Josh Edmondson is very much happy with the little victories that show up in his wrestling program at Medical Lake in his second season on the job.
That helped the 66-12 thumping the Cardinals took last Thursday at the hands of the defending 1A state champions from Deer Park go down just a little easier.
The match saw five of the final six bouts decided by forfeit because the Cardinals did not field wrestlers in the heavyweight, 220, 285, 113 and 106 pounds.
“I don’t have a 220 (pound) or a heavy (weight),” Edmondson said. “It’s not that I haven’t tried, I just can’t find those kids.”
The search never ends, he said. ”If I can beckon them in with candy bars or whatever, I do it,” Edmondson said with a laugh.
Wins came at 126 pounds by Evan Peterson and 138 from Brayden Petersen, both by pins. “We were down maybe four points in the third round,” Edmondson said. “I knew he could turn this kid,” he said of the Evan Peterson bout.
The six-minute match consists of three, two-minute rounds and just 25 seconds remained when Peterson got the win. “He was down in points and turned the kid; he did not give up,” Edmondson said.
“That’s a great example of what we’re trying to do in our practice room, is just keep going, going, going, never stop, not looking at the score and knowing it’s not over until the whistle blows,” Edmondson added.
Brayden Petersen had what Edmondson said was the match of the night. “It was just battling, battling back and forth, the crowd, it was electric at that point.”
Edmondson singled out the crowd again. Citing that while knowing the team score was out of reach, he said they kept the cheering going for individual athletes, and did not leave early.
While a blowout on the scoreboard, Edmondson said most every match against Deer Park was close.
One of the highlights of night was the 132-pound match between ML’s Bodhi Forbes and Seth Hoog of Deer Park, a third-place finisher at state earlier this year.
“Bodhi wrestled JV last year and too him (Hoog) three rounds, all the way to the end, which he gets pinned by a better wrestler,” Edmondson said. “Those little losses are a victory in our book this year.”
The team also competed Saturday at West Valley High School’s “Wrestle-Rama,” and Brayden Petersen went undefeated. “He went out there and really made an impact,” Edmondson said. “We showed them how hard we work and how much we’ve improved.”
Medical Lake will face Chewelah tonight, Dec. 15 at 6:30 p.m. The team will also wrestle at the Tri-County Tournament at Central Valley High School, Thursday, Dec. 22 beginning at 9:30 a.m.
Paul Delaney can be reached at pdelaney@cheneyfreepress.com.
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