Though he didn’t have a perfect season, Hockinson’s Cameron Loos had a perfect moment Saturday.
Trailing 6-0 in the second round of the Class 2A 220-pound final, Loos slammed Chelan’s Michael Ferguson onto his back, then ended the match with a pin.
Within 10 seconds, the senior turned a big deficit into a state championship.
Rotondo and Loos were Clark County’s state champions at the annual wrestling extravaganza. Battle Ground’s James Rogers, Evergreen’s Dallas Goodpaster and Washougal’s Abby Lees were runners up in their weight classes.
In becoming Union’s fourth state champion in the program’s nine years, Rotondo showed why he is one of the state’s top pound-for-pound wrestlers. This season, he also beat the 106-pound wrestlers who won state titles at 3A, 2A and 1A on Saturday.
As Rotondo stood atop the awards podium Saturday, he beamed a smile that showed pride and relief.
“I’m in shock, but I’m not,” he said. “I expected it, but you never really feel like it’s going to come. You just keep going through the days and eventually it just happens. It’s there and you just take it all in.”
Though he entered the final having outscored his opponents 39-0, Rotondo came out flat. Tebbets jumped to a 4-0 lead, putting Rotondo on his back.
“Then it finally clicked, ‘I’m wrestling in the state finals.’” Rotondo said. “I need to start wrestling.”
Rotondo was dominant from then on. He led 7-5 after two rounds and controlled Tebbets throughout the final round.
Rotondo, whose last high school loss came in last year’s state final, hoped to be a state champion. But perfection surprised him.
“I would have never thought 40-0,” he said. “To do that, I’m so happy and I owe it to everyone else who helped me along the way.”
Down 6-0 in the second round, many would have never thought Loos would become a state champ. But last year’s runner up pulled off the move of his career.
Ferguson had Loos standing on one leg. Loos hopped and swiveled his hips so he was facing his opponent, then wrapped one arm behind Ferguson’s head while the other arm grabbed his leg.
Loos then slammed Ferguson onto his back and covered him with his torso.
“I just reacted, it was a natural feeling,” he said. “I just kept on pushing. Even though I was down, I never gave up.”
Five seconds later, the match was over. Hockinson’s coaches erupted while a steel-jawed Loos strode toward the center of the mat.
One minute later, that steely gaze was replaced with graciousness. He thanked and embraced each coach.
“It was just a shock to me,” Loos said. “I won a state championship. Not a lot of people do that, man. All the hard work you put in. All the blood, sweat and tears. It all just paid off right there.”
Rogers, a Battle Ground freshman, may have snuck up on a few rivals at Mat Classic. But he is definitely on the statewide radar after finishing second at 145 pounds.
He lost 5-2 in the title match to Trysten Perales of Lake Stevens. Rogers controlled the tenor of the final round, nearly scoring a three-point near fall in the final 30 seconds.
“I didn’t end up where I wanted to, but it’s all more motivation to win it next year,” Rogers said.
Goodpaster, an Evergreen senior, placed at state for the fourth year. But his second straight runner-up finish left him disappointed.
Ahead 2-1 over Richland’s Nic Workman with 20 seconds left, Goodpaster was called for stalling and his opponent awarded one point.
Then with four seconds left, Workman slipped behind Goodpaster and threw him to the mat for the winning takedown. The 4-2 loss dropped Goodpaster’s record to 42-3.
Lees, a Washougal junior, was denied her second straight championship when she was pinned late in the 170-pound final.
Issaquah’s Kacie Moorhouse, who beat Lees earlier this season, led 4-2 when she finished the match with 14 seconds remaining.
WRESTLING STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
CLASS 4A
BATTLE GROUND
126 – Chris Joner def. Conner Snow (Snohomish) 13-2; lost by pin to Lane Holland (Graham Kapowsin) 1:54; lost Gerardo Suarez (Kent Meridian) 7-3; Sixth place.
145 – James Rogers def. Gavin Eaglin (Graham Kapowsin) 11-4; vs. Trysten Perales (Lake Stevens)
CAMAS
126 – Rylan Thompson def. Josiah Rodriguez (Sunnyside) 8-7; def. Gerardo Suarez (Kent Meridian) 4-1; def. Lane Holland (Graham Kapowsin) 6-3; Third place.
220 – Dylan Ingram lost to Levi McBride (Chiawana) 1-0; def. Freddie Green (Spanaway Lake) 12-4; def. Calhoun Helmberger (Curtis) 4-0; Third place.
EVERGREEN
132 – Isaiah Av pinned Cole Anderson (Jackson) 2:50; pinned Cooper McCulloch (Moses Lake) 2:39; lost to Cam Sorensen (University) 4-3; Fourth place.
160 – Dylan Goodpaster lost by pin to Malachi Lawrence (Lake Stevens) 3:51; def. Adam Benson (Timberline) 11-1; Seventh place.
