by Ed Shepherd
SPORTS CORRESPONDENT

The Evergreen/ Tyee combined wrestling team received some good wrestles from its wrestlers, with the Wolverines girls, in particular, going about it with the most style, getting a first, a second, and, two third places, at the Highline Wrestling Invitational at Mount Rainier High School Saturday.

"Between the three girls I mentioned, they never have missed a practice, every tournament they're there to do anything I ask, they are pretty awesome, I couldn't ask for more," said Evergren/Tyee coach, Hip Nguyen.
Luana Tupa, a junior, took first place, and, Cecilia, Wu, a senior, took second, and, Lisa Nguyen, another senior, took third, these are the three girls that Coach Nguyen highlighted from his team.

"I could have, two, three, even, four go to state," said Coach Nguyen. And, the fourth wrestler, not yet mentioned, would be Diana Nguyen, who took third place, which is not bad at all for her being a first-year wrestler.

"All my girls are awesome, they are mentally set," said Coach Nguyen, also mentioning, the Tyee girl wrestler on the team of mostly Evergreen girl wrestlers, with that one, Reyna Zaldana-Paiz.

"The other girls, I think, are starting to rub off on Reyna," said Coach Nguyen, who mentioned state, which is at the Tacoma Dome on Feb. 21-22. "She's starting to feel the intensity."

For the boys' best intensity, Fernando Gallegos, an underclassmen, made it to finals and lost as did Cameron Duong, so, two second places for the boys of the Wolverines/Totems combined team, with Gallegos attending Evergreen and Duong, Tyee. And, Daniel Huynh, a Wolverine, took third in the consolation final for third place, too.

But, the best wrestle of the night was from the girls, and, that wrestler is the already mentioned, Tupa.
What did her coach have to say about her?

"Luana has done well this season, first-year wrestler, and, not many losses, she's lost to Mykayla, from Highline, but, Mykayla took first today in her weight class at the tournament," said Coach Nguyen. "When there's sisters and blood in the house, that's a real edge, but, Luana did really well in her wrestles today."
"Sisters" and "blood," simply, refers to the Pirates' Mykala Birdseye, who is a freshman, and, has an older sister, Emily, who was a senior last season, but did go to state in that time, too.
And, Tupa, who wrestled in the 180-pound class, really humbled herself when speaking about Birdseye, the tough, 145-pound wrestler, from the Pirates, whom Tupa lost to on the mat a month ago in a dual meet at Evergreen versus the Pirates. But, Tupa said she learned so much from that loss, by pin.

So, it was good to lose to Birdseye for Tupa, didn't do anything but make Tupa's will stronger to succeed, which, truly, is what losses should do for someone in wrestling, or, in any sport, for that matter.

"The Highline girl, she, actually, helped me out a lot when I wrestled her a month ago," said Tupa of Birdseye. "One thing she helped me out with was if I see a girl ready to do a throw on me I have to be the one to throw them. I have to allways be thinking one step ahead of my opponent. Also, she taught me how to use my opponents' weaknesses to my advantage. And, that's one of Mykayla's really good strengths."

Coaching is something that Tupa's getting a lot of good learning from, listening to Nguyen and others' help.
"They really focus on technique," said Tupa. "Once you have technique, you add muscle and everything falls into place."

The most fun about wrestling for Tupa is, really, a hodgepodge of all kinds of things.
"The adrenaline rush, just the drive to beat your opponent, even though you don't know them that well," said Tupa.

The Wolverine wreslter on the co-op team, Cecilia Vu, she took second and her coach was upset at that because she was beaten by a fall when she should have gotten the points for that, he thought.
"The referee missed three points," said Coach Nguyen. "I was trying to get his attention and let him know. Afterward, I talked to him, and, he said, 'I couldn't see it.'"
Frustrating then?
"Yeah, Cecilia had her in a pin position for 10 seconds," said Coach Nguyen. 'But, at the end of the day, this is experience. And, the other wrestler was a state wrestler from last year from Mount Tahoma, My Lim Pham. So, Cecilia wrestled a good wrestler."

Wu was understandably frustrated after her finals match loss, but she grappled with the unfortunate outcome like a champion.

"Some things aren't in our control," said Wu. "We have a 3-4 weeks until the postseason and that's what really matters."

But, 10 seconds, nailing that girl to the canvas and no pin call by the referee, what was that?
"I just got to keep wrestling," said Wu. "I just have to work harder to get the girl on her back so the refs will call it."

Someone then came up and gave Wu a hug.
"I just wanted to congratulate you," said Alex Zamora, a wrestler, from Evergreen, on the team with a solid 10-4 record this season and probably a contender in his 132-pound weight class if not for something he suffered just six days prior to this Highline invite.

"I'm a first year wrestler but I've gotten way better, until the concussion on Monday," said Zamora. "A hit to the temple in a wrestling."

Zamora should be back to wrestling in a short time from now, so, good news there, out of the not so good news.

And, the third place girl, also, a Wolverine on the two-school team, Lisa Nguyen (no relation to Coach Nguyen), she wrestled up one weight class for one of her wrestles, at 105, and, up two weight classes for another, at 110. She went 2-1, beating girls from Kitsap Central and Shelton.
What would Nguyen tell her teammate and friend, Wu, after that tough way to lose for her friend?
"She had two really tough girls to wrestle but she is being a good sport about it," said Nguyen.
And, what would Wu say about her coach, Nguyen.
"He spends a lot of time at giving his fullest potential," said Wu. "He just, really, is fair and wants the best for us. Always looking out for us, wants the program in the Highline School District to build up."