Two Hyaks going to state wrestling meet as top seeds

The North Beach Hyaks will send two wrestlers to the state championship Mat Classic meet as number one seeds this Friday and Saturday at the Tacoma Dome, after both won regional titles Saturday.

Senior Natasha Früh continued to mow down the competition, this time in the girls regional meet at Aberdeen. The Daily World’s Rick Anderson reported that she hasn’t yet gone the distance in a postseason match, and spent exactly 70 seconds on the mat Saturday in claiming the 235-pound title.

After receiving a first-round bye, Früh needed only 21 seconds to pin R.A. Long’s Aiyanah Valencia in the semifinals. She spotted Kelso’s Eva Medina an early takedown in the championship match, but promptly reversed her and completed the pin in 49 seconds.

North Beach sophomore Garrett Armbruster grabbed the 126-pound title with a 7-4 win over Ilwaco’s Ghannon Weldon, in the boys regional meet Saturday at Kalama.

“We’re super excited for those two and the way they performed this weekend,” said Hyaks wrestling coach Chris Ferguson. “They really did work their tails off this year to get to where they are.” Both will be seeded number one this weekend, which Ferguson said is “much easier than being on the bottom or in the middle of the bracket.”

At the Tacoma Dome Friday, Früh will be competing in a full bracket of 16 wrestlers. Her first match will take place at approximately 12 noon. There will be 12 in Armbruster’s bracket, and his first match should begin around 4 p.m.

“Natasha is just really excited. This is the culmination of six long years of wrestling for her,” Ferguson said. “Garrett is still riding the high, still can’t believe he finished where he did,” he added. “We want to see as many people there as possible to cheer them on and see the hard work of these kids paying off.”