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Posts Tagged ‘1A Mat Classic’

Wild weather sends Turner straight to state

Posted in Wrestling, tagged , , , , on February 8, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Thanks to the weather, Coupeville grappler Alex Turner gets to skip regionals and head directly to the state meet. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Snowmageddon is working out really well for Alex Turner.

Thanks to the snow, ice, and (possible) high winds which are plaguing Western Washington, this weekend’s regional wrestling tournaments have been called off.

Instead, all grapplers still in contention for a state title are being bumped right along to Mat Classic Feb. 15-16 at the Tacoma Dome.

The state meet brackets will be doubled in size to allow for the change.

Turner, a senior at Coupeville High School, won a sub-regional title at 170 pounds last weekend and was originally set to travel to Meridian High School with coach Tyson Boon Saturday for regionals.

Instead, after being an alternate to state as a junior, when he was attending South Whidbey High School, he’s guaranteed to cap his career on the big mat.

Based on his sub-regional title, the lone Wolf grappler will carry a #1 seed to the state meet, as well.

With some regional sites more likely to be affected than others by the weather, there was originally discussion some meets might be held Sunday or Monday, while others planned to go on, no matter how high drifts got.

But, after much deliberation, the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association itself stepped in Friday morning, and put the issue to rest.

Brian Smith, the WIAA Assistant Executive Director, released the following statement:

Good Morning,

Due to the weather conditions, the WIAA has decided to cancel the regional tournaments. In the best interest of safety and equal opportunity for our participants, we believe it is the right decision at this time.

We are planning on adjusting the state bracket from a 16 person to a 32 person bracket. More details will be posted once the Mat Classic Managers work through those details.

I want to thank you for all your work in preparation as well as your patience with this office as we make these difficult decisions.

Let’s make sure the wrestling community is aware of the change and prepared to help us as we take on this challenge.

Please share this news with all of your participating schools.

Thanks for your work,

Brian

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We let a state champ get away!!

Posted in Wrestling, tagged , , , , on February 23, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Chloe Gardner could have been the best athlete at Coupeville High School, but real life had to go and mess that up. (Wade Gardner photo)

   Chloe Gardner could be the best athlete at Coupeville High School right now, but real life had to go and mess all that up. (Wade Gardner photo)

The Gardners (l to r), Bailey, Trina, Chloe, Wade and Taylor.

The Gardners (l to r), Bailey, Trina, Chloe, Wade and Taylor.

Fools! We had a state champion in Coupeville and let her move away.

Now, of course, one could argue that Chloe Gardner, who won a 1A state wrestling title for Nooksack Valley in the 145 pound classification at Mat Classic XXVI in Tacoma Saturday, never would have done that if she and her family had stayed in Cow Town.

Cause it’s kind of hard to win when your town doesn’t have a wrestling team…

But, thanks to the whims of fate, when a new job for dad Wade took the Gardners off-Island in 2004 (mom Trina was the #1 barista at Miriam’s Espresso at the time and put up with me on a daily basis), a whole new world opened for Chloe.

Not immediately, of course, as she was only in the third grade when she left Coupeville Elementary School.

But flash-forward to now, when the senior pinned Enumclaw’s Danielle Cormier in the championship match, and Chloe capped a remarkably successful run as a high school grappler.

Also a standout softball player and runner for Nooksack, she won all four of her matches at the two-day state tourney by pin. Her title followed a third-place finish as a junior and fourth-place as a sophomore.

Chloe’s younger brother, Taylor, who was in second grade when the family left Coupeville, is now a junior and was also at Mat Classic.

He was disqualified after being accused of biting his opponent in the second round, but was reinstated after a video review showed the other kid to be a little liar.

The family drama almost hurt Chloe as she came out slowly in her first match after her brother’s initial DQ and was almost pinned. Then, she got mad, rallied and whomped on the girl with the same intensity she has brought to all her sports.

An eight-time state qualifier in her various sports, Gardner will suit up for the Nooksack softball squad one final time before heading off to Skagit Valley College to seek a degree in Criminal Justice.

Meanwhile, Wolf fans will be left to wonder what could have been if Chloe, Taylor and 12-year old volleyball ace Bailey (who lived on Swedish Fish as a two-year old running the counter with me at Videoville) hadn’t been taken from Coupeville.

Well played, Nooksack Valley. Well played.

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