Ferndale’s big day has Golden Eagles' hopes high

Sehome senior Zach Zimmerman left with a bloodied face in the final seconds and a dramatic title in his best effort, while Ferndale performed with nothing but guts by five champions to win Squalicum’s 15th annual Graham Morin Memorial Wrestling Tournament.

The Golden Eagles enjoyed championship efforts on Saturday, Dec. 19, from Sam Cleary (now 11-1 at 195 pounds), Ben Broselle (12-1 at 182), Braiden Klimp (10-2 at 160), Noah Saenz (13-3 at 145) and Carson Trolinder (11-4 at 132), plus runner-up finishes by Broc Graves (8-4 at 120) and Eli Croy (9-6 at 126).

“This is the first time Ferndale has won this tournament since I’ve been here (seven years),” said coach Caleb Schlack, whose athletes won with 243.5 points — a whopping 53.5 more than runner-up Oak Harbor. “It’s definitely one of the best performances I’ve seen here. It shows the goals we’re setting are attainable.”

Zimmerman (14-2), who scored pins in his first three matches of the tourney, gave Whatcom County a sixth champion when he scored his fourth fall late in the third period at 220 pounds to pin O’Dea senior Montique Edwards (14-1).

Edwards’ temper resulted in Zimmerman’s bloody nose after the pin. However, Edwards offered his hand on the podium and Zimmerman accepted the shake.

In the three finals between county wrestlers, Cleary narrowly decisioned Lynden junior Brodie Weinheimer for the second consecutive week with a 4-2 win, Broselle pinned Squalicum’s Jacob Burgoon in the last second of the first period and Saenz held on to beat Lynden’s Payton Peterson-Scotter 8-6.

TEAM CHAMPION

Broselle typified Ferndale’s spirit when he said “I just love this tournament” after taking his second Morin Memorial title with his third pin. Likewise, Saenz did the same with a two-point reversal in the final 15 seconds after Peterson-Scotter rallied from a 6-4 third-period deficit with a nifty move with 22 seconds remaining.

Lynden finished a solid fourth with 143 points in the 16-team event, while Squalicum was fifth at 111 and Sehome was eighth with 99 among local teams in the top ten.

BEST FINALS MATCH

“I wouldn’t say I was expecting to win, but this is the best match I’ve had,” Zimmerman said of his memorable 220-pound battle, which he tied 5-5 with a second-period escape. “I was in control and didn’t let my temper flare.”

Whatcom County had 14 finalists and the other runners-up (those not yet mentioned) had several of the best efforts, including Squalicum’s Brayden Charette, Squalicum’s Jace Cooper, and Sehome’s Briley Funk, who like Cooper had pins in his first three matches. Funk lost in overtime 3-1 to Oak Harbor’s Sam Zook (12-0).

WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED

The $61,000 raised in the previous history of the Morin Memorial has helped 22 state wrestlers compete in college with scholarships. A four-year college wrestler receives $5,000 to help cover his first two years and $500 is awarded to a wrestler headed for Highline College, which has the state’s only community college program.

This story was originally published December 19, 2015 at 9:16 PM with the headline "Ferndale’s big day has Golden Eagles' hopes high."