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TACOMA - It's back - one of the best WIAA state championships around. It is Mat Classic XXXIII, the state wrestling championships.

Unlike previous years, the first day is one session - with the wrestler objective of surviving to the podium day.

Follow SBLive WA's first-day action:

CHIAWANA'S ISAIAH ANDERSON BACK FROM SERIOUS SHOULDER INJURY

If Chiawana standout Isaiah Anderson seems to have an extra bounce to his step this weekend in the Tacoma Dome, it's easy to understand why.

He gets to wrestle.

"I missed my opportunity to win four (Mat Classic titles)," Anderson said. "I wasn't going to miss the chance to win three."

But it hasn't been an easy road back to this point.

Back in late May, Anderson was competing in the 2021 NHSCA National Duals in Virginia Beach when he felt a sharp pain in his right shoulder during a first-day match.

He completed the tournament, came back to wrestle for the Riverhawks in the spring WIAA season - but then really began feeling crummy.

Tests revealed he had a right shoulder labral tear.

The Oregon State University signee opted for surgery, which mean he'd not only miss his senior football season - it gave him an outside chance to return for the postseason in wrestling.

"The doctor always said Feb. 2 was a target date," Anderson said. "But going to physical therapy, I could tell I was recovering quickly, and I always kept my conditioning up."

Even after being cleared to return in early January, Anderson told his father, Jack - also Chiawana's retiring coach - that the shoulder was still sore.

"In the very beginning, I didn't know if this would all work out because it hurt," Anderson said. "I sat out a week, came back and it's felt fine ever since."

Anderson is the lone returning Mat Classic winner from 2020 to be competing in the 4A field this weekend. He is the favorite in the 190 bracket.

FINAL MAT CLASSIC FOR LEGENDARY LAKE STEVENS COACH

Brent Barnes has seen a lot in his 37 seasons at Lake Stevens High School.

Especially the highest level of success

Under Barnes, the Vikings have won 11 Mat Classic titles at the Class 4A and 3A level - including his first season in 1989-90. His wrestlers have won numerous individual state championships. His son, Burke, in part of the elite four-peat fraternity.

But earlier this season, Barnes announced this would be his final one leading the program. He will retire from coaching at the conclusion of this weekend in the Tacoma Dome.

"I've been thinking about it for the last three years - before COVID," Barnes said. "I wanted to at least go out on good terms ... and leave at the top of my game."

When asked what he wants to be remembered for the most, Barnes didn't hesitate: "Good relationships. ... It's all about relationships in the end."

He witnessed that first-hand at Lake Stevens' final home dual meet in January. More than 150 alumni, including Barnes' first Mat Classic champion in ex-UW linebacker Richie Chambers (190 pounds), came back to honor their coach and wish him well.

"What they don't realize is how much they've touched my heart," Barnes said.

Barnes said he will continue to teach at the school, but with his down time, he wants to spend more time on his boat - and with his grandchildren.

JALIA WILLIAMS: PURE 'EXPLOSIVENESS AND ADRENALINE' ON THE MAT

Jalia Williams insists she is not a mean person.

But her "love for explosiveness and adrenaline" makes her one of the most feared wrestlers in any WIAA girls bracket.

Williams, a senior, barged right through to the 170 semifinals with an impressive (albeit brief) showing against returning state champion Ayanna Asselin, of Kennewick, in the state quarterfinals.

It lasted 16 seconds.

After Williams got Asselin in a front headlock, she tried a 'Cement Mixer" move - an abrupt twisting throw that landed the Lions' standout on her back, writhing in pain. Asselin ended up defaulting via an elbow injury.

"I am not a mean person, and I don’t mean to hurt people. If it happens, I feel bad," Williams said. "But if happens, It happens - I’ve got to wrestle my match and finish it."

Girls have forfeited matches to Williams a few times this winter.

"They said, 'Oh, no, we are scared,'" Williams said. "I said, 'I am sorry.'"

For years, White River coaches said if Williams concentrated just on wrestling - she does competitive cheerleading and rugby, too - she would be a blue-chip recruit.

"I do want to wrestle in college, and take it to the next level," she said.

STAREDOWN FOR A SHOWDOWN WITH AN 'UNTOUCHABLE'

Since the inception of Mat Classic back in 1989, The (Tacoma) News Tribune has previewed the hometown WIAA event by coming up with its best-of-the-best-wrestlers-in-the-state franchise - dubbed "The Untouchables."

And when you are labeled an 'Untouchable,' you have a bit of a target on your back.

One of them in the 2022 class is Bremerton's Thor Michaelson, a junior who placed second as a ninth grader in 2020, but has won national championships.

Last weekend in the Class 2A Region II tournament, Michaelson met Steilacoom's Vincent Parry in the 160 finals - and won a 6-3 decision.

But the way the match ended - with Parry turning Michaelson to his back - had everyone buzzing about a potential rematch heading into this weekend's championships.

Then, Michaelson was selected as an 'Untouchable' by the newspaper on Friday morning. "I figured," Parry said.

Few know much about Parry. With his father in the military, his family moved from Alaska to Steilacoom in 2018.

He attends the high school for a morning class, then goes off to "Running Start" classes up the road at Pierce College. In the afternoon, he returns to campus for wrestling practice.

"I've been wrestling since first grade," Parry said.

Parry certainly has the attention of the Bremerton standout, who came over to watch his first-round match Friday.

"I've studied him, too," Parry said.

"He knows what he'll do, I know what I'll do - and it's a matter of who does it best."