There wasn’t a more dominant wrestling team in the South Puget Sound League North Division this season than Tahoma.

The second-ranked Bears, however, hit a wall Saturday night during the sub-district tournament at Kent-Meridian High.

That wall proved to be rival Auburn, which had just enough gas in its tank to fend off Tahoma in the team race. Auburn brought home the title, finishing just ahead of second-place Tahoma 338-334.

No other team was within sniffing distance of the two wrestling powers. Kentwood, which won the previous two sub-district crowns, finished in third with 258.5 points followed by Kentlake (240) and Thomas Jefferson (196.5).

Tahoma did, however, match Auburn by advancing a sub-district high 14 wrestlers to this Friday and Saturday’s regional tournament at Snohomish High.

Despite that, finishing second fiddle didn’t sit well with the Bears, who handled the Trojans rather soundly (42-17) in last week’s dual meet.

Adding fuel to the tournament fire was a computer glitch that forced the team scores to be incorrect during much of the two-day tournament. Tournament officials didn’t know the exact team winner until the entire championship round was complete.

“It is what it is,” said Tahoma coach Chris Feist. “Auburn came out and wrestled great. They made a lot of good adjustments from our dual. They wanted it more than our kids did. They came out here and wrestled harder than Tahoma tonight and it showed. That’s why they beat us.”

The tournament title came down to the wire, too.

Auburn entered the championship round clinging to a 324-316 advantage over Tahoma in the team race. Both teams had seven wrestlers in the finals and were paired up at 171 and 215.

Tahoma’s Nick Bayer, who won the 160-pound state title last year and who now competes at 171, got the Bears to within two points (332-330) with a 9-6 decision over Dylan Rutledge.

As luck would have it, however, Auburn had Jake Swartz — widely considered the state’s top wrestler — in line at 189. A pin from Swartz was all Auburn needed to give itself enough breathing room to officially seal the crown.

To little surprise, Swartz delivered the pin, dispatching Kentlake’s Zach Hogan in 2:16.

“Before the match, my coach (John Aiken) told me to go out there and get a pin,” said Swartz, who improved to 29-1 this season and 141-12 for his career. “I’m just glad to do what I could for my team because we all worked really hard. It’s pretty cool knowing I can make a difference.”

The pin, however, didn’t stop Tahoma’s Knudtsen from taking care of his own business. Knudtsen outlasted Auburn’s Chris Young at 215 pounds in overtime, 9-6.

The win aside, Knudtsen remained intense after the match, primarily because the Bears fell short of their ultimate goal of winning the team title.

“We have to use this as motivation,” said Knudtsen, who improved to 32-5. “We have to use it to light a fire under our butts for next week and at state.”

The top five wrestlers in each weight class punched tickets to the regional tournament. The top five wrestlers in each weight class at the regional tournament advance to state, which is slated for Feb. 20-21.

Jordan Higa (130) and Tyler Lamb (135) joined teammates Bayer and Knudtsen atop the podium. Higa outlasted Kentwood’s Billy Creighton, 6-4, while Lamb earned an injury default from teammate Mike Milat.

And while Tahoma was stinging from falling just short, Kentwood was solid as ever as three Conquerors brought home top honors: Ruben Navejas (103), Cody Quinn (140) and Nathan Herrick (285).

Navejas showed the most technique of the Kentwood trio, working over Kent-Meridian’s Jesus Valdez to a major decision, 13-0.

“I’m turning it up a notch,” said Navejas, who improved to 25-2. “I’ve really stepped up my training. I’ve been pushing myself a lot harder and being more cautious compared to last year.”

Quinn was just as good, using a show of force to pin Tahoma’s J.R. Rea in 2:47. Meanwhile, Herrick proved to be the most relentless of anyone taking the mat Saturday, earning a 5-4, triple-overtime win over Auburn’s Nick Conlan.

“The stuff we do in practice helps a lot,” said Herrick, who appeared in good enough shape after the win to go another couple of rounds. “It feels great.”

Kentlake was just as impressive in the finals as Austin Carrillo (145) and Greg Eley (160) delivered golden performances.

Carrillo upended Tahoma’s John Buban, 6-4, to avenge a loss earlier in the season.

“Me and my coach (Pete Reardon) have been working a lot,” said Carrillo, who improved to 26-4. “(When I lost to Buban earlier in the season) he had just beaten Cody Quinn … so I was a little intimidated. But I watched the tape and realized he was just another guy. He puts his singlet on one leg at a time.”

Eley was just as impressive two matches later, pinning Auburn’s Michael Karpstein in 29 seconds. It was the quickest pin of the finals.

SPSL North sub-district

1, Auburn 338; 2, Tahoma 334; 3, Kentwood 258.5; 4, Kentlake 240; 5, Thomas Jefferson 196.5; 6, Kentridge 161; 7, Kent-Meridian 126; 8, Auburn Riverside 125; 9, Federal Way 27.

Championship round

103: Ruben Navejas (KW) md. Jesus Valdez (K-M), 13-0. 112: Nick Aliment (KR) d. Hayden Petersen (KW) 7-2. 119: Michael Turner (AR) p. Eric Alonzo (KW), 4:55. 125: Kelly Maughan (A) d. Ivan Mukomol (TJ), 4-1. 130: Jordan Higa (T) d. Billy Creighton (KW), 6-4. 135: Tyler Lamb (T) wins by injury default. 140: Cody Quinn (KW) p. J.R. Rea (T) 2:47. 145: Austin Carrillo (KL) d. John Buban (T), 6-4. 152: Graham Davis (A) d. Zeke Nistrian (TJ) 7-4. 160: Greg Eley (KL) p. Michael Karpstein (A), :29. 171: Nick Bayer (T) d. Dylan Rutledge (A), 9-6. 189: Jake Swartz (A) p. Zach Hogan (KL), 2:16. 215: Konner Knudtsen (T) d. Chris Young (A), 8-6, OT. 285: Nathan Herrick (KW) d. Nick Conlan (A) 5-4, 3 OT.