ANACORTES — Cody Forst faced a different kind of pressure Wednesday, not one involving wins and losses, but defining a level of domination.

The Sedro-Woolley junior came away with a split decision. He preserved the shutout in the Sedro-Woolley boys’ wrestling team’s season-opening 81-0 victory over Anacortes, but was unable to make it a perfect 10-for-10 pins against the Seahawks.

Forst (125 pounds) had a tough task, wrestling up a weight against one of the Seahawks’ top available wrestlers. He and Lucas Papadakis faced off for three hard-fought rounds. Forst had the only takedown in regulation, that coming in the first round.

Papadakis tied it with a stall and an escape in the second, then rode Forst out in the third round to force overtime.

After nearly taking Papadakis down early in the extra period, Forst got the winning takedown 34 seconds into the extra frame to claim the 4-2 victory.

“It’s great for him to have the pressure he had on him,” Cubs coach Jay Breckenridge said. “That will help him.”

That match took more than 10 minutes — the other 13 matches claimed just 26 minutes.

“Something like this, it gives you perspective,” Anacortes coach Bob Woods said. “You think you’re working hard in the practice room, and you see the intensity they bring, and you realize how much harder you have to work.”

A mismatch already, the Seahawks were further hampered by the ineligibility of top wrestlers Daniel Brown and Colby Wright, both of whom should contend for state tournament berths.

Anacortes also had to forfeit four weight classes, leaving just 10 contested matches.

“A loss is a loss,” Woods said. “You never want to get shut out. You can’t blame the kids. If you want to put the blame somewhere, I think it should fall on my shoulders.”

Sedro-Woolley’s first three wrestlers — Trent Morgan (130), Shane Hunt (135) and Tyler Howell (140) each recorded second-round pins. The next six falls — by John Janicki (145), Derek Garcia (160), Cody Pohren (171), Taylor Knutsen (189), Joe Janicki (215) and Brady Mast (112) all came in the first round, averaging about a minute of mat-time apiece.

“We needed to get them out on the mat,” said Breckenridge, whose first match of the season against rival Burlington-Edison was postponed due to the length of the Tigers’ football season. “Saturday is going to be a whole different scenario.”

The Cubs next take the mat at their own Spud Walley Invitational on Saturday, taking on some of the top teams in the state.

• Eric Francis can be reached at 360-416-2131 or by e-mail at