work and did a great job. She did a great job at HammerHead and that carried over.”
While noting that he was happy with how his team competed, Harter said they have plenty of room for improvement, which was a sentiment Nass shared about his own squad. After Thursday’s match at Bellarmine Prep, the Wolves do not compete again until the Dec. 28 Pacific Coast Tournament. They do not resume league competition until Jan 10 against Olympia.
Without the burden of homework, Nass has plenty of areas of focus during the break.
“We’re kind of tentative on our feet at times,” he said. “When we’re on top we ride well, but we’re not breaking guys down and getting to our pinning combinations. We’re just kind of hesitant and we’re over thinking too much.”
South Kitsap 49, at Central Kitsap 28
106-Alison Johnson (CK) p. Matt Pace 5:08. 113-Josh Criollos (CK) won by forfeit. 120-Ryan Ryhnsburge (CK) d. Ryan Rea 15-4. 126-Warren Sprechter (CK) won by forfeit. 132-Sean Lutovsky (SK) p. Adam Appleton 3:08. 138-Adam Lutovsky (SK) d. Brad Schaffer 10-9. 145-Ben de Lacy (SK) won by forfeit. 152-Adam Gascoyne (SK) won by forfeit. 160-Sam Skinner (SK) d. David Dommermuth 9-0. 170-Bryce Broome (SK) p. Kyle Stroble 1:50. 182-Michael Beard (SK) p. Hunter Rothrock :33. 195-Illya Tsveytkov (SK) won by forfeit. 220-Kyle Kennedy (SK) won by forfeit. 285-Steve Ramey (CK) p. Liam O’Brien 1:47.
