TUMWATER — There were three things Kallon Homan wanted for his 18th birthday.
“To make weight, obviously win a league title weight class and win (league) as a team,” the W.F. West High School senior said.
Go ahead and send the presents to 7741 Littlerock Road SW, Tumwater, WA 98512. No need for a return address.
Homan scored a reversal and two back points in the final 10 seconds to triumph over Aberdeen’s Erick Silveira 5-4 at 175-pounds at the Evergreen Conference Championships at Black Hills High School.
It marked a stunning turn of events after Silveira notched a high single leg takedown with 16 seconds left in regulation. Homan unleashed a hip toss for the reversal and got the two near fall points just as time expired.
After initially just putting the reversal on the board, a conversation between the two officials gave Homan quite the birthday celebration.
“I thought I was going to pin him,” Homan admitted.
“He has the most boring and exciting matches every time,” Bearcats head coach Jamie Rakevich added. “He is savvy, he figures out a way.”
Ignited by six champions and three others finishing second to clinch a spot at Mat Classic XXXVI, W.F. West notched a team title by accumulating 349.5 points. Tumwater was the runner-up at 317 points while Black Hills (231.5) and Centralia (218.5) placed fourth and fifth, respectively.
After running through the regular season with a perfect dual record, the Bearcats – buoyed by their upperclassmen at the middle weights – had 16 of their 24 entries totaling over 10 points on the day.
“Our older guys took care of business and younger guys did really well,” Rakevich said. “We didn’t have the best week, we got flu,we got bronchitis, we got everything. Would have been real easy to roll over. Good to see these guys tough out.”
Even with placing third at last year’s Mat Classic, Homan never shook the feeling of losing to Silveira in the EvCo finals. They’ve wrestled multiple times over the years, but no match was as close as Saturday.
Both wrestlers had an escape each in the first two periods.
“He’s a great wrestler,” Homan said. “We definitely know each other’s moves. Knew I’d have to keep it close.”
Race Scalici (144), Beau Guyette (150), Graysen Serl (157), Andrew Snyder (165) and Tucker Land (190) joined the birthday boy atop the podium. Land spent a total of 2 minutes, 10 seconds on the mat with two pins to move to 23-1 on the year.
Scalici, Guyette and Snyder had all of their wins come by bonus points. Serl upended Tumwater’s Mekhi Richardson 12-6 in the finals, avenging a loss from a dual last season where Richardson pinned Serl.
Tied at 6-6 entering the final two minutes, Serl went for a throw and put Richardson on his back for four back points and the lead.
“I wanted to push the pace,” Serl said. “It was kind of muscle memory.”
It was a match that featured four stallings and two cautions – all on Richardson – and Serl took full advantage. He won the match despite not registering a single takedown.
“I don’t have to go for more crazy things, so I can almost play with the stalling,” Serl said.
Centralia senior Ronin Blair won the 215 league title with three pins all under 45 seconds. It is Blair’s first year wrestling since sixth grade.
“I’ve always been a strong guy,” Blair said. “I was visualizing, I knew I was trying to double-off. My two best turns are my cradle and butcher. Cradle is my favorite.”
Now at 21-5 on the season and a boatload of confidence, the senior doesn’t plan on slowing down in two weeks. He used a quick takedown and put Tumwater’s Nathaniel Salas on his back in a hurry for the fall in the finals.
The Tigers had two other wrestlers qualify for state.
“I’m not going to hide away,” Blair said.
Tumwater’s Alejandro Concepcion was its lone champ at 132-pounds with a 59-second pin over W.F. West’s Lewis Allen. It was a rematch from the EvCo semis a year ago that Allen topped Concepcion.
All Concepcion needed was one takedown and immediately put Allen on his back and settled in for the fall. Now at 35-11 on the season, the sophomore feels his wrestling has hit another level.
“Every single time I see him, I think about that match,” Concepcion said. “It has run through my head that I need to get my rematch. I’m not giving up.”
The Thunderbirds had four others secure state tournament spots.
Black Hills registered three champions in Roberto Rivera-Jesus (106), Rorek Foss (120) and Cash Boos (126). Rivera-Jesus won by major decision and tech fall while Foss, a freshman, recorded three pins.
The Wolves finished with three runner-ups to slot in six spots in Tacoma. The third, fourth and fifth place finishers for Tumwater, Centralia, Black Hills and W.F. West will wrestle the third, fourth and fifth place wrestlers at their weight class from the GSHL for state bids.
Those matches take place at Mark Morris on Tuesday.
“The goal always is to advance,” Black Hills head coach Jason Dick said. “You have to keep everything as normal as you can. We’re going to go after whoever steps on the mat. Can you go win one?
