Wrestling Rhinos: Showdown in Sedro Woolley

Sunday, December 6, 2015 - Sedro Woolley High School 

The Wrestling Rhinos rode into Sedro Woolley last Sunday for another exciting youth folkstyle wrestling tournament. True to the theme of the western style town, the event went down like a wild west shoot out. Many of the wrestling bouts were chock full of drama, drawing hoots from the audience and even louder hollers from the coaches. The final bouts for the more competitive brackets were evenly matched, sometimes being decided by only one or two points late into the third round.

As a team, the Rhinos placed sixth out of 27 wrestling clubs. Of the 26 Rhino Wrestlers attending the tournament, 7 athletes placed within the top 3 slots of their weight brackets. The scoring individuals include the following:

• Blake Mauch, Age 5, 38lbs – 1st Place (4 man bracket) 
• Nicholas Stumpf, Age 7, 50lbs – 2nd Place (13 man bracket) 
• Nolan Valdivia, Age 9, 80lbs – 1st Place (6 man bracket) 
• Drake Zimmerman, Age 9, 95lbs – 2nd Place (3 man bracket) 
• Peter Grimm, Age 9, 103lbs – 1st Place (3 man bracket) 
• Hunter Tibodeau, Age 10, 112lbs – 2nd Place (6 man bracket) 
• Thomas Rhodes, Age 11, 75lbs – 2nd Place (12 man bracket) 

Now that the Rhinos have thrown down with the wild buckaroos of Sedro Woolley, the next challenge will be an ultimate face off with the marauding Vikings on the other side of Puget Sound. 

That’s right, the next tournament will be the “Ultimate Wrestler Tournament” in Bremerton on December 13, 2015. As the wrestling season ramps up, the Rhinos are hitting their stride and have their eye set on the Tacoma Dome for the State Championships in February.

--Sean Rhodes, proud wrestling dad and Lake Forest Park resident