TACOMA – Camas took four wrestlers to the semifinals.
Danny Snediker of Union took down a two-time state champion.
And Josiah Sanders of Woodland took nearly everyone by surprise.
The Mat Classic state wrestling championships always includes many storylines, some predictable and some not. Friday’s opening day at the Tacoma Dome was no exception, with 14 local wrestlers remaining in contention for state titles.
Camas qualified seven wrestlers to Mat Classic, the most of any Clark County school. Friday, the top Papermakers largely held true to form.
Rylan Thompson and Tanner Craig, ranked No. 1 and 2, respectively, at 132 pounds, both won two matches Friday. The teammates could meet in the state title match Saturday evening.
Sam Malychewski of Camas is also into the semifinals. The state’s top-ranked 195-pounder could be headed for a fifth showdown this season against Skyview’s Jackson McKinney, who also cruised through two matches.
Gideon Malychewski, Sam’s younger brother, is into the semifinals at 160 pounds. For the Malychewskis, chasing state titles is a team effort.
“Sometimes if I’m down or if I lose, he’ll pick me up,” said Gideon Malychewski, a sophomore. “And I’ll do the same. It’s really encouraging having him. It’s his senior year, so I’m just enjoying every bit of it that I can.”
Union advanced two wrestlers to the semifinals. Noah Talavera, ranked No. 3 at 138 pounds, took down No. 6 ranked Jacob Vanderwaal of Tahoma in the quarterfinals 5-1.
Snediker knocked off the No. 2-ranked 152-pounder. He scored a 6-2 quarterfinal win over Curtis’ Adrian St. Germain, who won 1A state titles the past two years at Vashon.
“I didn’t really look at it like I was facing a two-time state champion,” said Snediker, who entered Mat Classic ranked No. 6. “I look at it that every opportunity is out there. I’ve just got to wrestle my best. I’m just going to push forward and win that state title, hopefully.”
Sanders, a 113-pound Woodland sophomore, looked like he was headed for a quarterfinal loss. He trailed Stephen Aguilar of Wapato 8-3 in the final round.
But Sanders pulled off a stunning victory, reversing control and pinning Aguilar with 59 seconds left in the match.
“He exposed his shoulder and I was like this is make it or break it right here,” Sanders said.
For inspiration, Sanders credited a come-from-behind win in last week’s regional tournament against Eddie Matias of Centralia.
“He helped me learn about how deep I can go,” Sanders said. “I want to thank him a lot because of how far he pushed me.”
Four other local 2A wrestlers are also in the semifinals.
Dawson Lieurance of Ridgefield, the No. 3-ranked 220-pounder, advanced with two first-round pins. He made it look easy, though it wasn’t.
“It’s very hard,” he said. “It’s a lot of offseason work, practicing your craft and doing everything you can to win those matches out there.”
Wasougal’s Tanner Lees also won convincingly twice. The No. 3-ranked 145-pounder advanced with a first-round pin and a 16-0 quarterfinal win.
Logan Knudson of Columbia River is in the semifinals at 152 pounds. He survived a quarterfinal match against Anthony Aguilera of Cheney, 8-7.
Hockinson’s Dale Anderson reached the 145 semifinals. He cruised through the quarterfinals, beating Ryan Saylor of Bremerton 11-2.
State title hopes are alive for two local 3A wrestlers. Evergreen’s Dylan Goodpaster, the top-ranked 170-pounder, advanced with a first-round pin and a first-minute injury default.
Mountain View 106-pounder Noah Messman won each match in commanding fashion, 10-3 and 12-2. The freshman wasn’t fazed by Mat Classic’s big stage, where 24 matches occur simultaneously in front of several thousand spectators.
“It’s just a wrestling match,” Messman said. “It’s not any bigger just because it’s at the state tournament. I don’t try to make a big deal out of it.”
WRESTLING
MAT CLASSIC STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
At the Tacoma Dome
Local wrestlers
CLASS 4A
CAMAS
126 – Jack Latimer p. Ian Tsang (Woodinville) 4:50; lost to Jose Campos (Sunnyside) 5-3, OT; def. Mahlik Walker (Auburn Mountainview) 4-3.
132 – Rylan Thompson def. Noah Koester (Auburn Mountainview) 7-1; def. Shawn Dawley-Abeyta (Davis) 3-0.
132 – Tanner Craig p. Aidan Carrol (Enumclaw) 3:30; def. Cameron Hanson (Tahoma) 3-1.
145 – Isaac Duncan lost by pin to Emiliano Mata (Davis) 3:34; p. Alex Lopez (Kentlake) 2:05; lost to Quinton Southcott (Enumclaw) 13-4, eliminated.
