Edmonds-Woodway High School had three wrestlers win regional titles in the Region 1 Tournament Saturday at Marysville-Pilchuck High School. Two other Warriors in the finals took second place. Ebrima Fatty, Sidat Kanyi, and Hiram Martin won championships and advance to the Mat Classic state tournament to be held in the Tacoma Dome Feb. 20-21.

Edmonds-Woodway finished second behind Arlington in the tournament, outscoring Ferndale, the District champions. After hearing the team score, E-W coach Brian Alfi said, “It was a good day.”

Ebrima Fatty pinned all of his opponents to earn a slot in the 106-lb. final. In the title match, Fatty jumped on his opponent early and never looked back; before winning a 10-0 major decision over Trey Swanson from Arlington. After the match, Fatty said the key to his success is to practice hard and run a lot.

At 113 lbs., Sidat Kanyi got into the finals with pins and technical falls. In the championship match against Tyson Mowry from Hazen, Kanyi took charge in the first round and piled on the points before scoring a 15-0 technical fall. Kanyi, who works out with Fatty in practice, said he always tries to be in “better shape than the other guy.” “I run in the morning before school, practice hard and run in the evening after dinner,” he said.

It only took Hiram Martin slightly over six minutes to pin three opponents on the way to his championship. In the finals, Martin pinned Nathan McCaughan from Stanwood 1 minute into the first period. With a grin that went from ear to ear, Martin declared, “I better make sure I am in good enough shape to go three rounds at the T Dome.” Martin had also pinned every opponent at the district tournament.

Jordon Lindamood and Spencer Schultz also earned spots in the finals before placing second.

Lindamood’s semi-final match at 126 was possibly the most intense match of the day for the Warriors. With the score knotted at 4 after regulation and both overtime periods, Lindamood and Arlington’s Gavin Rork headed into the “ultimate tiebreaker.” The ultimate tiebreaker is when the wrestler who scored first in the match gets choice of position for the final 30-second period. After using injury timeout for a nagging back injury, Lindamood chose the top position requiring him to ride his opponent for 30 seconds to win. With Rork attempting a reversal as time ran out, Lindamood hung on to secure a spot in the finals. With his back still troubling him, Lindamood injury-defaulted to Arlington’s Jeremy Nygaard in the finals.

In the finals at 195, Schultz was up against the state’s number-one-ranked grappler at that weight — Garret Arrona from Stanwood. With the scored tied at 3 in the second round, Schultz was caught in the throw and pinned.

The Warriors will also have Abdoulie Jatta and Michael Swires going to state as alternates, both taking 5th at regionals.

— By Mike Cooper