By Jeremy McDonald

jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com

ALBANY, Ore.– Patience was of a virtue for North Salem’s Mariko Sonis in the 120 pound 6A/5A Special District 2 Title bout.  Years of Jiu-Jitsu from four until Middle School and Wrestling since sixth-grade has helped mold her into being a patient competitor and it was paying off in her 6-1 victory over West Albany’sNadia Edminston Saturday afternoon at West Albany High School.

Pacing the match, Sonis led 4-1 after two rounds and pushed her lead to 6-1 as the Viking junior brought home the squad’s lone District Title from the Regional Tournament.

“It was nice, it was relieving that I wasn’t going to be in a bad position for much of the match.  I was glad that I was able to control the match out there in the finals,” Sonis said.  “If you’re controlling the match, it’s a lot easier to be patient because you’re not worried about the score.  I’m going to keep putting in the hours in the practice room with all my training partners.  I can improve on being more aggressive and more aggressive on the top.”

 Liliana Ponce (100), Telsarina Walker (105), Jazlin Zendejas (125), all finished second in their respective weight classes as North Salem finished second in the team points at the Regional Meet with 195 points.  Icela Sanchez Rodriguez (145) also qualified for State with her third-place finish in the tournament.