Cougars finish season strong

TACOMA — Warden, not expected to be a factor in the 1A Mat Classic team race, wrestled beyond expectations to claim sixth place in the team standings of this weekend's tournament.

Having graduated most of the team that last year finished fifth in the team standings, Warden coach Rick Bowers had a modest goal for his 2007 squad.

"Make the board," said the Warden coach, referring to the top-10 board that hangs at the East end of the Tacoma Dome during the tournament.

Not only did Warden exceed that goal, their finish becomes even more impressive when one considers the teams that placed ahead of the Cougars in the revamped 1A classification.

Other than defending 1A champion Royal, the other four teams that finished in front of Warden competed in the 2A division last year, including the number one, two and seven teams from last year's 2A tournament.

The Cougars put two wrestlers in the finals and will have a total of six more names to add to their massive wall of state tournament placers.

Warden's first finalist, 103-pound wrestler Frankie Jimenez, was a complete surprise to make the state finals.

"We weren't figuring we were going to be in the mix," said Bowers of his 103-pounder's chances of a high placing in Tacoma.

Jimenez won his first two matches by a single point each to reach the semifinals, where he squared off with Justin Hernandez of Tenino.

Down by 2 late in the third round, Jimenez picked up a reversal with 10 seconds remaining to tie the match at four. The Warden wrestler nearly scored the winning near-fall points at the end of regulation, but couldn't lower Hernandez's shoulders close enough to the mat to get the points.

In the first overtime, Jimenez fought off a pair of deep shots by Hernandez, both times forcing stalemates that got the Warden wrestler out of trouble.

Jimenez took the down position in the first period of double-overtime. The Warden wrestler was unable to escape, and had to fight hard to prevent Hernandez from scoring near-fall points with a cradle.

Entering the second half of double overtime, Jimenez needed to ride the Tenino wrestler out to stay alive or score near-fall points for the win.

Hernandez hit a stand up early in the period, controlled Jimenez's hands and only needed to turn and face Jimenez to earn the escape. Just before Hernandez could face Jimenez, the Warden wrestler alertly shot for and grabbed the ankle of the Tenino grappler.

Jimenez then elevated Hernandez's leg high in the air and took his Tenino opponent straight down to his back for a 3-point near fall and a trip to the finals.

"I was amazed," said Bowers. "He wasn't supposed to win."

Jimenez's run ended in the finals with a 12-0 loss to Garrett Mann of Orting.

Justin Rollins was the other Warden finalist, finishing second at 215 pounds. Like his lighter teammate, Rollins had a difficult road to the finals.

The Warden senior won a 5-3 match in the quarterfinals to set up a match with Mike Collins of Castle Rock in the semifinals.

In the match with Collins, the Warden wrestler broke a 4-4 tie with an escape in the final seconds of the third round to earn a ticket to the state finals.

"We thought we were gonna get our rear-ends handed to us," said Bowers of the match. "Someone forgot to tell Justin.

"If I could have wished for anyone to make the finals, it would have been him," the Warden coach added.

In the finals, Rollins suffered a 9-0 loss to Darrick Green of Omak.

Scott Phillips finished fourth for the Cougars at 160 pounds. After losing his opening match of the tournament, Phillips won four straight matches to reach the consolation finals. Included in his string of wins was an 8-7 victory in the consolation semifinals where the Warden junior scored a reversal at the buzzer to win the match.

Other placers for Warden included Robert Pruneda (4th, 125 pounds), Joel Martinez (5th, 171 pounds) and Jesse Guerra (8th, 112 pounds).

Pruneda lost a 4-1 decision to eventual Tony Farrington of Orting in the quarterfinals, then won three matches in a row before losing to Tyler Gateman of Vashon Island in the match for third and fourth.