Indians ride four finalists to third-place finish

NC’s Indians, who had a remarkable Saturday, sent four to the finals with two others rolling through consolations to place third and fourth. The effort bumped them into title contention, at one point 8 ½ points separating three teams.

They finished with 124.5 points to Yelm’s 148.5 and Enumclaw’s 142

“It was a good day for us. For a while there, holy cow, we couldn’t lose,” coach Luke Leifer said. “The finals were tough, because people put pressure on themselves. But think about it, four finalists and a third and fourth place is a great tourney.”

North Central’s six wrestlers combined to win eight straight matches Saturday to earn the third-place team trophy and for a time were in the thick of the title hunt thanks to a tourney-high four finals qualifiers.

But all four wrestlers lost. Jared Berlinger (119 pounds) made his first final in convincing fashion, 24-7.

“My goal is to win and I just planned on going out my hardest and do as well as I could,” said Berlinger, who lost 3-0 for the title.

Nate Brown (125) was seconds away from a title in his second final, but inexplicably surrendered a reversal as time expired and lost in overtime. Ben Carter (171), another two-time finalist, ran afoul of four-time champion Derek Garcia of Sedro-Woolley. Anthony Whitmarsh lost 3-1 at 189.