The Mercer Island wrestling team took third place at the sixth annual Jack Reynolds Tournament of Excellence Saturday, Jan. 18 at Mercer Island High School. The Islanders earned a team score of 120. Sultan High School finished first with a team score of 154 and Oak Harbor was second with a score of 149. Eleven schools competed in the tournament.

Seven Islanders finished in the top four of their weight divisions. Kevin Pedersen finished fourth in the 106 weight class, and Taylan Yuasa took second in the 113 bracket, pinning two opponents before losing to Issaquah’s Torre Eaton in the championship match. Luke Wilson placed second in the 126 bracket, losing by a 11-2 decision to Shorewood’s Matthew Floresca in the title match. Jake Pruchno finished second in the 132 division, losing by a 15-3 decision to Oak Harbor’s Jeremy Vester. Ailin Fu (120) and Jenny Chen (132) also competed.

Trevor Gullstad went 3-2 and earned three pins in the 138 bracket, while Kenji Walker finished second and Mike Ong finished fourth in the 145 bracket. Walker lost to Bellevue’s Christian Villani in the title match. Finn Childress (145), Nic Meinzinger-Richards (152), Masa Kemmotsu (152) and Brian Wen (160) also competed.

Tanner Ranz took second in the 170 division, losing by a 12-1 decision to Lynnwood’s Hunter Lord in the title match. Kwanme Opoku and Teague Frazier also competed in the 170 bracket. Cole Nielsen and Dylan Majewski each earned pins in the 220 bracket, while Delano Kingston (195) and Evan King (285) also competed for Mercer Island.

The Jack Reynolds Tournament is the highlight event for raising money for the Jack Reynolds Scholarship Fund, which aims to assist post secondary education for student athletes. Reynolds was an educator in the Issaquah School District for 36 years and was a coach in wrestling, football, track and volleyball. He passed away at age 61 in 2008 after battling melanoma, and was inducted to the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. A total of 15 scholarships and $50,000 has been raised over the last five years.

Earlier in the week, Mercer Island celebrated Senior Night with a 48-24 win over the Liberty Patriots Thursday, Jan. 16 at Mercer Island High School. Seniors Evan King, Jake Pruchno and Kenji Walker all earned wins for the Islanders. King (285) opened the meet with a win by forfeit, while Pruchno (132) won by a 14-3 major decision over Zach Toombs and Walker (145) won by a 10-4 decision over Juan Flores.

Next up, the Islanders will travel to Mount Si to take on the Wildcats at 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23.