Things couldn’t have started too much better for the Decatur High School wrestling team.
The Gators brought home first place at the Gator Invitational Tournament Saturday at Decatur. The Gators totaled 205 total points at the nine-team tournament to outdistance second-place Kentlake.
The Gators won five weight class championships, including a victory by Tevyn Tillman in the 285-pound division. Tillman won the heavyweight state championship last year and beat Foss High School’s Antoine Paige in the title match Saturday, 14-1.
Decatur’s other titles came from Tyler Thomas at 130 pounds, Greg Bull at 140, Dylan Aparis at 152 and Darren Faber at 189. Bull, Aparis and Faber all pinned their opponents in the championship round. Thomas beat Foss’ Jensen Chau, 15-6.
The Gators also got second-place finishes from Nick Lindholm at 103, Tyler Phelps at 119 and Nick Belcourt at 171.
Jefferson ended up in fourth place in the team standings and got individual titles from Ivan Mukomol at 125, Zeke Nistrian at 160 and Zach Roth at 215. The Raiders got a second place from Travis Reynolds at 145.
The South Puget Sound League regular season kicks off tonight.
Girls basketball
The Thomas Jefferson Raiders remained unbeaten on the season with a 47-39 win over Auburn Friday night in Auburn. The game was the SPSL North Division opener for both teams. The Raiders (3-0) dominated the second and third quarters, outscoring Auburn, 25-12.
Jefferson’s 6-foot senior Stacy Albrecht continued her strong start with 20 points and 13 rebounds against the Trojans. During the early season, Albrecht is averaging 12.3 points and 16 rebounds a game. She tallied a school-record 24 rebounds during a win over Emerald Ridge last week. She also had 10 steals in the game. Albrecht will play at Central Washington next year.
The Raiders also got nine points each from Hannah Kiyohara and Unique Taufa’asau.
The Federal Way Eagles couldn’t keep up with the No. 3-ranked Auburn Riverside Ravens Friday night, losing 77-60. The Eagles were outscored 48-32 during the first half. Federal Way (2-1) was led by the 34 points of sophomore Tyshana Burgess. In her two games this season, Burgess is averaging 25.5 points. Darah Huertes-Vining was the only other Eagle in double figures against Auburn Riverside with 12 points.
The Ravens (2-0) were led by Mercedes Wetmore (17 points), Nichole Jackson (16) and Kat Cooper (14).
The Decatur Gators picked up their first win in over a year Friday night when they beat Spanaway Lake, 68-31. The Gators finished 1-18 last season. Their only win came over Forks in the preseason.
Decatur got 11 points each from Tenea Holcomb and A’yesia Rogers and 10 points from Yonnie Coleman. The Gators (1-3) had five players score at least eight points Friday night. Decatur led 19-4 after the first quarter.
Beamer dropped their first SPSL South Division game of the season Friday to Emerald Ridge, 46-36. The Titans led by one after the first quarter, but the Jaguars outscored them 17-7 during the second quarter.
Beamer was led by the nine points of freshman Meghan Graf and eight points from Lillian Hampton. Emerald Ridge got 34 of its points from Shannon Byrne (18) and Charleen Pleasance (16).
Sports editor Casey Olson: 925-5565, sports@fedwaymirror.com
