South Whidbey will send nine wrestlers to the Class 1A Region 1 tournament at Klahowya High School on Feb. 13. The Falcons finished fourth in the five-team 1A District 1 sub-regional tournament with 105 points. Sultan won the tournament with 375.5 points, while Nooksack Valley finished second with 227.

South Whidbey junior Hunter Newman (138 pounds) and senior Madison Evans (160) finished second in their respective weight classes. Senior Daniel Ramos (120), sophomore Julian Fifield (126) and junior Chase Barthlett (285) placed third. Freshman Aryeh Rohde (120) and junior Logan Madsen (170) placed fourth, while freshman Owen Boram (145) and junior Trevor Kleinfelder placed fifth.

“I was elated and disappointed,” said Falcon head coach Jim Thompson said. “I’m super happy to get nine kids through to regionals. I’m disappointed in some of the kids not making the finals who I thought had a good chance of making [it].”

“In that instance, I’m disappointed. They make it tougher on themselves when you place third and fourth when you go to regional,” he added.

Thompson said he felt that Fifield should have made the finals match at 126 pounds. He was also saddened with Newman losing his 138-pound finals match to Sultan’s Jakob Weaver. But, Thompson was pleased with Barthlett, who nearly pinned Nooksack Valley’s Tyson Mergel in the semifinals of the 285-pound bracket.