Japanese put on a show

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Japanese put on a show

By Rob Burns - Daily World Writer

Saturday, January 12, 2008 11:42 PM PST

DAILY WORLD / DAVID SANDLER Takashi Sasaki of the Japan Wrestling Cultural Exchange Team nearly pins Jordan Harrington of Hoquiam. Sasaki went on to win the 145 pound championship match and the Japanese wrestlers took the team title at Saturday’s Hoquiam Grizzly Alumni Association Invitational wrestling tournament. The Japanese team had 11 in the title matches won six of them.

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Traditionally one of the toughest invitational tournaments in the state, this year’s edition of the Hoquiam Grizzly Alumni Association Wrestling Invitational was an international affair.

The Japanese Cultural Exchange team, comprised of high-school age wrestlers, put 11 wrestlers into the championship finals and came away with six individual champions to win the team title on Saturday at Hoquiam Square Garden.

Japan finished with 190 points to outdistance Sunnyside (175 1/2), Elma (158) and Aberdeen (127).

“This was a tough tournament, fun to watch and having the Japanese team here was a great addition,” HHS coach Russ Skolrood said. “It was great watching them wrestle here. We had some exciting finals, some exciting matches.”

Sunnyside came away with three individual titleists, with Aberdeen and Elma two each and host Hoquiam with one. Sunnyside’s Josh Romero, who won the 125-pound division, earned Most Valuable Wrestler honors in the tournament.

The Japanese wrestlers, more adept in freestyle wrestling, adjusted quickly to the high school rules. The lowest place they recorded was third at heavyweight, which was won by Hoquiam’s Jeremy Foulds.

“(We) don’t have that kind of style (collegiate) in Japan; it was hard in practice to adjust to not (clasping) hands,” Keigo Goto said through a translator.

Goto won the 152-pound title, 4-1, over Steilacoom’s Adam Wolfe. “This is all really different from what (I’m) used to back home.”

DAILY WORLD / DAVID SANDLER Erich Schmidtke of Aberdeen takes down Toshinori Tokuyama of the Japan en route to winning the 189 pound championship match.

Goto, along with Yu Kagabu (130), Masato Suzuki (135), Takashi Sasaki (145), Arashi Nagao (160) and Kazunao Kuwahara (171), won individual titles for Japan.

Foulds defeated two Japanese wrestlers, one unattached, to win the heavyweight title. In the semifinal, Foulds edged Takuya Masuda, 3-0, then scored a late reversal to seal an 8-5 win over Shintaro Mukai in the final.

Aberdeen’s Erich Schmidtke laid claim to the 189 division title by controlling Japan’s Toshinori Tokuyama, 11-3. The pair stayed close for first two rounds before the Bobcat turned the third round into a takedown showcase.

“On top of the new rules (to me), he had speed and power, which made it really hard to wrestle him,” Tokuyama said of Schmidtke through a translator. “Just by that one person, (I) can tell how strong American (wrestling) is.”

Schmidtke was joined by teammate Mylon Emard with titles. Emard was evenly matched with Japan’s Ryouta Watari in the 140 title match and it came down to the final minutes.

Emard took a 6-2 lead into the third period when Watari took him down to cut the lead, then released him at 7-4. With time running out, Watari took Emard down again, but the Bobcat held off a last-second near-fall try to score a 7-6 win.

“This was just an enjoyable day, very low-key; it was great to watch the Japanese team and we got to see some great wrestling,” AHS coach Randy Connelly said. “The big story is Mylon, who went out there and won his match against (Watari). That is huge for Mylon and his confidence. I can’t be more proud of him. I was really pleased with the team. Some of our guys finished third, fourth and fifth and they wrestled really well.”

Elma’s Brad Watson claimed the Eagles’ first individual title at 103 when he outdistanced Sunnyside’s Christian Reyes, 13-8, in the final. His teammate, Justin Whitney, won the 215 title by injury default when Sunnyside’s Jose Barajas injured his knee on a move in the second period.

