CLASS 4A REGION I WRESTLING: At a glance

• WHEN: Friday and Saturday. Matches begin Friday at 5 p.m. and tomorrow at 11 a.m. The championship round is slated for 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.

• WHERE: Snohomish High School.

• WHO: Teams from the South Puget Sound League North Division along with the Wesco North and South.

• AT STAKE: State berths. The top five wrestlers in each weight class advance to the state tournament, which is slated for Feb. 20-21 at the Tacoma Dome.

• FAVORITES: Lake Stevens, Tahoma, Auburn, Snohomish.

• NOTABLE: On a lot of levels, this could be considered a smaller version of the state tournament. Five of the state’s top-10 ranked teams will be competing — Lake Stevens (1), Tahoma (2), Snohomish (3), Kentwood (6) and Auburn (7). In addition, 10 of the state’s top-ranked Class 4A wrestlers will be on in search of titles. … Lake Stevens, the two-time defending champions, bring in a tournament-high 16 wrestlers followed by Auburn (14), Tahoma (14), Snohomish (12) and Kentwood (9). … Four defending state champions will be in competition: Tahoma’s Nick Bayer (171), Auburn’s Jake Swartz (189) along with Lake Stevens teammates George King (152) and Josh Heinzer (112). Swartz (29-1 this season, 141-12 for his career), Bayer (35-2), Kentwood’s Ruben Navejas (32-2) and Tahoma’s Tyler Lamb (32-2) will bring in the top records from the SPSL North.

— ERICK WALKER/The Reporter