Ilwaco sophomore Jace Linthakhan, pictured during an earlier home meet, was champion at 106 pounds at sub-regionals in Kalama Saturday. He is one of eight IHS squad members hoping to advance from regionals to the state championship tournament next Saturday.

KALAMA — Eight Ilwaco boys thrived at sub-regionals and will wrestle again on the path to state. Four more will travel to regionals at Adna Saturday as alternates, having placed eighth.

Fifteen squad members competed at Kalama, with IHS placing third out of 17 teams.

Because Ilwaco’s largest turnout is in the lower weights, more than one Fisherman athlete found himself having to wrestle a teammate in a competitive bout.

“All in all I am proud of our team for the grit that they all showed to move on into next week,” said Coach Larry Kemmer.

After a loss, wrestlers drop into a consolation bracket. “With having a number of weights with two kids, you hope they don’t meet until the finals,” he said. “For us this was not the case. In our case, they all met on the ‘back side.’”

The three Fishermen who advanced to the state tournament last year are in contention to return. Sophomore Jace Linthakhan was the champion at 106 pounds Saturday.

Wade Smith placed second at 150, losing the final 7-5 in a bout that Kemmer said could have gone either way.

And Xavier Smith, who placed fourth at state as a junior, was third at sub-regionals at 113, losing a “heartbreaker” semifinal 8-6.

Others qualifying to wrestle again were Zech Taylor, who finished fifth at 144 pounds, Blake Bell sixth at 113, and three squad members who placed seventh in their divisions — Luis Mendez at 132, Claudio Mendez at 138 and Marcus Lynch at 215.

At Adna, the top five in each weight class advance to the state championships at the Tacoma Dome the following week; the sixth-place wrestler may advance as an alternate.

Four IHS athletes will attend regionals as alternates having placed eighth. They are Oscar Gustafson (120), Ezekiel Sanchez (132), Gavin Estrada (138) and Christian Olivo (190).

Gustafson, a freshman, had to take eighth because of an earlier injury. “Oscar was the No. 2 seed and I believe he would have been the ‘two’ coming out if he had been able to compete,” Kemmer said.

The coach noted that the season’s performances signal great hope. “We are a young team with a great deal of promise for the future,” he said. “We get better every time we step on the mat.”