TACOMA – The key moment in Allison Blaine’s state championship journey wasn’t just when she scored the winning takedown in the final period on Saturday.
It occurred one year earlier.
“It was really that third place last year,” Blaine said. “I really did not like losing in the semis. It really pushed me to come back this year and push for first.”
Now the sophomore from Hudson’s Bay is first in more ways than one.
She is first among all 135-pound girls at the Mat Classic state championships at the Tacoma Dome. She beat Kiara Pierson of Sequim 4-2 in the championship match Saturday evening.
She is also the first girl to win a state wrestling championship for Hudson’s Bay.
That gives Blaine a special pride.
“I love my school,” she said. “I wouldn’t change my school for anything. It’s great to represent Hudson’s Bay like this.”
Blaine entered Mat Classic as the top-ranked 135-pound girl in the tournament. After two pins on Friday, she won a tough semifinal match Saturday morning, beating Ivy Kraght of Kentwood 5-3.
The championship match was equally tough. Blaine was almost pinned in the first period.
“I knew it was coming, so I knew I could push that elbow off,” she said. “But it was close.”
With the match tied 2-2 headed into the third period, Blaine made a winning takedown and held on for the final minute.
Union’s Krista Warren also reached Saturday’s championship round. She lost 6-4 in overtime to Sumner’s Nicole Clark, who scored the winning points with 10 seconds left in the first OT period.
Warren nearly had a winning takedown in the final seconds of regulation. But the junior was still proud of her tournament, especially her team’s performance.
“Honestly, it’s not even how I did, it’s the team,” Warren said. “We’ve come a long way. As a freshman, I never thought I’d be a finalist as a junior, let alone get second as a team.”
The Titans finished second, 31 points behind Yelm. It’s the highest team finish for Union, which had four girls reach Saturday’s semifinals.
All four (Warren, Annabelle Helm, Nevaeh Cassidy and Riley Aamold) will be back next season.
“They always say that wrestling is a dying sport, but really it’s not,” Warren said. “I see more girls coming out every single year. Next year we’re going to come back bigger and better.”
WRESTLING
MAT CLASSIC STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
At the Tacoma Dome
Local wrestlers
GIRLS
HUDSON’S BAY
135 – Allison Blaine def. Ivy Kraght (Kentwood) 5-3; def. Kiara Pierson (Sequim) 4-2, STATE CHAMPION.
SETON CATHOLIC
170 – Amanda Fry lost by pin to Tonya Simora (Puyallup) 0:56; p. Emma Fleury (Burlington Edison) 0:15; SEVENTH PLACE.
SKYVIEW
105 – Hikaru Abe p. Diana Cantini (Kamiak) 0:59; p. Raisa Pleasants (Thomas Jefferson) 4:35; def. Emily Mendez (Othello) 6-3; THIRD PLACE.
UNION
130 – Riley Aamold lost to Kaylee Moore (Nooksack Valley) 14-4; def. Makenna Speed (Kalama) 12-3; lost by pin to Carly Smith (Yelm) 4:24, FOURTH PLACE.
140 – Krista Warren def. Ally de la Cruz (Kamiak) injury default; lost to Nicole Clark (Sumner) 6-4, OT, SECOND PLACE.
145 – Nevaeh Cassidy lost by pin to Laly Gonzalez-Nunez (Wahluke) 2:51; p. Brooke Mullins (Puyallup) 3:20; lost to Annabelle Helm (Union) 9-1, FOURTH PLACE.
145 – Annabelle Helm lost to Kiley Hubby (Glacier Peak) 1-0; def. Shelaha Brown-Stephens (Yelm) 2-1; def. Neveah Cassidy (Union) 9-1, THIRD PLACE.
WASHOUGAL
130 – Jaden Robb lost by pin to Carly Smith (Yelm) 1:53; def. Elise Scrafford (North Kitsap) 8-2, SEVENTH PLACE.
140 – Brooklyn Wurm-Wertz lost by pin to Nicole Clark (Sumner) 4:57; def. Chelsey Rochester (Yelm) 3-1; lost to Alexandria Sanford (Kentwood) 6-0, FOURTH PLACE.
WOODLAND
100 – Ashlyn Daugherty lost to Nizhoni Tallman (Granger) 7-6; def. Faith Cardenas (Aberdeen) 6-1; def. Aaliyah Escamilla (Warden) 9-1, THIRD PLACE.
