MIHS wrestlers notch tournament titles
Published 8:30 am Monday, January 5, 2026
Mercer Island High School’s Luke Sincock and Andy Wei powered their way to wrestling championships at the King and Queen of the Castle tournament on Dec. 29 at Stadium High School in Tacoma.
Senior captain Sincock triumphed at 175 pounds and junior Wei was victorious at 165 pounds in the 30-team boys divisions. The Islanders, who brought eight wrestlers to the event, placed eighth in the team standings.
No. 1-seeded Sincock, who placed sixth at state last season at 165, first had a bye and then went 4-0 to notch the title at Stadium High. He registered two pins, a tech fall and won 15-2 in the final.
“That ball’s continuing to roll with him. He’s a great leader on the team,” noted new head coach Colton Knebel. “He’s one of the hardest working kids you’ll ever meet. He puts in the time in the gym, running, club wrestling all throughout the year.”
Sincock aims to wrestle to the best of his ability in each match no matter what score is on the board.
The Islander feels his keys to success at the Castle tourney were: “Staying focused in each match and just staying in good position and working towards scoring the next point.”
He’d like to produce a good, healthy and strong season from here on out while shooting to win districts and state. Team-wise, Sincock would like to see the Islanders win districts and send a multitude of wrestlers to state.
For Wei at the Stadium High event, the No. 2-seeded grappler had a bye and then amassed two tech falls, a pin and then an 11-2 win in the final. It was his first high school finalist battle after winning some non-high school freestyle tourneys.
Knebel said that Wei is strong, fast, skilled and works hard on the mat.
“I was No. 2 seed going in and my finalist was a No. 1 seed so I knew it was going to be a tough match and I just had to stay focused and don’t let the thoughts get to my head and just wrestle freely,” said Wei, adding about the intense matches he’s experienced during his wrestling career (which includes freestyle and Greco): “I feel like the pressure gets me more hyped and I feel like I wrestle better when I have a big crowd.”
Wei has set two of his goals this season as winning a state title and Gut Check Tournament championship. The Islander, who wrestled at state last year (finishing 1-2 at 150), said he’s got some big moments ahead of him as the season rolls on.
Other Islander wrestlers to watch for this season, according to Knebel, are 2025 state participants Emerson Woods (fourth at 115 on the girls’ side), Beckim Nason (3-2 at 175) and Connor Flume (2-2 at 132). Woods is a sophomore this season, Nason a junior and Flume a senior.
In the coaching realm, Knebel — a Mercer Island High School class of 2011 graduate — was an assistant coach with the high school program for the last nine years. While a student athlete at the school, the wrestler qualified for state three times at 189 pounds and finished third in 2010 and fourth in 2011. He is a member of the school’s wrestling hall of fame and played on the Islanders’ 2011 state-championship-winning lacrosse team.
Knebel is a 2016 graduate of Washington State University where he earned an electrical engineering degree.
“At Mercer Island, it was a great athletic and academic community, and so through sports you’re learning your hard work and dedication and the camaraderie and sort of teamwork abilities,” he said. “Some of the best athletes are also the best students, and so that really kind of pushed me to study a lot harder than I probably would have if I wasn’t in the Mercer Island community.”
Digging into his coaching philosophy, Knebel said that he stresses hard work, commitment and controlling what you can during meets.
“We’re keeping it simple in repetition. We’re just trying to get really good at a few things and eliminate mistakes. Those are keys to winning in wrestling and a lot of sports,” he said.
