TACOMA — Union’s Kyle Brosius is a wrestling coach’s dream. Relentless work ethic, unrivaled desire and a never-quit attitude propelled Brosius to the top of the podium at the Tacoma Dome on Saturday.
Entering the year, Brosius was a relative unknown. He had never placed at state before. At Mat Classic XXXII, Brosius completed his transformation, winning an 11-7 decision over Decatur’s Bradley Tyack to win the 170-pound championship.
“I knew it belonged to me; I knew it had been robbed of me,” Brosius said. “I finally went out there and proved to my county who I was, proved to my coaches who I was and showed them my hard work is all because of them and what they put into me.”
Brosius ended the year 45-1 and a school-record 34 pins. But it wasn’t until he defeated rival Gideon Malychewski at the Pac Coast Championships in December that Brosius started registering on everyone’s radar.
He credits Malychewski among those responsible for his success. Malychewski finished as a 160-pound runner-up, losing by 16-8 decision to Pasco’s Isaiah Gonzalez.
“Most of all, I just had fun and thought about all the times I’ve been robbed,” Brosius said. “I thought about Tyson Stovar; I thought about Gideon Malychewski, those guys who have pushed me over the years and brought out the best in me.”
Brosius is Union’s fifth champion, joining Clint Coulter (2010), John Godinho jr. (2014), Alex Berfanger (2014), Ethan Rotondo (2016, 2017) and Danny Snediker (2018, 2019).
Brosius’ 220-pound teammate Levi Harms fell in the finals by 3-1 decision to Tahoma’s Levi Kovacs. Fellow Titan Riley Aamold dropped a 7-4 decision in the girls’ 125-pound finals.
In Class 1A, Seton Catholic sophomore CJ Hamblin continued his trek of becoming Clark County’s first four-time champion. He earned a second-round pin of Granite Falls’ Hayden Long.
“It’s better the second time,” Hamblin said. “The first one was sweet, but this one was sweeter knowing I came back and I’m still No. 1.”
Hamblin was nearly pinned in the first round, but flipped the switch and dominated the rest of the way.
“He’s funky; he’s funky,” Hamblin said of his finals opponent. “I had to compose myself and was ready for anything that came.”
Columbia River’s Atticus Kurtz was Clark County’s only third-place finisher of the 50 medalists Saturday.
