Perry's Xavier Mitchell takes control of King's Jack Snyder at 108 pounds. (Mila Cabradilla/Special to Stripes)
YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan – What can be better than winning the Far East wrestling tournament individual freestyle team titles?
A clean sweep of all the team titles - and Matthew C. Perry and St. Mary’s did just that Wednesday, winning their respective divisional dual-meet team championships.
“It’s really impressive that two schools from the lower part of Japan came up and wrestled in the (dual-meet final),” Perry coach Billy Henry said after his Samurai beat E.J. King of Sasebo Naval Base 34-25 in the Division II final.
The Samurai went unbeaten in six regular-season meets against the Cobras, some of which were close. Both squads “worked hard to be there and in the end it was us and them again,” Henry said.
In the Division I final, the Titans left little to chance, winning the first seven bouts to clinch the title early, then holding off defending champion Kubasaki 33-24.
“Our boys wrestled very hard, (but) there’s a lot of luck, a lot of things that worked in our favor,” said Titans coach Shu Yabui, a former three-time Far East weight-class champion. “The kids were pumped, and it showed.”
Matthew C. Perry claimed both the individual and dual titles after finishing second in each in the last Far East tournament Feb. 15, 2020, at Osan. For the Titans, it was Title No. 19, putting them eight behind all-time leader Kubasaki with 28.
Perry's Tavita Johnson beat King's Ryan Fenwick at 148 pounds in a bout that Samurai coach Billy Henry said was the turning point of the D-II final. (Mila Cabradilla/Special to Stripes)
St. Mary's Jong In Lee gains the upper hand on Kubasaki's Jesse Fuentes at 108 pounds. (Mila Cabradilla/Special to Stripes)
Kubasaki's Aaron Laborn gains the edge on Matthew Araya of St. Mary's at 215 pounds. (Mila Cabradilla/Special to Stripes)
Kubasaki's Godfrey Wray gains the upper hand, but only briefly, as St. Mary's Jiei Izukune would go on to pin him at 141 pounds. (Mila Cabradilla/Special to Stripes)
King's Ashton Wall takes charge of Perry's Xander Grantham at 180 pounds. (Mila Cabradilla/Special to Stripes)
Henry made some lineup adjustments, which led to Samurai 148-pounder Tavita Johnson coming up against King’s Ryan Fenwick. Johnson scored a win by technical fall, which Henry said was the turning point of the dual meet and ultimately led to victory.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the team,” Henry said. “The way they stepped up. It was a really solid match all the way around. They’re fighters, they fought all the time and it showed in the end.”
The D-I final saw Titans Hugo Miyamoto (101), Jong In Lee (108), Isaac Shane (115), Luke Shane (122) and Masaya Toyokawa (129) each open with pins. Kubasaki won its last five bouts, but by then it was too late.
“I didn’t expect us to (clinch the meet) by 135,” Yabui said. “But they peaked at the dual meet final, which is what you want.”
The Titans won five weight-class titles in Tuesday’s individual finals to win the D-I crown over Kubasaki, while the Samurai had four wrestlers finish second en route to capturing the D-II title by a wide margin over Christian Academy Japan.
King's Jude Cutler locks in a head-and-arm hold on Perry's Kail Kitko at 129 pounds. (Mila Cabradilla/Special to Stripes)
