Bearcat Girls and Boys Win Regional Titles, 61 Local Wrestlers Advance to Mat Classic

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Over five dozen local wrestlers from Lewis and South Thurston counties will advance to participate in the Mat Classic next weekend, with 61 grapplers from The Chronicle’s coverage area finishing near the top of their respective classification’s weight classes in a busy day of Regional wrestling action Saturday. 

W.F. West Girls Win Team Title at Shelton Regional

At the Shelton girls regional, featuring local 1B/2B/1A/2A schools, W.F. West continued its dominance, with two Bearcats taking individual championships, helping them take the team title by a wide margin. 

The top three finishers in each weight class qualified for the Mat Classic — set to start next Friday at the Tacoma Dome — with the fourth-place finishers getting to make the trip as an alternate. 

Lia Hornby (135) and Courtney Jones (140) continued their absolutely dominant runs, with both winning all matches by pin in short time. 

Kaylee Lehman (130) won both of her first matches by fall, before getting tripped up in the title match by decision, 12-8, to finish second. Brooke Johnston (120) and Shelby Hazlett (125) both finished third, losing in the semifinals before battling back to clinch Mat Classic berths outright in the third-place matches. 

Aurora Martin (130), Kallee Corey (155), and Lily Canfield (170) all finished fourth, losing in the third-place matches. The trio will still get to travel to Tacoma next weekend as alternates if anyone drops out. 

“This was a great day, a great year and we are not done yet,” Bearcats coach Matt Patana said. “We are having fun and wrestling with a purpose. We are Looking forward to competing next week.”

The Rainier girls also had a strong day, with two girls punching tickets and another finishing as an alternate. Emma Desotell (105) and Kiera Anderson (170) both finished third in their brackets, the pair both won by fall in the third-place match to make sure they’d be wrestling for sure at the Mat Classic. Katherine Kinahan (190) finished fourth for the Mountaineers and will be first alternate from the region in her weight class. 

The Tenino girls had two girls with strong finishes Saturday, with Trinity Tafoya (190) winning the regional title and taking each match by fall, and Dakota Lees (155) finishing second after falling in the championship for her weight class. 

Centralia’s Jade Hudson took the individual title at 110, winning by fall in her first two matches before a 11-0 major decision victory in the championship match, and Luna Martinez (100) finished second after pins in the first two rounds and a major decision loss in the title match. 

Rochester’s Emily Weddle (235) was also an individual champ, winning by fall in the semifinals and championship after a first round bye, and Kaylie Case won an ever-important third-place match at 130 by a narrow 12-8 decision to punch her ticket to Tacoma, as well. 

Napavine’s Maya Kunkel (170) took second-place in her weight class, winning her first two matches by fall before getting pinned in the final. 

And finally, Black Hills’ was led by Sloane Kruger’s (100) title-winning run, winning her first two matches by fall before an 11-1 major decision win in the title match, and Courtney Johnston (235) took second to move on to the Mat Classic as well. 

Bearcat Boys Reign Over Region Again in Aberdeen

The W.F. West boys wrestling team dominated once again at the regional level Saturday at Aberdeen, taking its sixth straight team title behind seven individual champions.

“We found the regional traveling trophy in the closet a couple of days ago,” WFW head coach Jamie Rakevich said. “It’s been hanging around W.F. West for awhile, and it’s good to keep it.

Cristo Parriott (138), Waylen Land (182), Andrew Penland (220), and Daniel Matagi (285) all took home first-place finishes by way of three straight pins, and Blake Ely won at 145 with two pins and a technical fall. Tucker Land won at 170 with two pins sandwiching a minor decision, and Damian Hernandez got to the final at 113 with a pair of pins before winning a close championship match 4-0.

Andrew Snyder (152) and Kage Homan (160) both earned Mat Classic bids with third-place finishes, while Angelo Peters (195), Race Scalici (126), and Lewis Allan (106) will be alternates after taking home fifth place Saturday.



