ASIJ 133-pounder Cadell Lee brough a Virginiia state championship with him to the Pacific. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Entering the Far East tournament, DODEA-Pacific wrestling team rivals from Okinawa and the Kanto Plain are staring up at a team that won both of last year’s Division I banners and returns four individual weight-class winners.
So the question for teams such as Kadena and Kubasaki of Okinawa, and Nile C. Kinnick and American School Japan of the Kanto Plain, is: How do you stop St. Mary’s?
At any one point during the season, one of those teams or another managed to nose ahead of the rest of the field, which has coaches of all those teams saying it’s a question of which one steps up at the right time.
“One match at a time. Wrestle hard and go for wins,” said Joey Wood, a former Kinnick wrestler now in his third year of coaching Kadena.
His Panthers have six Far East banners to their credit, but none since 2010. As is the case with all Far Easts since 1996, it’s a question of which teams best prepare for both the individual freestyle and dual-meet phases of the tournament.
“We have to focus on getting these guys into championship bouts,” Wood said of the individual phase. He has two champion wrestlers returning from last year, brothers Josiah and Jeremiah Drummer, the latter named last year’s tournament Outstanding Wrestler.
“If we get a few championship-bout wins, then we’ll be OK. The duals will be closer than the individual. If we perform as we should, it all depends on whether our guys win,” Wood said.
Far East is scheduled for Monday-Wednesday, the individual freestyle the first 1½ days and the dual-meet portion the last 1½, hosted by Kinnick High School on Yokosuka Naval Base.
St. Mary’s swept the individual and dual banners last year, but even Titans coach Shu Yabui, a three-time Far East gold medalist in the early 2000s, said matches have to be won on the mat.
“Other teams have big moves and pinning combinations that have caught our wrestlers on their backs many times this season,” Yabui said “If we get pinned, that’s it. We have to be careful not to be on our backs.”
Josiah Drummer, in black, is one of two returning Far East champions for Kadena. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Kadena's Jeremiah Drummer returns as last year's Far East tournament Outstanding Wrestler. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Hiroyuki Sen of St. Mary's won the 114-pound title at the "Beast" tournament. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Kubasaki's Anthony Finegan, in green, placed third at heavyweight last year. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Kubasaki's Gavin Ocampo won at 121 pounds in the "Beast" tournament. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Tim Cope of Kubasaki won at 127 pounds in the "Beast" tournament. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Kubasaki's Kaiser Armour enters Far East one of the favorites at 172. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
All of the teams considered pre-tournament contenders were just at Kinnick on Jan. 13 for the “Beast of the Far East” tournament, considered the major in-season prep for Far East.
St. Mary’s came in first, Kubasaki second and Kadena and Kinnick tied for third. ASIJ was sixth. But the top six teams were separated by just 19 points, which means anything can happen, coaches say.
“We have some wrestlers who are peaking at the right time (and) ‘Beast’ was evidence of that,” said coach Alex High of Kubasaki, the all-time leader in Far East tournament banners. Kaiser Armour could make some noise at 172, and heavyweight Anthony Finegan took third last year.
“But as I’ve said, that was a dress rehearsal. If the wrestlers show up and perform like they’re capable, we have a good shot at bringing home a banner,” High said.
ASIJ has former Virginia state champion in Cadell Lee, who won the “Beast” title at 133 earlier this month.
Another factor is injuries. Kinnick suffered a handful of dings and bruises during “Beast,” with one, Will Mitchell, likely sidelined for the meet, the equivalent of a state title across the Pacific Ocean.
“We’re going to have to fill that 145 gap,” Red Devils coach Stan Lovett said. “Our other ones who made some mistakes will have to step it up, exercise good technique and not get caught.”
All agree that the Titans are the team to beat in Division I. The small-schools banner could end up being a chase between Christian Academy Japan and Zama, which have the closest to full lineups that Division II has.
But there are always schools that don’t have full lineups but have strong individual wrestlers who could end up taking high-placement points.
Humphreys returns Steve Gonzales, a runner-up from last year. Martin Heffele of Osan is another contender, while Daegu brings Nick Faubion, Jaiden Williams and Michael Kendall to the table.
“There are many tough wrestlers. We cannot underestimate anyone,” Yabui said.
