Anthony Thomas won his second consecutive championship at the World of Wrestling 2013 Reno World Championships, which was held April 12-14.
A senior at Evergreen High School, Thomas won the 170-pound weight class for wrestlers 18 and younger. Thomas was one of 33 members of Vancouver’s Askeo International Mat Club among some 2,500 participants at the Reno event.
Thomas recently accepted a scholarship to wrestle for Colorado State University Pueblo. In February, he was a runner-up at the Washington high school state championships and was selected as The Columbian’s high school wrestler of the year.
Askeo’s CJ Hamblin won the 100-pound division for wrestlers 8 and younger, defeating an opponent who had won two other World of Wrestling tournaments this year.
Other members of the Askeo club who placed at the tournament were Austin Wright, Miles Jackson, and Semise Kofe. Wright finished second in the 285-pound class for ages 15 and younger. Jackson placed second in the 100-pound tournament for ages 10 and younger. Kofe, who took first place in the 2013 Oregon 5A high school state championships for Portland’s Roosevelt High School, took seventh place in the 18-and-younger 285-pound weight class.
The Askeo club is based at Evergreen High School. Its coaching staff includes Damon McPherson, Donnie McPherson, Maka Foster, Joel Denman, Zac Young, Nathan Cassidy, Neithan Stanley, and Josh Avery.
Clark County rugby team scores big win
The Clark County Warriors high school rugby team remained unbeaten with an impressive win over second-place Beaverton on Saturday at Delta Park.
The Warriors, who draw players from several high schools, beat Beaverton 67-27 to improve to 6-0 in the Club Championship division of Oregon Youth Rugby. Jason Vailea led the way with three tries for Clark County.
Also scoring tries for the Warriors were: Luc Levasseur, Nick Gadbaw, Jaren Rhea, Ian Dhea, Brendon Curle, Darrin Curle, Justin Straup, and Michael DiGenova. Among the highlights was a 60-meter kick pass from Darrin Curle to Ian Dhea for a score.
The Warriors complete their home schedule at 2 p.m. April 17 against Bend, Ore., at Liberty Middle school in Camas. A win would clinch the regular-season title for Clark County, which visits Pendleton, Ore., on May 4 to complete the regular season.
Playoff matches will be played on May 11 and May 18.
Battle Ground, Prairie lose — In the Oregon Youth Rugby Varsity Premiership, both Battle Ground and Prairie lost on Saturday. The Varsity Premiership is the Oregon Youth Rugby division for teams that draw players from only one high school.
First-place Lincoln beat the Battle Ground Bulls 30-13. Battle Ground tries were scored by Daniel Monen and John Cormican, who also converted a penalty kick. Man of the match for Battle Ground was Ben Wheeler, according to coach Daniel Simental.
Lincoln improved to 6-0, while Battle Ground is 4-2. The Bulls visit West Linn on April 27 to complete the regular season.
Also in the Varsity Premiership division on Saturday, defending champion Reynolds (5-1) defeated Prairie Wolf Pack 42-7. Prairie is 3-3, and concludes its regular season April 27 by visiting Lincoln.
In the Oregon Youth Rugby girls division, results from Battle Ground’s match against Grant of Portland were not reported.
King’s Way drops pair in boys lacrosse
The King’s Way Knights boys high school lacrosse team dropped a pair of matches last week.
On Friday, visiting Bainbridge scored a power-play goal in the closing seconds to win 9-8. Jack Beall and Connor Dyehouse scored two goals apiece for King’s Way. Goalie Connor Littelfield had 16 saves, and defender Andrew Legg had one assist.
On Saturday, Bellevue (7-0 in league play) beat the visiting Knights 15-3. Attack men Evan Ramirez, Greg Klein and Dyehouse each scored for King’s Way (6-3).
King’s Way, which has players from several Vancouver-area high schools, competes at the top level of lacrosse in Washington. The Knights will host Auburn Riverside at 7 p.m. Friday at King’s Way Christian High School for a match between the top teams in the South Sound Division of Washington Boys High School Lacrosse Association.
At the second level of boys lacrosse in Washington, Richland blanked Union 15-0 on Friday.
Union (2-6) and Camas (3-3) are first-year club programs that involve players from several schools. Union and Camas will face each other for the second time this season at 5 p.m. Wednesday at Pacific Middle School.
Girls lacrosse club nears playoff berth
The Evergreen Lacrosse Club remained in second place in the Nisqually Conference of the Washington Schoolgirls Lacrosse Association with a 14-10 win Thursday at Bethel. Sarah Neve had a career-high five goals, while Sara Smith had three assists in the win.
The Black Cats rolled off nine consecutive goals to take an 11-3 lead at halftime. Sophomore midfielder Madeline McKinnon contributed in all five of the main statistical categories, picking up three goals, one assist, four ground balls, five faceoff controls, and forcing three caused turnovers. Emily McCoy added three goals, while Katherine Borchers, Dana Fulk, and Lisa Peterson each scored one.
On Monday, Evergreen beat visiting Curtis of Tacoma 12-3 in a non-conference game. McKinnon scored seven goals, and goalie Dawn Lumen made 15 saves to highlight the third consecutive win for the Black Cats. Neve scored twice, and Mackenzie Nelson, Lisa Peterson and Sarah Smith each scored a goal.
Evergreen, which has players from each of the Evergreen Public School high schools, returns to conference play Saturday with a key contest at Tahoma High School in Covington.
COMMUNITY SPORTS NEWS is published each Tuesday. Submit items by sending e-mail to paul.danzer@columbian.com or by calling 360-735-4521.
