By ERICK WALKER

Reporter staff

It may be early in season, but Kentwood wrestlers Ruben Navejas and Cody Quinn already appear in midseason form.

Navejas, a sophomore, and Quinn, a senior, dominated on Saturday in the Border at the Battle in Blaine, bringing home individual titles and helping the Conquerors secure third place in the 27-team tournament.

Blaine won the tournament with 191.5 points followed by Riverside (170) and Kentwood (137).

“We did a little better than I thought (we would),” said Kentwood coach Ken Sroka.

But nobody did better than Navejas and Quinn, both of whom chewed up their respective weight classes with ease and dominance.

Navejas ripped through his respective 103-pound counterparts, collecting four-straight pins – all of which lasted less than two full periods – before working over Squalicum’s Ren Bishop in the finals, 12-1.

Quinn, the second-ranked 140-pounder in the state who competed at 145 on Saturday, was just as impressive. The three-time state placer racked up three pins and a major decision before fending off Chris Rowe of Selah in the finals, 2-0.

“Cody is looking fantastic,” Sroka said. “He’s very confident and is hungry for wins. Out there, he’s in total control.”

Billy Creighton (130) added a fourth-place finish for the Conquerors.

K-M bags two titles

Kent-Meridian’s Jesus Valdez was giving up a few pounds on Saturday at the Lake Washington Invitational.

The junior, however, did not give up any wins.

Valdez, one of the premier 103-pounders in the state, bumped up to 112 on Saturday. The results continued to be successful for the Royal, who collected a pair of pins and a major decision en route to securing his weight classification’s title.

Valdez worked over Kamiak’s Marco Price in the finals, 13-0.

“He’s tougher than last year,” K-M coach Todd Owens said of Valdez, who took eighth at state a year ago.

Kent-Meridian held its own in the 17-team, 16-man bracket tournament, taking sixth place with 135 points. Kamiak won the tournament with 208.5 points followed by Bellevue (158.5).

Valdez wasn’t the only Royal to bring home a golden performance. Teammate Nick Hall, at the other end of the wrestling spectrum competing at 285 pounds, showed a little bit of everything in capturing his weight class.

Hall dominated early, collecting two-straight pins in earning a semifinal berth. In the semis, he outlasted No. 1 seed Cody Treddenbarger of Juanita, 6-4.

Hall capped the performance in impressive fashion, pinning Alex Martin of Monroe in the finals in 5:06.

Andrew Smith (140), Nick Lemmon (160) and Thomas Reinhart (189) added third-place finishes for the Royals.

Tahoma’s Lamb, Knudtsen crowned

Talent was in abundance during Saturday’s Spud Walley Invitational at Sedro-Woolley High.

Five of the 10 teams in competition finished among the top 10 at state a year ago.

Put another way, any wrestler who came away with a title was doing plenty right.

And few were doing more right than Tahoma’s Tyler Lamb (135) and teammate Konner Knudtsen (215).

Lamb, a two-time state placer, collected a pair of pins and a decision to earn a berth in the finals. Once there, the Tahoma junior took care of business, working a 9-6 decision over state veteran Shane Hunt of Sedro-Woolley. Hunt has taken third at state three consecutive years. In comparison, Lamb finished fifth last season and fourth the year before.

“That’s a good win for Lamb,” said Tahoma coach Chris Feist. “It’s just affirmation that he’s on the right track.”

Knudtsen proved to be on the right track as well, pinning his way through the tournament. The title culminated in a pin of Auburn’s Chris Young in 2:15.

One of the most anticipated matches of the tournament, however, came in the 189-pound championship match. Auburn star Jake Swartz, last year’s Class 3A state champ at 171, outmuscled Tahoma standout Nick Bayer, who was the Class 4A champ at 160 a year ago, 13-7.

“(Nick) wrestled him tough, but Swartz is just so powerful and strong,” Feist said.

And while Bayer finished with second, scoring seven points off Swartz is worth noting considering the Auburn wrestler only allowed three in four matches at state a year ago. In addition, Bayer likely will be competing at 171 for the remainder of the season while the Boise State-bound Swartz will stay at 189.

Class 1A powerhouse Orting walked away with the team title with 229 points followed by last year’s Class 3A champions Enumclaw at 213. Tahoma, competing with half a lineup, brought home seventh place with 107 points.