SILVERDALE — There were two avenues in front of Mehki Richardson.

One path was needing to throw everything plus the kitchen sink in the final two minutes of his 157-pound title match. The other, admittedly, would have resulted in no win at all.

“It was hard for me to breathe the entire match because my throat was closing up,” the Tumwater High School senior said. “I had to get this done quickly or I’d have to (potentially) forfeit.”

Consider the apartment cleaned out.

Richardson registered two takedowns and stuck Central Kitsap’s Wyatt Harper in 5 minutes, 13 seconds to triumph at the Matman Classic on Saturday afternoon at Central Kitsap High School. It marks Richardson’s third tournament win this winter.

His latest win streak sits at double digits.

“I needed to really step up,” Richardson said. “When I heard him get more tired, that’s when I knew I had to get on the offensive or I was going to lose.”

The Thunderbirds accumulated a whopping 218 points to leave Kitsap County with a first place trophy, edging past Kent Meridian and the host Cougars. They had nine top-three placements with all of them being responsible for at least 17 team points.

Black Hills, with two champions, was seventh at 78.5 points.

“They wrestled tough today,” Tumwater head coach Easton Hargrave said. “We’re hoping to get close to that peak on February 8.”

Hargrave wasn’t as convinced that Richardson would have forfeited had the bout gone into sudden victory. One of the most active defensive linemen for the T-Birds football squad, Richardson was the aggressor down 5-0.

He hit a double leg on Harper to make it 5-3, then on the restart, Richardson cut his opponent loose and went neutral trailing by three. New rules that started this year throughout high school wrestling is takedowns are now worth three points to match the college rules.

Richardson got another takedown, then turned him on the edge by the time table and finished the pin. He screamed in jubilation afterwards. All three of Richardson’s wins were by pin.

“Every time I start doubting myself, I can hear my d-line coach, he always says ‘keep fighting,’” Richardson said. “I had to show myself out for the win.”

“He would have found a way to get past that,” Hargrave added. “He’s funky, he’s a thrower and when it was desperation time, he was kind of forced to do it. Worked out in his favor.”

Tumwater’s other champ was Nathaniel Salas at 215-pounds. The junior registered three pins and a tech fall en route to his first tournament victory.

In the finals against Oak Harbor’s Kenneth Anguiano, the two went upper body and Salas ended up on top in a headlock. It took nearly 45 seconds for the pin to be awarded.

“He’s probably been our most improved wrestler,” Hargrave said. “He’s learning moves to go with his strong abilities.”

Diego Concepcion (113), Alejandro Concepcion (132) and Cash Short (175) finished runner-up. Tumwater went 4-for-4 in third place matches. For the T-Birds, their depth is one of the reasons why Hargrave feels good about his group in tournaments.

Richardson agreed.

“We all spend as much time as possible together,” Richardson said. “It has really bonded us.”

Black Hills’ Roberto Rivera-Jesus pinned Diego Concepcion in 5:15. The junior was on his way to a tech fall victory, but settled into a cradle for the fall. Rivera-Jesus has reeled off 15 wins since losing in the semifinals at Hammerhead.

All of them have been by bonus points.

“I was not surprised,” Rivera-Jesus said. “I was more focused. That was my plan to score (a lot).”

Diego Concepcion recorded the first takedown, then Rivera-Jesus turned on the jets to the tune of three takedowns and one set of four back points.

“Berto likes having fun, the faster someone wrestles, it kind of kicks up the dial,” Black Hills head coach Jason Dick said. “He likes going fast. When that happened, he smiled.”

The Wolves’ Porter Neklason won at 144-pounds behind three bonus point wins. He used all six minutes in the finals to issue a workmanlike 8-0 major against Bainbridge’s Tyler Dodge. Neklason is now a victory away from a 30-win senior season.

“I was pleased with myself, felt like I performed well,” Neklason said. “Can’t overlook anybody. He’s good at scrambling.”

Aiden Labouff was the only other placewinner for Black Hills, taking third at 120.