By Mike Cooper

Edmonds-Woodway had two individual champions and placed third as a team in the Wesco 4A district wrestling tournament held in Monroe Friday and Saturday. Snohomish won the tournament, followed by Lake Stevens in second place. This is the first time in 13 years Lake Stevens has not won districts.

In addition to champions Noah Cuzzetto at 106 and Zack Perez at 170, Matt Cuzzetto and George Johanson got to the finals and placed second at 145 and 285, respectively. A total of 10 Warrior grapplers will advance to regionals this coming Saturday.

At 106 pounds, sophomore Noah Cuzzetto set the pace for Edmonds-Woodway, pinning each wrestler he faced. Cuzzetto never went beyond the second round and only spent a total of 9:08 on the mat. Cuzzetto, small in stature and looking younger than his years, is always seen with a smile on his face but when he steps on the mat it’s all business. In the finals, the state’s number-one-ranked Cuzzetto pinned the state’s eighth-ranked wrestler, Mariner’s David Garcia, in just 3:21.

Older brother Matt Cuzzetto pinned his first three opponents at 145 lbs. before winning a close semifinal match 11-9 against Logan Johnson from Lake Stevens. Cuzzetto, a junior, injury defaulted in the finals to take second place. Cuzzetto is expected to be ready to go for regionals.

Of the four Warriors in the finals, 170 lb. Zack Perez was the only senior. Perez pinned all three of his foes to advance to the finals, where he came from behind in the third round to defeat the tournament’s number-one seed, Kyle Bennett from Stanwood, 7-5.

Wrestling at 285 lbs., junior George Johanson recorded the Warriors fastest fall of the day in his quarterfinal match, pinning Francisco Flores from Mariner in just 21 seconds. In the finals, Johanson was up against the state’s number-two-ranked wrestler, Brandon Johnson from Lake Stevens. Johnson defeated Johanson 5-1.

Other Warriors who qualified for regionals include Mark Hood – 6th at 113, Nathan Vulliet – 5th at 132, Collin Natterstad – 4th at 152, Marq Brown – 4th at 160, Kris Delaney – 3rd at 195 and Sam Song – 6th at 285.