Over half of the area’s top wrestlers that qualified for the Mat Classic after regionals are moving on to the best of the best, and last day of wrestling competition at the Mat Classic XXXIV in Tacoma this weekend.
Thirty-two local wrestlers are either moving on hoping to win individual state championships, or suffered losses and are fighting through the consolation rounds still vying to medal.
W.F. West sent nine wrestlers to the mats in Tacoma, and five will go into Saturday still seeking their respective titles.
Daniel Matagi got his final Mat Classic underway in dominant fashion, coming away with two pins in less than a minute to make it to the 2A heavyweight semifinals. Blake Ely took his two matches by fall at 145. At 220, Andrew Penland won by fall to get going, then got to the semifinals with a major-decision win.
Tucker Land needed a 7-6 minor decision to get out of the gate before winning his quarterfinal 11-3 at 170, while Damian Hernandez had the closest call of the five at 113, winning his first-round match 4-2 before needing an extra period in his quarterfinal, winning 3-1.
Cristo Parriott (138) and Waylen Land (183) are also still in the hunt for a medal, after going 2-1 on the day.
Centralia’s Antonio Campos is also two wins away from a title, at 120, after pinning both of his Friday opponents.
For Black Hills, Roberto Rivera-Jesus won his first match at 106 by major decision, lost his second, and stayed alive in the consolation bracket to go to Saturday still gunning for third place.
Tenino’s Andres Capilla-Zamudio — who earned the No. 1 seed at 285 — took a bye through the first round but suffered an upset in the second, falling to the consolation bracket, where he earned a pin to keep his season going one more day.
At 170, Kysen Knox won a high-scoring first-round matchup, lost his second, and won his third to go into Saturday in the same situation.
Brock Maurer had a weirder day at 195, starting with a first-round loss by fall. Due to the structure of the 1A 195 bracket, he got to the consolation quarterfinals with a bye, then won there when his opponent had to retire due to injury, leaving Maurer two wins away from third place.
At the 1B/2B level, four local wrestlers are still in the hunt for a title, with another five wrestling into Saturday.
Two of the area’s semifinalists hail from Adna. Jacob Price took an easy path to the quarterfinals at 160 with a first-round bye, then got right to work with pin to keep his championship hopes alive. Up the card for the Pirates, Cameron Thomas won his first-round matchup at 160 by fall, and his second by 9-3 decision, sending him to join Price in the semifinals.
At 182, Winlock’s Jay Crow got his time in Tacoma started with a rivalry matchup, pinning Toledo’s Maddux Ramirez in the first round. From there, he upset his way to the semifinals with another pin, sending him to Saturday, where he’ll take on Liberty’s (Spangle) Jeshua Cwik, who took fourth in State last season.
Representing the 1Bs, Mossyrock’s Marshall Brockway pinned his way to the 220 semifinals, including a win over top-seeded Tristin Burril out of Reardan.
Two local wrestlers are still alive in the consolation bracket at 195, with Adna’s Sean Hellem and Rainier’s Mason Hornby both having gone 2-1 on the day. Both need to win their first match Saturday to reach the medal round, but they could face each other either in the third-place or fifth-place match.
At 160, Rainier’s Zander Peck lost his first-round match, took a bye to the second, and then bounced back in a big way, making it to Saturday with a win by technical fall in the consolation bracket. The Mountaineers’ Dorien Cano also vaulted into the semifinals at 170.
Toledo’s Bayron Rodriguez had a first-round bye but lost in the quarterfinals to go to the left side of the bracket, where he won a District 4 showdown against Kalama’s Zach Foreman to keep going into Saturday.
Rounding out the locals going into the final day of the season, Onalaska’s Tommy Hornsby got to the second round via a bye, got sent to the consolation bracket by fall, and stayed alive due to an injury forfeit.
After a day at the Mat Classic, 11 girls wrestlers are either still in the hunt for a state title, or still alive in the consolation bracket looking for a medal.
Leading the area is W.F. West, where Lia Hornby (135) and Courtney Jones (140) are still vying for individual state championships after both receiving a bye in the first round and pinning their quarterfinal opponents with relative ease.
At 125, Shelby Hazlett lost her first match in overtime, 12-10, but battled back to defeat her next opponent by an 8-1 decision to stay in contention for a third-place medal. The last Bearcat left of the bunch is Kaylee Lehman at 130, who won her first round match by fall before a defeat in the quarterfinals.
Lehman responded with a technical fall, 15-0 win and is also still fighting for a medal.
Jade Hudson is the lone Centralia girls wrestler still in the field at 110, earning a first-round bye before dispatching her quarterfinal opponent by fall in her only match of the day to advance to the semifinals.
Rochester’s Emily Weddle (235) is also still vying for a title, after earning a bye and defeating her quarterfinal opponent by fall to advance to the semis, and Black Hills’ Sloane Kruger (100) is the last local girl still hoping to win a state title, after a bye and pin in the quarterfinals.
The Wolves’ Courtney Johnson is still alive in the 235-pound bracket, after losing in the quarterfinals but battling back to stay in contention for a medal with a pin.
Tenino’s Dakota Lees (155) and Trinity Tafoya (190) both lost the first matches they wrestled in, but each responded with pins in the consolation rounds to stay alive.
The last local girl wrestler that will advance to Day 2 of the Mat Classic is Napavine’s Maya Kunkel, who won her first match by fall, lost in the quarterfinals, and pinned her consolation round opponent to live to fight another day.
