As the district and state tournaments approach it’s becoming clear that a number of races might come down to the final game of the season.

Take the Arlington girls basketball team as an example. The Wesco North is so packed in the middle that at the time The Times went to press, just a half a game separated fourth place from sixth. And the cutoff point for a chance at a District 1 tournament berth is right in the middle at five.

You look at the Arlington boys and the situation is roughly the same. Coach Nick Brown’s boys have some work to do, but it’s possible they could be playing Snohomish for the final guaranteed spot from the Wesco North Feb. 11.

The same goes for the Lakewood boys hoops squad, which is likely to play in the district tourney, but could go anywhere from second to fifth in the Cascade Conference 2A standings.

And then there is wrestling. With the improvement that the Eagles have shown over the past few weeks, living on the edge seems to be their motto. Come to think of it, they might as well come out to that Aerosmith song or get some kind of T-shirt made.

That school of wrestling that grinds out wins is bound to earn a few of Shaun Williams’ boys a trip to the Mat Classic — and most certainly in dramatic fashion.

I’m thinking we should expect nothing else.