While the score may not show it in the recent 58-18 home loss to the North Mason Bulldogs on Dec. 16, some Sequim wrestlers continue to shine on the mats.

Kevyn Ward (152 pounds) and Michael Latimer (220) took home wins with Ward pinning Jackson Odette in 4:36 while Latimer won in overtime. He was locked in a 4-4 tie with Connor Lundberg until a takedown gave him the 6-4 win.

Sven Wiker, 145 pounds, also earned a win with a pin in 1:36 over Eugene Macero.

Freshman Ben Newell (113) fought his way to an 11-10 decision over Cruz Pedro-Alonzo. He was up 5-0 at the end of the first period, 7-4 at the end of the second and had a reversal in the finals seconds for the win.

Coach Charles Drabek said many of their weight classes are filled with freshmen and sophomores still learning the ropes while Latimer and Ward are the only tenured boys varsity wrestlers.

“Kevyn is getting his confidence at 152 pounds,” Drabek said.

“He’s considering going down a weight class but I think he can hang with these guys. In the postseason we’ll see where he’s at.”

While the Wolves may lack a lot of experience, their junior varsity squad stepped up big with several wins and pins against the Bulldogs.

Moving up the weight classes, Levi Foy (106) pinned Dalton Emerick in 43 seconds, Sophia Cornell (113) pinned Jacob Morre in 1:55, Jillian Hutchinson-Blouin (120) won in a major decision 11-1 over Skylar Cone, AJ Avila (132) pinned Chase Evans in 33 seconds and Kelvin Solis-Vilasenor (220) pinned Patrick Huble in 2:21.

“It was exciting to watch them,” Drabek said. “With Levi Foy, I saw a fire in him. He was a burning engine out there.”

He said he was also impressed with Hutchinson-Blouin’s match.

Several district and state level girl wrestlers, like Cornell, often don’t have other varsity girl opponents in league matches like this so they must wrestle boys in these meets and travel out of district for opportunities against varsity girl wrestlers.

So far this season, Drabek feels confident about his team but many of the newer wrestlers are doing mistakes over and over that are preventable with more matches and experience.

“A lot of the kids are thinking just one-dimensionally,” he said. “It’s just hands or feet but we’ll get there.”

Results from the team’s trip to the Hammerhead Invite on Dec. 19-20 at the Kitsap Sun Pavilion were not available at press time. The team travels to North Mason’s Hawkins Memorial Tournament Dec. 26-27.