Two Bainbridge High School wrestlers have qualified for the state tournament Mat Classic this weekend at the Tacoma Dome.

Aubrie Auckland and Wyatt Goade qualified by placing in the top five at the regional tournament in Sedro Woolley for the girls and Snohomish for the boys last weekend.

Auckland’s finish is most impressive since she had to miss wrestling last year because it was in the spring due to COVID-19. She turns out for rowing in the spring. A senior, Auckland has a 17-6 record at 140 pounds. She has a bye in the first round at state.

In her first match Saturday, Auckland easily won 17-6, but the senior was pinned in 3 minutes, 31 seconds in her next match. Dropping into the loser’s bracket she won by pin in 4:58 and then won by another pin in 2:53 to place third overall.

In her first year of wrestling, Alex Morrison qualified for state as an alternate placing sixth. The top five in each weight class advance. The junior who started with a record of 15-9 won by pin in the first round in 1:42. But she was pinned in the second round in 3:49. Dropping to the loser’s bracket, she was defeated 9-3, then lost the fifth-place match being pinned in 1:35.

Coach Dan Pippinger said Goade has been consistent throughout the season, placing in all of the tournaments the Spartans were able to wrestle in at 220 pounds. He made it to state by getting a pin in his final match Saturday. Ranked 10th in the state going into regionals, the junior is 16-9 on the year and will face Collin Vanwyk of Juanita, 19-5, in his first match at state.

For the boys, Garrett Goade at 160 pounds qualified for state as an alternate, the highest freshman placer at his weight.

Going into the tourney he didn’t know what to expect based on his 11-11 record for the year. His first match was an exciting as the clock was winding down with the score tied 0-0. Garrett Goade had try to earn points by escape but failed in the third round.

Pippinger yelled out, “You’ve still got time.”

He was able to muster up the energy to get a “roll through” reversal just as time expired for a 2-0 win.

“I’ve never wrestled anyone like that before,” he said of his opponent who was on the defense the entire match. “It was now or never. I didn’t want to go into overtime,” knowing he was going to have multiple matches that day, he said.

Sophomore Wyatt Chabot at 138 pounds also made it to state as an alternate, an amazing improvement since he didn’t win any matches last year, his coach said.

Junior Quentin Ikuse at 152 pounds also competed at regionals for BHS.

“We did surprise some people the first round and things were looking really good but the day got tougher from there,” Pippinger said.

After the first round, Bainbridge was in first place in the team standings with Chabot and Ikuse both posting wins, too, and Wyatt Goade getting a bye.

“The next round will be a lot tougher,” Pippinger said.

He was right as Chabot and Garrett Goade were both pinned in the second round and Ikuse in the first.

He said even though wrestling is an individual sport success depends on teammates pushing each other hard in practice to help each other get better. “They have continued to work hard and bring great energy to the wrestling room,” he said..

The six Spartans qualified for regionals by placing at subregionals the week before.

BHS had one wrestler win her weight category – Auckland. For the boys, Wyatt Goade placed second, Chabott third, and Garrett Goade and Ikuse both finished fourth.

Garrett Goade of Bainbridge tries to get a takedown in his opening match. Steve Powell/Bainbridge Island Review photos

Much of Garrett Goade’s opening match was a stalemate as they were tied 0-0 with seconds left.

While Garrett Goade won his first-round match, he was pinned in the second round in his next match.

Wyatt Chabot of Bainbridge won his first match, but was pinned in his second one. Steve Powell/Bainbridge Island Review

Likewise Quentin Ikuse won his first-round match but was pinned in this second-route battle. Steve Powell/Bainbridge Island Review