Brand New Building for Tahoma High School- Same Old Tough Bears
The Tahoma Bears are coming off a strong 2017 postseason performance and a great summer. The returning 4A State Champions are eager to kickoff the 2017 -2018 wrestling season. The Bears are looking for some big performances this season from their lighter weight underclassmen. There is going to be a bit of a dog fight for the starting spot at 106 and 113 and the coaching staff is excited to see which wrestlers step up and take the spot. Freshman Parker Boynton made an impact for the team this past summer at several of the tournaments on the Bear’s Summer tour and looks to challenge retuning 106 starter Brayden Swank for the spot this year. Both Brayden and P{arker made huge improvements this offseason and will make a nice one-two punch at the fly weight for the Bears. At 113 pounds, another spot up for grabs in the Bears lineup with Devan Martin and Adrian Enciso will be battling it out. Freshman Steele Starren will most likely hold down the 120 pound slot for the Bears and has set high goals for himself and the team this season. Though only a freshman, Steele is a veteran of the mat and used to big time competition hoping to be in the mix for a state title this year. At 126 pounds, the Bears return two-time placer and returning state finalist Austin Michalski. Austin is coming of a 2nd place finish last year and took 3rd place as a freshman. Austin is explosive on his feet and tough on top; he will look to continue to improve in the postseason and wants to move over one step up on the podium as he makes a run at his first state title. Another veteran for the Bears, Cameron Hansen will be at 132 pounds. His goal as a senior will be to look to improve from his 7th place finish in 2017. Cameron is one of the most aggressive and well conditioned Bears on the squad and he looks to take his “grind em out” attitude to a top finish this season. The middle weights will be filled with an experienced returning group. At 138, junior Jacob “Butters” Vanderwaal will look to step into the varsity lineup as a consistent starter this year after being the bears utility middleweight last year. Jacob was a regional participant last season and looks to be an impacting contributor coming into his junior season. At 145-152 pounds the Bears have three seniors all with state experience. Reid Carlton is tough on his feet and even tougher on top. Reid and several of the other Bears have joined the cross country team this fall and are looking to an even faster start to the wrestling season than usual. Both Gunner Starren and Ethan Vaughan will be battling it out for the starting slot at 152 pounds this year and will push each other to be at their best come post season. At 160, junior Spencer Bergsma will look to lock down the 160 pound varsity role for the Bears this year season. Spencer has been wrestling for the since he was an elementary aged student with the Maple Valley Junior Wrestling program and has tools and experience to be an impact contributor this year. At 170 pounds, the Bears have returning state participant Jake Bir. Jake has been in the varsity line up since his freshman year and is poised to have a breakout season for the bears come this postseason. At 182 pounds, the Bears look to have junior Max Repenn lead the charge. Max was a starter for the Bears as a freshman but missed his sophomore season due to a season ending football injury. Healthy, strong and explosive as ever, Max has pinning potential at any point in the match and his aggressive style makes for exciting wrestling to watch. The three heavy slots are anchored by some experienced big boys. Junior Gage Dress-Moran looks to improve on his regional championship and state finish last year. At 6-4, Gage is a difficult match up at times for others and has an arsenal of high flying throws that make his matches fun for the crowd to watch. At 220, Senior and returning State Champion Kione Gill returns in pursuit of his second state title. Gill is slick on his feet for a big man and punishing on top, pinning his way through the postseason last year. The heavyweight spot is filled by big man Noah Sturgill. Noah is coming of a solid 2017 season as the Bears heavyweight. Noah is one of the Bears hardest workers and looks to finish out his senior year as one of the top heavyweights in the state this year.
Notable bears to watch: Andrew Enciso, Michael Gasper, Michael Palandri
106 Brayden Swank 10th / Parker Boynton 9th
113 Devan Martin 10th / Adrian Enciso 9th
120 Steele Starren 9th
126 Austin Michalski 11th 2nd state
132 Cameron Hansen 12th 7th state
138 Jacob Vanderwal 11th
145 Reid Carlton 12th state participant
152 Gunner Starren 12th state participant / Ethan Vaughan 12th state participant
160 Spencer Bergsma 11th
170 Jake Bir 12th state participant
182 Maximus Repenn 11th
195 Gage Dress-Moran 11th state participant
220 Kione Gill 12th state champion
285 Noah Sturgill 12th