160 – Gideon Malychewski p. Jordan Alcala (Davis) 5:22; def. Kenny Miller (Auburn Riverside) 10-1.
182 – Colby Stoller lost by pin to Malachi Lawrence (Lake Stevens) 0:57; lost by pin to Hunter Briggs (Rogers-Puyallup) 2:08, eliminated.
195 – Samuel Malychewski p. Jacob Vincent (Lake Stevens) 1:38; def. Xavier Whitson (Curtis) 9-3.
SKYVIEW
195 – Jackson McKinney def. Hunter Harris (Monroe) 22-8; def. Nick Beatty (Skyline) 8-3.
UNION
113 – Brandon Esperto lost to Andrew Macias (Sunnyside) 14-0; p. Richard Chung (Kamiak) 5:33; lost to Hunter Murphy (Hanford) 11-8, eliminated.
120 – Aaron Avery lost by pin to Kyle Lacoursiere (Lake Stevens) 1:01; def. Carson Yancey (Kentwood) 7-4; lost by pin to Parker Hardy (Glacier Peak) 1:20, eliminated.
138 – Noah Talavera p. Lennox Anderson (Rogers-Puyallup) 3:21; def. Jacob Vanderwaal (Tahoma) 5-1.
152 – Danny Snediker p. Guage Holland (Kamiak) 2:32; def. Adrian St. Germain (Curtis) 6-2.
160 – Kyle Brosius lost by pin to Nathan Marin (South Kitsap) 1:51; p. Jacob Oaks (Auburn Riverside) 3:26; lost to Kenny Miller (Auburn Riverside) 6-2, eliminated.
CLASS 3A
EVERGREEN
170 – Dylan Goodpaster p. Kyle Carson (Snohomish) 0:35; def. Jason Nelson (Yelm) injury default.
FORT VANCOUVER
220 – Nehemiah Polk-Rasheed lost to Kai Burgman (North Thurston) 7-1; lost to Generous Yeh (Edmonds-Woodway) 3-1, eliminated.
HUDSON’S BAY
160 – Angel Castillo lost to Zayne Ball (Gig Harbor) 16-9; def. Nate Michaels (Bainbridge) 13-8; lost by pin to Chayton Miller (Yelm) 2:01, eliminated.
MOUNTAIN VIEW
106 – Noah Messman def. Ler Pweh Htoo (Kennewick) 10-3; def. Saeveon Lee (Bethel) 12-2.
113 – Kevin Chen lost by pin to Guillermo Ramirez (Kamiakin) 1:33; def. Terrance Gearhart (Squalicum) 5-2; lost by pin to Boira Mokmouen (Lincoln) 0:49, eliminated.
182 – Anton Culver lost to Derrick Platt (Yelm) 10-3; def. Myles Gionet (West Seattle) 14-6; p. Dominic Lieto-Mills (Spanaway Lake) 1:56.
285 – Alex Ferruzca lost by pin to Josiah Vaiolo (Wilson) 5:05; p. Jeff Roullier (Marysville-Pilchuck) 0:24; p. Hector Jasso (Lakes) 1:57.
PRAIRIE
113 – Bridger Paradis lost by pin to Xavier Zavala (Kamiakin) 0:44; p. Cameron Williams (Bainbridge) 1:25; lost by pin to Jaiden Bundy (Squalicum) 2:56, eliminated.
132 – Jason Wilcox lost to Zander Coakley (Lakes) 15-4; lost to Josh Coballes (Ferndale) 11-6, eliminated.
145 – Brayden Sofianos def. Nate Balinbin (O’Dea) 17-1; lost by pin to Nolan Casey (Peninsula) 4:51; lost to Jaden Schwartz (Ferndale) 14-6, eliminated.
182 – Nick Langer lost by pin to Dominic Lieto-Mills (Spanaway Lake) 1:33; p. Dylan Wheeler (Snohomish) 1:33; def. Ben Hollenberg (Kamiakin) 4-2.
CLASS 2A
COLUMBIA RIVER
113 – Rexl Lamkin lost by pin to Conor Goucher (Orting) 3:20; lost to Juan Jesus-Miguel (North Mason) 7-2, eliminated.
152 – Logan Knudson def. Gage Olsen (Eatonville) 8-4; def. Anthony Aguilera (Cheney) 8-7.
195 – Logan Wilson lost to Ryan Redford (White River) 20-2; p. Juan Venegas-Lopez (Burlington Edison) 4:02; lost to Aundre Seabrook (Foss) 12-8, eliminated.
