TACOMA — Girls wrestling has been around for a long time in Washington. From individuals in the 1990s to teams formed once the sport was sanctioned in 2007, there's a long list of history for one of the most popular sports in the country.
Add another moment of history that took place on Saturday night.
Then triple it.
Black Hills’ Sloane Kruger, W.F. West’s Kaylee Lehman and Rainier’s Chloe Willis all left the Tacoma Dome with their arms raised one last time as state champions. For the first time in school history, the Wolves, Bearcats and Mountaineers can say they have a state title winner.
“That just gave me goosebumps,” Willis admitted. “That’s really cool.”
Kruger and Lehman captured the victories as seniors while Willis claimed her first as a sophomore. The path to the top took the area trifecta down different paths, but the end result was the same.
After losing in the finals to one of her closest rivals in Toppenish’s Sophia Torrez a season ago, Kruger didn’t have to worry about a potential rematch. Kruger dropped down to 100-pounds while Torrez stayed at 105.
The Wolves’ star was already wrestling on the lighter side.
“I knew it wasn’t me cutting or running, it was me being where I was supposed to be,” she said.
Kruger was undisputedly perfect at 48-0. In every Mat Classic XXXVI contest, she won by bonus points. She totaled six takedowns and six sets of four back points in four matches. Her only match that went the distance was the finals against Centralia’s Jocelyn Navarro.
The opening minute was a feeling-out process between the two Evergreen Conference foes. It took until 11 seconds remaining for Kruger to connect on a low hip toss for a 7-0 lead.
Once she built up a double digit cushion, it never got to within nine.
“I needed to have a good offense and just play it smart,” Kruger said.
Her father and head coach, Stephen Kruger, was overcome with emotions. Sloane leaped into Stephen’s arms afterwards.
“We didn’t really talk about it a whole lot,” he said. “We liked the matchups she was going to get. It is a lot of build up. To see her accomplish her goals is amazing. No words can describe the feeling of your child doing something great.”
College wrestling is next in Kruger’s plans. She stated she’s “deep” in the process and may be coming to a decision soon. Her prep career finished with fifth, second, second and first placements at Mat Classic.
“Not at the end yet,” Kruger said. “It is really important to me. I can’t wait to be a part of that growth.”
Lehman became the first Bearcat finalist and state champ in school history with a 9-2 triumph over Claire Hume of Squalicum at 130-pounds. On the ends of two state medals was a blood round setback last year by a 1-0 verdict.
That loss didn’t break her, but defined her. She rolled to top-three finishes at Hammerhead and Braided 64, then picked up a district title. Her first three matches of the weekend were all first period falls.
“This is honestly astonishing, it doesn’t even feel real,” Lehman said. “Last year was one of the hardest, soul-crushing things I’ve experienced. I took that motivation; this is my last year and I'm going out with a bang.”
She transferred to W.F. West after her freshman year and was welcomed with open arms by experienced wrestlers. She’s watched teammates come close to the finals, but routinely fall a couple matches away.
So, why was it Lehman that finally broke through?
“She’s been great the whole time,” Bearcats head coach Matt Patana said. “We finally got the one to make it happen. Her positivity and her not being too big for any moment definitely showed today.”
Hume was willing to go upper-body and throw in some headlocks. Lehman fended off all of them, including one of the shots that put her on her back. Hume couldn’t stick it and didn’t earn any back points.
“I worried about my own match and that’s exactly what I did,” Lehman said.
The Bearcats secured a team trophy with a fourth place finish of 155 points, 2.5 ahead of Aberdeen. Centralia was sixth at 131.5 points and Black Hills secured eighth at 107.5 points.
Willis wasn’t participating in Mat Classic a year ago. She came off a fifth place at regionals and was on the outside looking in. The sophomore wasn’t a top-four seed, but answered the call with multiple pins.
“It is crazy to me,” Willis said. “I had a completely different mindset. After every match last year, I’d cry and get mad at myself. This year, I’d tell myself to get better.”
It was the third time this year that Willis met Tenino’s Ynavi Rodriguez, the top seed in the Class 1B/2B/1A bracket, and the latter won twice. Willis turned and pinned her with 16 seconds remaining in the six-minute match. Rodriguez was up 6-5 before Willis reversed her and settled in for the fall.
For the Mountaineers, they had four in the quarters and the other three were top-four seeds. Saturday belonged to Willis.
“She played her cards right, brought her ‘A’ game,” Rainier head coach Kelli Garner said. “Wow, just wow.”
Rainier has had individual girls wrestling since the 1990s and a team since the mid-2000s. It never had a finalist or champ until the waning minutes of Mat Classic XXXVI.
“It is going to give me so much motivation,” Willis said.
Along with Navarro and Rodriguez, Centralia’s Eva Reinitz (115) also finished as the runner-up. The sophomore was pinned by Woodland’s Couly McReynolds in 51 seconds.
