Wrestling: South Kitsap routs Bellarmine to continue early-season dominance

Chad Nass felt his wrestlers were capable of winning every match.

But when asked about his thoughts on Tuesday's 66-12 Narrows League win against Bellarmine Prep, Nass kept coming back to the one wrestler who was not victorious.

Sophomore Chris Gonzalez had a back-and-forth battle with David Ladenburg at 125 pounds. Ladenburg, who placed second at 112 in last year's league championships, fell behind 12-11, but pinned Gonzales in 5 minutes, 47 seconds.

"Chris Gonzales gave a great effort," Nass said. "That kid was very tough and Chris wrestled well."

Nass also was impressed with a similar, albeit lower scoring, match at 130. South junior Travis Farrell had a 7-6 lead before he pinned Casey Barta in 4:59.

"I thought he had a great match," Nass said. "It was a tight match and he ended up coming back."

Farrell credited his victory to coaching.

"I got some really good advice from my coach," he said. "When I was in the referee position, he told me to keep my eyes on the referee. You learn every match."

The Wolves, who now have won 162 consecutive league matches since 1992 after a 61-14 win in last week's season opener at Gig Harbor, suffered their only other loss at 103. The Lions' Austin Davis won that match by forfeit. Nass said sophomore Colin Bryant had a minor, undisclosed injury, but would be back shortly.

"We wrestle at least four matches on Saturday," he said. "We're holding him out to keep him healthy."

Only two of South's wins were not by pin. Besides Farrell, junior Kris Fenton won an 8-2 decision at 140 against Alex McKenna.

The Wolves had three pins in less than a minute. Eddie Meisner needed just 46 seconds to beat Jacob Bohren at 215, while Taylor Lyman used 10 more seconds to down Taylor Ladenburg at 145. Conner Hartmann defeated Quinn Soran in 58 seconds at 171.

Hartmann, a junior, was battling Michael Neiner for the varsity spot in his weight class, but the latter suffered a severe hamstring injury at last weekend's Auburn Invitational. Nass said Neiner is out indefinitely.

"It was good to see Conner in the lineup," he said. "I thought he wrestled well."

South will remain busy after its dual match Thursday against Foss and Stadium. The Wolves compete at the Olympic Dream Duals in Silverdale in their last event before the Jan. 1-2 Pacific Coast Tournament at Hudson's Bay High School in Vancouver.

They won the eight team Auburn Invitational with 247 points. Three South competitors won championships during that event. Terrill Wilson beat Tumwater's James Nolan 18-2 at 119. Lyman and Guy Powell both pinned their opponents. Lyman defeated Jackson's Adam Nijem at 145 (1:59), while Powell knocked off All-Stars Carlos Sanchezllanes at 189 (3:25).

"Overall I'm very happy," Nass said. "The kids wrestled well."

Tuesday

At South Kitsap 66, Bellarmine Prep 12

103: Austin Davis (BP) forfeit. 112: Joel Miner (SK) p. Andrew McLearen 1:34. 119: Terrill Wilson (SK) p. Josh McCarthy 3:39. 125: David Ladenburg (BP) p. Chris Gonzales 5:47. 130: Travis Farrell (SK) p. Casey Barta 4:59. 135: Cody Barich (SK) d. Alec Soran 6-3. 140: Kris Fenton (SK) d. Alex McKenna 8-2. 145: Taylor Lyman (SK) p. Taylor Ladenburg 0:56. 152: Hakeem Smith (SK) p. Michael Holland 1:16. 160: Craig Dyess (SK) p. Matt Gardner 1:28. 171: Conner Hartmann (SK) p. Quinn Soran 0:58. 189: Guy Powell (SK) p. Ian Miller 4:53. 215: Eddie Meisner (SK) p. Jacob Bohren 0:46. 275: Tom Decker (SK) p. Macartney McQuery 1:16.

Dec. 3

South Kitsap 61, at Gig Harbor 14

103: Colin Bryant (SK) forfeit. 112: Joel Miner (SK) p. Boe Tehens 1:54. 119: Terrill Wilson (SK) tf. Kyle Iverson 23-8. 125: Chris Gonzales (SK) p. Kyle Jiganli 0:43. 130: Jacob Spadoni (GH) p. Travis Farrell 5:23. 135: Cody Barich (SK) d. Ben Small 11-5. 140: Kris Fenton (SK) forfeit. 145: Taylor Lyman (SK) forfeit. 152: Hakeem Smith (SK) p. Grant Hillard 0:40. 160: Davey Browne (GH) d. Craig Dyess (SK) 14-3. 171: Michael Neiner (SK) p. Brian Olson 2:47. 189: Guy Powell (SK) tf. Sean Dennis 16-0. 215: Jake Baker (GH) d. Eddie Meisner 18-9. 285: Tom Decker (SK) forfeit.

Contact Port Orchard Independent Staff Writer Chris Chancellor at cchancellor@portorchardindependent.com or (360) 876-4414.

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