Centralia’s Antonio Campos continued his high-flying season at 120, getting two pins to get to the finals before edging out Shelton’s Ty Fleshman for the second straight week, 7-5, to earn the crown. Eriberto Mojica qualified for Tacoma with a third-place finish at 220, while Daniel Cisneros will be an alternate at 182.

Black Hills saw Roberto Rivera-Jesus earn a State bid at 106 with a second-place finish, and Khristian Brant was third at 132, with Ammon Combs getting the alternate spot at 152. Tumwater is in a similar bid situation, with Cash Short and Tristan Poulos finishing fourth at 170 and 195, respectively, and Andrew Yocom taking fifth at 132.

Rochester will be represented at the Dome by Reece Calica, who finished fourth at 138.

Four Beaver Boys Advance to Mat Classic

Competing at the 1A Boys Regional at Castle Rock, the Tenino boy grapplers had four top three finishers and one fourth-place finisher. 

Top three finishers earn an automatic bid to the Mat Classic in Tacoma, while the fourth-place finisher serves as an alternate.

Andres Capilla-Zamudio won an individual title, winning all his matches in dominant fashion by fall at 285. Koy (220) and Kysen Knox (170) each finished second in their weight classes, with Kysen pinning two straight before getting pinned in the title match, and Koy getting a bye, winning his match in the semifinals by fall, and losing a nail-biter in the first overtime by takedown in the championship. 

Brock Maurer was the Beavers last outright state qualifier, finishing third at 195-pounds. Maurer won by fall in the first round, lost in the semifinals, then pinned his next opponent to make the third-place match. He then won by a 6-5 decision to take third and advance. 

Daniel Mino (126) finished fourth for the Beavers in his weight class and will serve as an alternate at state if someone drops out.

Three Locals Win Individual Titles at 1B/2B Kalama Regional

Three local wrestlers won crowns at the 2B/1B Boys Regional championships at Kalama on Saturday, with seven small schools set to send athletes to Tacoma next weekend.

The top five finishers in each weight class earn bids, with the sixth-place finishers set to be alternates.

Adna’s Jacob Price dominated his way through the field at 160, racking up three straight pins in short time. He’ll lead a four-man contingent to the Dome for the Pirates, with Sean Hellem finishing second at 195, Cameron Thomas taking third at 113, and Cohen Hartley getting fourth at 120. Behind them, Eli Wentzel and Levi Slape will be alternates at 138 and 170, respectively. 

Toledo’s Bayron Rodriguez had to work a bit more at 170, having to grind for over four minutes in each of his first two matches before getting pins, then winning the title by minor decision. He’ll be joined by four other Riverhawks next week at the Mat Classic, with Bomani Birdwell (152) finishing fourth, and Maddux Ramirez (182), Chase Meyers (195), and Christopher Eberle (220) all taking fifth.

The largest local small-school contingent in Tacoma next week will hail from Rainier, with the Mountaineers sending seven wrestlers, with an alternate to boot. Leading the way Saturday was Ryder Cruse, who took a bye at 285 before getting two quick pins to win a title. Alongside him, Zander Peck finished third at 160, and Rainier got fourth-place finishes from Conner Mounts (126), Levi Swann (138), Dorien Cano (170), Mason Hornby (195), and Matthew Kenney (220). Rudy Garcia finished sixth at 182 to earn the alternate spot.

Napavine got a second-place finish from Gabe Dickinson at 152, while Peyton Hernandez was third at 120, Evan Kunkel was fourth at 182, and Jonathan Harty took fifth in the heavyweight.

Onalaska will send three wrestlers on, with Norman Prazak (106) and Tommy Hornsby (285) finishing third and David Locklin (145) taking fifth. Winlock had Jay Crow finish second at 182 and Erick Gaylor take sixth at 145.

Mossyrock’s Marshall Brockway will be the lone local 1B wrestler on the mats next weekend, after earning third place at 220.