Girls Prep Wrestling Sub-Regionals: Aberdeen dominates to win fourth-straight district title

Led by four individual champions, Bobcats cruise to another 2A District IV championship

By Ryan Sparks • February 5, 2019 6:00 pm
Aberdeen’s Tatum Heikkila (1) and Katie Gaskin (2) stand arm-in-arm atop the podium after finishing first and second, respectively, in the 190-pound class of the WIAA District IV North Sub-Regional Tournament at the Northwest Sports Hub in Centralia on Saturday. (Submitted photo)
Aberdeen’s Tatum Heikkila (1) and Katie Gaskin (2) stand arm-in-arm atop the podium after finishing first and second, respectively, in the 190-pound class of the WIAA District IV North Sub-Regional Tournament at the Northwest Sports Hub in Centralia on Saturday. (Submitted photo)

CENTRALIA — The dominance of the Aberdeen Bobcats girls wrestling team continues.

Led by the performances of four wrestlers that claimed individual titles, Aberdeen scored 421 points as a team, beating second-place Centralia and the rest of the field by 275 points to earn its fourth consecutive district title at the 2A/1A/2B District IV North Sub-Regional meet on Saturday.

The Bobcats’ Ashlyn Yakovich won by fall at 3:23 over Tenino’s Emma Barr to claim the 110-pound title.

In the 135-pound class, Aberdeen’s Ciera Skelly won via injury default over teammate Lily Herr.

The top-ranked wrestler in the state at 190-pounds, Tatum Heikkila, claimed a district title with a victory over teammate Katie Gakin, the No. 9 wrestler in the state, by fall at 1:23.

“Tatum has been dominating opponents all year and it continued today,” Aberdeen head coach Craig Yakovich said. “She just doesn’t give them any hope on the mat.”

In another final featuring two Bobcats, Jesse Emery pinned Justice Valenzuela at the 5:35 mark to win the title in the 235-pound class.

“Both girls wrestled a solid match,” Coach Yakovich said. “It was on a big move that ended it late in the third for Jesse.”

Aberdeen will send a total of 20 athletes (15 qualifiers, five alternates) to the 2A regional tournament, which is scheduled for Saturday in Olympia.

“I’m so proud of my girls and coaching staff,” Coach Yakovich said. “We came out and dominated on the mat all day and to have 20 girls extend their season for another week is impressive. Hopefully, we can continue this success at the regional next weekend.”

Aberdeen placed first with 421 points, followed by Centralia (146), WF West (122), Tenino (86) and Rochester (58) to round out the top five.

In addition to Aberdeen’s aforementioned title winners, the Bobcats will send second-place finishers Alexie Darst (115 pounds), Lily Here (135), Savannah Chandler (140), Camryn Cook (145), Geneveve Sawyer (155), Thalia Cook (170), Gakin and Valenzuela to next week’s regional championship.

Third-place finishers Rhianne Cline (100), Alexandria Portmann (110) and Emma Siano (120) also qualified for the tournament.

Willapa Harbor’s Portmann wins sub-regional title

Willapa Harbor’s Raegan Portmann emerged victorious to earn a Division IV North District title on Saturday in Centralia.

Portmann defeated Elma’s Jamison Carrell 11-4 to claim the 130-pound weight class to win the championship.

Both will be representing their respective schools at Saturday’s regional tournament.

Ocosta’s Ben-Jasmin Velasco also qualified for regionals by taking third in the 130-pound class.