Published: Sunday, February 17, 2008

Paxman wrestles with pa= in

By Scott M. Johnson
and Mike = Cane
Herald Writers

TACOMA -- In any other tournament, at any other time of his life, Brady Paxman might have listened to his body scream.=

But with one match standing between him and the end of his wrestling career, the Cedarcrest senior was not going to = let a rib injury keep him from a shot at the state championship.

Paxman taped his ri= bs up for the championship match of the 171-pound weight class, but quickly got pinned by two-time defending champion Ryan Desroches of Chattaroy-Riverside.

After getting pinned in one minute, 16 seconds, Paxman said that he considered sitting out the final match but decided instead to = give it his best.

"I might have looked back 10 years down the road and said, 'Why didn't I try?'" Paxman said after finishin= g off a 41-2 senior season.

Paxman gutted throu= gh the rib injury to outlast Ridgefield senior Aaron Boyle 10-5 in the morning semifinal. He said he originally suffered soreness in his ribs during a practice session last week, but in the first period of Saturday morning's s= emifinal the injury got much worse.

Cedarcrest coach Eric Pedeferri said X-rays might be neede= d to determine the nature of the injury. After rallying for the victory with five points in the final few seconds, Paxman told his coaches that he thought he might have broken a rib.

Paxman received tre= atment during the afternoon, but the soreness never went away. He was also having difficulty breathing but wanted to wrestle in the finals.

After losing to Desroches, Paxman said that trainers told him earlier in the aft= ernoon that he probably tore some cartilage in his rib cage.

Pedeferri, the Cedarcrest coach, was impressed by Paxman's determination.

"What did he have to lose?" Pedeferr= i said. "He was already the underdog. (Desroches) is a two-time champion.

"It's like the New York Giants and New England in the Super Bo= wl. That's why you play the game; you never know."

Paxman suffered his= only losses of the season against state champions Desroches= and Jake Swartz of Auburn, who won the 3A state title on Saturday.

If there is a silver lining to the end of an impressive career, it's that another Paxman will be at Cedarcrest High School next year. Cody Paxman, an eighth-g= rader and Brady's younger brother, has already developed quite a reputation as a youth wrestler.

"The middle school kids joke that he's from another universe," Pedeferri said.
Back in action: Ed A= liverti made good on his promise. After missing Mat Classic last year while recover= ing from pancreatic cancer, the highly honored announcer and Edmonds resident v= owed to return in 2008. Indeed, he was back this weekend, sharing announcing dut= ies and chatting with longtime friends. Aliverti's booming voice has been associated with Mat Classic since it began 20 years = ago.

Secret to success: Josh Heinzer, a Lake Stevens wrestler who advanced to the Class 4A 103-pound championship match Saturday, described what he thinks makes the Vikings so good Friday after winning a quarterfinal match. It's not exactly top-secret, spy-novel-worthy stuff. Said the sophomore, "We work harder than an= ybody else out there."

Double the fun for Everett: Everett capped a solid performance in t= he 3A tourney Saturday. Six of its seven state-meet qualifiers placed in the t= op eight of their respective weight divisions. Two of them, junior Cary Irwin = and senior Zach Husman, both placed in the 152-pound bracket. Irwin was third a= nd Husman was seventh.<= /span>

Sultan's retiring coach gets honor: Wes Fischer, completing his 17th = and final season as Sultan's head coach, received a plaque Saturday from the Washington State Wrestling Coaches Association. Honored for his overall commitment to the sport, the former Snohomish High wrestler and longtime wrestling official was given the award during a ceremony before the championships finals. Fischer coached a total of 25 yea= rs and officiated for 31 seasons.