North Kitsap won the 47th annual North Mason Winter Classic Wrestling Tournament last weekend, led by Most Valuable Player senior Chris Eberlein.

“As a special needs student, he just keeps showing up,” NK coach Robert Gomez said. “That’s what I love about wrestling. It’s for everyone.”

Gomez said the tournament gave his team a chance to continue building its skills. He said giving the students “mat time” was important and tournaments like North Mason’s give wrestlers a chance to hone their skills.

“We’ve got a couple of state placers we’ve brought with us, and a couple of freshmen who are wrestling for their second day ever,” Gomez said. “We keep getting better week by week.”

Bainbridge High School coach Dan Pippinger said his team hadn’t been to the North Mason event in a few years.

“We’re just hoping to get some good competitive matches, and frankly, the kids get hungry to compete over the winter break, so it’s a good way to get time in and keep them in practice.”

The event featured 12 high schools, including South Kitsap, Bremerton and Klahowya, among others. Rogers High School from Spokane made the trip as did Life Christian Academy and Washington High School, both from Tacoma.

“The idea is to start with junior varsity squads on Friday and to do a two-day tournament to get the wrestlers all comfortable with the format,” North Mason coach Shawn Varick said. “You won’t find that in too many other tournaments, but it builds continuity for your team, and there’s a lot of learning.”

That’s one of the reasons the Vikings like to go. Gomez said, “It’s a great way to support local wrestling and support Shawn.”

Robert Gomez courtesy photo Chris Eberlein holds the winning team trophy after being named MVP.