MARYSVILLE — After a close match in their dual meet this season, Arlington heavyweight Bryant Dickerson and Lake Stevens’ Zach Tueber seemed destined for a rematch.
“I’ve wrestled Tueber probably about 10 times and I’m sorry to say I’ve always come out on the bottom half, losing by a few points,” Dickerson said. “We’ve always been neck and neck, but he’s found a way to beat me.”
Dickerson wrestled a lot of junior varsity as a junior last year behind fellow heavyweight Mark Davis, but even though he made it all the way to the Mat Classic, he was dissatisfied with his performance. With a determination to do better his senior year, he undertook a new training regimen — about 25 hours a week, including training with college wrestlers in Tacoma and Shoreline, as well as earning a brown belt in judo — his goal to is to make the heavyweight finals at the state wrestling tournament.
Dickerson defeated Tueber 4-3 when Arlington hosted the Vikings in a January dual meet. Seeded on opposite ends of the district bracket, they met for the district championship Feb. 7 at Marysville-Pilchuck. Just as it had that January night, when Dickerson won on a two-point stalling call against Tueber in the waning seconds of the match, the heavyweight championship went down to the whistle. The Arlington senior held a 4-3 lead late in the third round as Tueber went for a takedown for the go-ahead score.
Officials ruled the takedown took place after the final whistle, giving Dickerson the district championship.
And just like the year before, when Dickerson followed Davis to the state-seeding regional tournament, he’ll be joined at the Feb. 14 regional tournament in Snohomish by a fellow Arlington heavyweight, Ben Torve.
Seeded in the same half of the bracket, Torve and Dickerson met in the third round, where Dickerson pinned his teammate, sending him to the consolation bracket. Torve went 2-1 there, earning the seventh and final seed to regionals.
Dickerson and fellow Arlington captain Chris Myers gave the Eagles two district championships, leading a crew of eight wrestlers who will go on to compete at regionals. The top seven finishers from the district tournament at Marysville will meet with the top five wrestlers from the SPSL North at regionals. The top five finishers in each class advance to the Mat Classic in Tacoma.
Like Dickerson, Myers was seeded first in his bracket, advancing to the championship round against a Lake Stevens foe. The senior looked formidable in his march to the 160-pound finals, pinning all of his first three opponents in the first round. In the finals, Myers rematched against Vikings senior Jake Welch, against whom he had a narrow regular-season victory as well.
Although that decision had gone 8-7 in Myers’ favor, the rematch wasn’t as close. The two went all three rounds with Myers winning a 10-4 decision.
A state veteran at 140 pounds, sophomore Nathan Shortt continued his season with a fourth-place finish.
Arlington wrestlers looking for their first trip to state include Torve, junior Chris Berg (seventh at 130 pounds), junior Seth Henderson (fifth at 171 pounds) and sophomore Brady Quinton (seventh at 215 pounds). Also going to Snohomish is freshman Blake McPherson, who rebounded from an opening-round loss at 152 pounds to eventual champ George King of Lake Stevens. He reeled off four wins in a row to earn a trip to regionals, placing sixth in a bracket dominated by juniors and seniors.
