Nathanael Continues His Mat Success in January
 

January 5 - Dual match, BCS at Tacoma Baptist
Win vs. Tacoma Baptist by a pin
in 3:41.
January 7 - Nate takes 3rd place in the Shoreline Invitational Tournament.
Win vs. Shorewood by pin.
Loss vs. O'Dea (eventual event champion) by a decision.
Win vs. Bishop Blanchet by a pin.
Win vs. Ballard by a major decision (15-2).
January 10 - Double Dual at Lakewood H.S.
Win vs. Cascade Christian by a pin in 3:36.
Win vs. Lakewood by a pin in 1:33.
January 14 - BCS takes 1st place at the six school Christian School Invitational.  Nathanael takes first place at 130 lbs.
Win vs. Kennedy by a pin in 1:40.
Win vs. Eastside Catholic by a pin in 2:08.
Win vs. Archbishop Murphy by a pin in 4:31.
January 19 - Dual match, Tacoma Baptist at BCS.
Win vs. Tacoma Baptist by a "technical fall" score of 17-2. 
(The referee stopped the match with 0:05 to go because Nathanael was leading by 15 points.)
January 21 - Team Tournament at Tyee High School
Win vs. Ballard by a pin in 2:35.
Loss vs. Sultan by a 9-5 decision.

_______________

On my drive up to the Lakewood High School "Double Dual" (four school) tournament on January 10th, I decided to take a quick detour to the Tulalip Tribal Casino just north of Everett.        I did not go to gamble of course, believing it to be, as Jeff Van Duzer calls it, "a voluntary tax on stupidity."  But for the sake of my Statistics students I braved the cigarette smoke and the lure of the glitter.  It was like stepping onto another planet or into "another fiction" as Heinlein would call it.  Hundreds of mostly older joyless zombies were feeding the machines.  I managed to walk once around the large perimeter and click off four shots with my Nikon camera.  On the last shot I used the flash.  That's when the security guard ushered me out!  No cameras allowed!!!

At the 1st annual Christian School Tournament on January 14th featuring three Catholic and three Protestant schools, I was asked by Coach Perkins to create "participant" certificates as well as award certificates for 1st through 4th place.  I also created a flyer with portraits of the BCS wrestlers at the request of Coach Prior.  It meant taking all the team portraits and creating the flyer the night before the event.  My photography and computer skills were combined and the results were gratifying and appreciated.

Nate Earns First Tournament Championship
 

The first annual Christian School Invitational included BCS, Cascade Christian, Tacoma Baptist and three Catholic schools, Kennedy, Eastside Catholic, and Archbishop Murphy.  Nathanael took the top spot at 130 pounds and BCS won the tournament that it hosted on January 14th.

Muscles alone were no substitute for Nathanael's strengths of  aggressiveness, endurance, and his seeming ability to get on top from any position. This Kennedy High School wrestler's coach thought Nate would be an easy opponent. (The coach was unaware that the photographer at his elbow was his opponent's dad.)  Strong but less skilled, Anthony Overstreet, only lasted 1:40 into round one before he was pinned.

In his second match, Nate faced perhaps a less talented opponent, Matt Suter of Eastside Catholic High School.  The first two minute period ended with Nate ahead 5-0.  Nate started round two in the down position but instantly rolled Matt over and pinned him in only eight seconds.  

I was delighted to learn that Nathanael had won the championship match, his third of the day.  (I was five blocks away at home printing out the 1st through 4th place award certificates as the coaches called me on their cell phones with the results.)  To win 1st place at the Christian School Invitational, Nathanael had to defeat Jack Reeves, the cocky team captain of Archbishop Murphy.  The newspapers has touted him as someone to reckon with. He had won five of his first six matches in December just as Nate had done.  Nathanael was leading on points when he pinned Reeves 0:31 into the third and final two-minute period.  I was proud of Nathanael because he is always gracious, both in victory and defeat.  This opponent showed no such similar sportsmanship.