285 – Dallas Goodpaster def. Chandler Fluaitt (Moses Lake) 6-4; vs. Nic Workman (Richland)
MOUNTAIN VIEW
113 – Will Taisacan lost to Elias Romero (Sunnyside) 6-1; def. Izzy Murrietta (Tahoma) 5-4; lost to Nathan Scilley (Lake Stevens) 6-4, OT; Fourth place.
UNION
106 – Ethan Rotondo def. Jose Campos (Sunnyside) 6-0; vs. Chase Tebbets (Mead)
106 – Vitaliy Manolov lost to Chase Tebbets (Mead) 6-0; lost to Austin Michaelski (Tahoma) 4-2; lost to Jose Campos (Sunnyside) 3-2; Sixth place.
145 – J.J. Talavera lost to Sean Van Earwage (Todd Beamer) 5-2; lost to Diego Castaneda (Sunnyside) 8-3; Eighth place.
152 – Tommy Strassenberg lost to Dante Springsteen (Bethel) 3-2; def. Christian Hunter (Mead) 3-2; lost to Bryce Buckley (Chiawana) 5-4; Fourth place.
195 – Zach Berfanger lost by pin to Dagen Kramer (Tahoma) 4:25; lost by pin to Tyler Rickel (University) 3:59; Eighth place.
CLASS 3A
PRAIRIE
126 – Tommy Greensky lost to Mason Sabin (Bonney Lake) 5-2; pinned Abdi Farah (Rainier Beach) 2:25; Seventh place.
132 – Kodi Walls def. Tucker Wooding (Sumner) 2-1; def. Dominic Damon (Nathan Hale) 11-2; lost to Andrew Hoover (Mount Spokane) 3-1; Fourth place.
138 – Talen Goodpaster lost to Joey Santos (Auburn Mountainview) 6-4; def. Patrick West (Everett) 8-2; Seventh place.
285 – Bryan Person lost by pin to Samuel Zook (Oak Harbor) 2:02; lost by pin to Malakai Fifita (Glacier Peak) 4:42; Eighth place.
CLASS 2A
HOCKINSON
170 – Colton Wheeler lost to Tariq Ellis (Washington) 4-1; def. Bryce House (Franklin Pierce) 4-3; Seventh place.
220 – Cameron Loos def. Brody Weinheimer (Lynden) 9-3; vs. Michael Ferguson (Cheney)
HUDSON’S BAY
126 – Jon McMillan lost to Luis Cuellar (Foster) 7-4; lost by pin to Ben Basden (Port Angeles) 0:47; Eighth place.
RIDGEFIELD
126 – Trevor Newburn lost to Alejandro Cardenas (Othello) 3-2; def. Ben Basden (Port Angeles) 11-2; lost to Randy McDonald (East Valley-Spokane) 5-2; Fourth place.
145 – Tommy Herz lost by pin to Anthony Frey (Blaine) 1:41; pinned Jack Ervien (White River) 3:31; Seventh place.
WASHOUGAL
152 – Taylor Leifsen lost to Deandre Williams (Washington) 7-4; def. Saul Godina (Toppenish) 10-2; Seventh place.
CLASS 1A
LA CENTER
138 – Jeffery Mayolo def. Johnathan Crise (Chewelah) 6-2; pinned Juan de la Cruz (Chelan) 2:25; Fifth place.
STEVENSON
132 – Cody Miller pinned Alex Langdon (Castle Rock) 4:25; lost by pin to Dalton Young (Lakeside-Nine Mile Falls) 3:36; Second place.
170 – Colton VanPelt lost to Bryce Wilkins (Goldendale) 9-8; pinned Brandon Iris (Freeman) 4:08; Seventh place.
GIRLS
BATTLE GROUND
130 – Sierra Joner def. Akina Yamada (Lakeside-Nine Mile Falls) 15-5; def. Nikki Velazquez (Othello) 4-1; lost to Erin Redford (White River) 11-1; Fourth place.
SKYVIEW
170 – Hailey Horrocks def. Lakota Barnett (Ellensburg) 8-0; pinned Faith Ghramm (Franklin Pierce) 2:09; lost to Tally Thomas (Federal Way) 5-2; Fourth place.
UNION
125 – Annabelle Helm lost to Daisy Chavez (Sunnyside) 12-2; def. Karina Martinez (Lynden) 6-2; Seventh place.
WASHOUGAL
120 – Baylee Wright lost to Joessie Gonzalez (Snohomish) 6-3; def. Korbyn Cadle (Mount Baker) 5-0; Seventh place.
140 – Morgan Ratcliff pinned Kali Spady (Lynden) 2:12; def. Brianna Galvan (Steilacoom) 2-1; pinned Mariya Gaither (Rogers-Puyallup) 2:01; Third place.
145 – Christina Murray def. Bailey Fullerton (Yelm) 14-12; def. Rachel Nichols (Mount Baker) 18-15; lost to Natalie Hall (Pasco) 7-0; Fourth place.
170 – Abby Lees pinned Faith Ghramm (Franklin Pierce) 1:47; vs. Kacie Moorehouse (Issaquah).
