Ferndale, which had 10 wrestlers place top-6 in their weight class and three finish first overall, captured the team title at the Graham Morin Memorial boys wrestling tournament on Saturday, Dec. 16 at Squalicum High School.
The 17-team tournament, held annually in honor of former Squalicum and Bellingham All-American wrestler Graham Morin, returned for its second straight season after a three-year COVID-related hiatus.
Morin was a three-time 3A state champion during his high school career from 1997–2000 before dying unexpectedly during a Cornell University wrestling practice on Nov. 25, 2000.
Ferndale’s Gabe Rios-Gordillo (106 pounds), Jacob Gandy (157 pounds) and Wyatt Straight (285 pounds) honored Morin on Saturday by claiming three individual titles for the Golden Eagles — the most first-place finishes among all six Whatcom County teams present.
Rios-Gordillo defeated River Ridge’s Xavier Duran via 6-4 decision, while Gandy also won via 11-6 decision over Oak Harbor’s Percie Hatfield. Straight pinned Snohomish’s Jason Marshall in 3:57.
Bellingham’s Conor Rodriguez Stiff finished first for the Bayhawks in the 144-pound weight class, pinning Arlington’s Jack Mani in 1:35 while Lynden’s Christian Velazquez won the 132-pound title. Velazquez pinned Marysville-Pilchuck’s Max Woodall in 1:36 in the title match.
Team scores:
1. Ferndale (216.5)
2. River Ridge (212.0)
3. Snohomish (175.0)
5. Bellingham (148.5)
10. Squalicum (89.5)
13. Lynden (66.0)
16. Sehome (31.0)
17. Meridian (15.0)
Full list of Whatcom County placers by school and weight class:
Ferndale:
106: Gabe Rios-Gordillo, first place
113: Edward Reyes, fifth place
120: Julian Gonzalez, fourth place
132: Mason Filippinni, third place
138: Alex Depass, second place
144: Max Depass, fourth place
157: Jacob Gandy, first place
190: Kaden Eldridge, fourth place
215: Jacob Mattingly, third place
285: Wyatt Straight, first place
Bellingham:
106: Dylan Roath, fourth place
126: Daniel Kuhn, sixth place
144: Conor Rodriguez Stiff, first place
150: Nate Laas, second place
157: Pavel Shintar, third place
165: Alex Scott, sixth place
175: Kaarlo Laukkenan, fourth place
285: Finnegan Jensen, fourth place
Squalicum:
120: Jonah Papetti, second place
132: London Molina, sixth place
144: Griffin Smith, sixth place
157: Lucas Hansen, fifth place
175: Isaac McDonald, sixth place
Lynden:
132: Christian Velazquez, first place
215: Logan Ostry, fourth place
Sehome:
165: Aiden Holmes, third place
Meridian:
190: Landen Downey, sixth place