HOCKINSON
145 – Dale Anderson def. Isaiah Ervin (East Valley-Spokane) 7-3; def. Ryan Saylor (Bremerton) 11-2.
170 – Colton Wheeler lost to Victor Tafoya (Quincy) 4-2; lost to Payton Scott (Lynden) 5-2, eliminated.
182 – Aidan Mallory lost by pin to Boedy Taylor (Cheney) 0:55; def. Carlos Ruiz (Steilacoom) 6-2; lost by pin to Noah Hammou (North Kitsap) 4:25, eliminated.
RIDGEFIELD
126 – Dylan Draper def. Andrew Arends (Franklin Pierce) 8-1; lost to Kyler Romero (Toppenish) 16-1; lost to Robert Gomez (North Kitsap) 9-2, eliminated.
152 – Miles Bethel lost to Klein Carter (White River) 14-10; p. Easton Roylance (Othello) 4:17; lost to Keyano Zamarripa (Toppenish) 5-1, eliminated.
220 – Dawson Lieurance p. Brendan Nguyen (Liberty-Issaquah) 1:37; p. Landon Hofstee (East Valley-Spokane) 1:25.
WASHOUGAL
126 – Cole Pass lost to Osman Casteneda (Highline) 6-3; lost to Miguel Gaspar-Hernandez (North Mason) 11-3, eliminated.
132 – Jason Powell lost to Alexei Rubio (Toppenish); 20-5; p. Jamie Schroepfer (Sequim) 2:13; lost to Hunter Behnke (Orting) 11-4, eliminated.
138 – Andrew Hopple lost to Josh Camacho (Washington) 14-4; lost to Gabe Fabian (Selah) 8-3, eliminated.
145 – Tanner Lees p. Juan Martinez (Othello) 1:13; def. Alex Brady (Steilacoom) 16-0.
WOODLAND
106 – Judeah Sanders lost to Andy Pimentel (Selah) 7-3; def. Will Slaton (Liberty-Issaquah) 13-0; def. Demani Thomas (River Ridge) 8-7.
113 – Josiah Sanders p. Kirby Bui (Evergreen-Seattle) 107; p. Stephan Aguilar (Wapato) 5:01.
120 – JJ Fuerst lost by pin to Haiden Drury (Toppenish) 1:59; lost by pin to Estan Wakonabo (Bremerton) 2:43, eliminated.
160 – Luke Parrish lost to Johnathan McBride (White River) 15-3; def. Camben Bach (Lakewood) 11-4; lost to Dylan Lalone (Orting) 5-2, eliminated.
195 – Jacob Flanagan lost by pin to Eli Warner (Highline) 3:23; p. Josh Snider (North Kitsap) 1:11; def. Caleb Lay (Cedarcrest) 2-1.
CLASS 1A
KING’S WAY CHRISTIAN
195 – Mike Garrison def. Taitum Brumfield (Elma) 15-6; lost to Akido Yamada (Lakeside-Nine Mile Falls) 7-4; lost by pin to Manny Sabalza (Meridian) 2:57, eliminated.
LA CENTER
126 – Hunter Mallicoat lost by pin Trent Baun (Colville) 3:20; def. Willie Bennett (Sultan) 6-3; lost to Elijah Bell (Columbia-White Salmon) 8-2, eliminated.
132 – Robel Grove lost by pin to Aidan Fleming (Sultan) 4:37; def. Phillip Sliwa (Deer Park) 8-4; lost to Juan Arteaga (Granger) 6-4, eliminated.
195 – Max Muffett lost to Tyrick Weyrauch (Tenino) 11-7; def. Dominic Marek (Sultan) 16-0; lost to Eden Cisneros (Forks) 6-1, eliminated.
SETON CATHOLIC
126 – Elijah Volk lost by pin to Alex Gonzalez (Medical Lake) 0:58; def. Emmanuel Troncoso (Zillah) 6-3; lost by pin to Andrew Smith (Lakeside-Nine Mile Falls 3:44, eliminated.
STEVENSON
113 – Abiy Lacombe lost to Devon Gantt (Naches Valley) 16-6; lost to Weston Thomas (Medical Lake) 19-4, eliminated.
160 – Braeden Waymire lost to Jared Lenz (Riverside) 11-2; lost to Quinton Rogers-Burgett (Zillah) 14-2, eliminated.
182 – Brandon Connell lost by pin to Tre Sargent (Sultan) 1:10; p. Bryan Elena (Forks) 1:48; lost to Torretto Magalei (Cascade Christian) 15-3, eliminated.