Watson’s brother, Nick, picked up his first loss of the season in the 160 title match when Nagao picked up Watson and put him down in a cradle move for the pin at 1 minute, 17 seconds. Mark Ballew took second at 112 when he lost to Sunnyside’s Steven Romero by pin at 3:12.

“As far as the tournament today, I can do without the injuries,” Elma head coach Sean Ekerson said. “I sent Daniel Lillie home; he’s pretty banged up. Josh Dierick’s banged up, but he finished up and Shane McDougal suffered a broken nose today. The guys who survived came through the back door and got us the third place finish.

“Overall, this entire week has been one of the better coaching moments of my career, because I got to see two countries working together like we did,” Ekerson added. “To see my guys working with them in practice is one of my better experiences I’ve had as a coach.”

Several wrestlers were injured during the day, with three notables — Aberdeen’s Ben Seath suffered a dislocated shoulder, but may return in time for the Evergreen 2A tournament; Steilacoom’s David Flynn injured his right shoulder in his match with Yu Kagabu; and Barajas in the 215 final.

Hoquiam Grizzly Alumni Association Invitational

Team — Japan CET 190, Sunnyside 175 1/2, Elma 158, Aberdeen 127, Steilacoom 125, Unattached 118, Hoquiam 104, Port Townsend 80, Woodland 58.

103 — Championship: B. Watson (E) dec. Reyes (SS), 13-8. 3. Boyer (E). 4. Correa (U). 5. Fioretti (U). 6. J. Vessey (H). 112 — Championship: S. Romero (SS) pinned Ballew (E), 3:12. 3. Slyter (A). 4. Unbedacht (PT). 5. Essig (W). 6. S. Vessey (H). 119 — Championship: I. Romero (SS) dec. Cushman (St), 7-1. 3. Valdez (U). 4. Duffy (A). 5. Yanez (E). 6. Harper (PT). 125 — Championship: J. Romero (SS) dec. Takaysu (J), 5-3. 3. Tejada (U). 4. Herting (St). 5. McCullough (A). 6. Rowell (H). 130 — Championship: Y. Kagabu (J) inj. def. over Flynn (St.). 3. Grazioli (A). 4. Martinez (SS). 5. Blake (PT). 6. McDougall (E). 135 — Championship: M. Suzuki (J) dec. J.T. Gonzalez (SS), 2-1. 3. Humphrey (St). 4. Holbrook (PT). 5. Sherman (E). 6. Martin (A). 140 — Championship: M. Emard (A) dec. Watari (J), 7-6. 3. Dierick (E). 4. Sturm (H). 5. Martinez (W). 6. Isham (St).

145 — Championship: T. Sasaki (J) dec. Harrington, 5-1. 3. Rodman (W). 4. Taylor (A). 5. Bensinger (E). 6. Gomez (SS). 152 — Championship: K. Goto (J) dec. Wolfe (St), 4-1. 3. Alverez (SS). 4. Johnson (PT). 5. Rodman (W). 6. Lillie (E). 160 — Championship: A. Nagao (J) pinned N. Watson (E), 1:17. 3. Johnson (W). 4. Bratt (H). 5. Flynn (St). 6. Swinehart (SS). 171 — Championship: K. Kuwahara (J) pinned Morioka (J), 1:10. 3. Krzmarzick (H). 4. Dubois (PT). 5. Whitney (E). 6. Mendoza (SS). 189 — Championship. E. Schmidtke (A) maj. dec. Tokuyama, 11-3. 3. Hanna (PT). 4. Almeida (SS). 5. Fuscher (H). 6. Taylor (E). 215 — Championship: J. Whitney (E) inj. def. Barajas (SS). 3. Smith (A). 4. Scott (St). 5. Kramzer (H). 6. Tarrence (U). HWY — Championship: J. Foulds (H) dec. Mukai (J), 8-5. 3. Masuda (J). 4. Zboralski (St). 5. Gurnard (E). 6. Seath (A).