Mannie ends career with Mat Classic bouts

The second time wasn’t a charm, but you can bet that if Jason Mannie had a third chance at the state 3A wrestling tournament, it would be.

Mannie, a 152-pound senior from South Whidbey High School, did not get to wrestle as far into Mat Classic XVII in Tacoma last weekend as he would have liked. Plagued with knee injuries over the past few weeks, he wrestled a near-miraculous region tournament to get to the state championship the week before. As a consequence, his training was light in the four days leading up to the Friday start of the Mat Classic, said South Whidbey wrestling coach Wes Helseth.

“We tried to keep him healthy,” he said.

Having earned a spot at the Mat Classic two years ago as a 135-pound sophomore, Mannie found himself following a familiar path through the tournament bracket. In his opening-round bout, against Bandy Earl of Clarkston, Mannie lost by fall at 1:56 in the first round. In his second bout, he bounced back against David Moor of Tyee, winning with pin at 3:32 in the second round.

But in a tight third match against John Capen of Chehalis, Mannie could not quite get past, losing 7-4 and getting bounced out of the double-elimination tournament.

Mannie said he felt “flat” on the mat at the tournament, owing in part to a cold and sore throat that bothered him all week. Though pleased that he made it back to the Mat Classic after being eliminated early in the District 1 2A district tournament last year, Mannie said he had hoped to place in his weight division.

“I wish I would’ve done better,” he said.

Mannie was the only Falcon to make it to the state meet this season. He plans to play baseball for South Whidbey in the spring.

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