WIAA state wrestling championships (Mat Classic), Day 1 live updates: Scoring, results, top storylines
TACOMA, Wash. - The rumble is real at Mat Classic XXXIV, the Washington state wrestling championships in the Tacoma Dome.
Stay with for SBLive for updates throughout the day:
UPDATED TEAM SCORING, DEFENDING CHAMPION TRACKER
Photo by Vince Miller
Leaders in team scoring
Class 4A: Chiawana 80.0, Tahoma 69.5, South Kitsap 66.5, Sumner 66.0, Sunnyside 59.0
Class 3A: Mead 129.0, Hermiston 118.5, Stanwood 114.0, Mount Spokane 93.0
Class 2A: Orting 106.5, Othello 72.0, Burlington-Edison 63.5, W.F. West 58.0
Class 1A: Toppenish 155.0, Omak 49.5, Deer Park 43.0, Mount Baker 43.0
Class 2B/B: Forks 90.5, Tonasket 88.5, Chewelah 62.0, Granger 45.0
Large-school girls: Moses Lake 88.0, Yelm 69.0, Curtis 64.0, Chief Sealth 58.0, Graham-Kapowsin 58
Small-school girls: Toppenish 131.0, White River 48.0, Royal 33.0, W.F. West 32.5
How defending Mat Classic champions are faring
CLASS 4A
Isaiah Medina, Chiawana, sr. (now at 113 pounds/won it at 113): Beat Redmonds's Cal Wellner by fall in first round (5:05); beat Graham-Kapowsin's Jackson Losee by fall in quarterfinals (1:24).
Elias McDonald, Sumner, jr. (120/106): Beat Moses Lake's Drayden Gaither by decision in first round (8-0); beat Lake Stevens' Trevor Wilson by decision in quarterfinals (11-4).
Stone Hartford, South Kitsap, jr. (132/120): Beat Issaquah's Ricky Campos by fall in first round (2:31); beat Kentridge's Jaheem Zakka by fall in quarterfinals (4:35).
Alejandro Fernandez, Sunnyside, sr. (132/132): Beat Kennedy Catholic's Jack MacLaren by fall in first round (3:35); beat Lewis and Clark's Bennett Hendrickson by fall in quarterfinals (0:25).
Mitchell Neiner, South Kitsap, sr. (138/126): Beat Lake Stevens' Levi Allinson by technical fall first round (20-4); beat Issaquah's Dash Riley by technical fall in quarterfinals (24-9).
Cody Miller, Sumner, jr. (145/152): Beat Woodinville's Nate Roemer by fall in first round (1:28); beat Sunnyside's Christophe Villanueva by decision in quarterfinals (13-2).
Jake Hubby, Hanford, sr. (152/138): Beat Kentwood's Andrew Fletcher by technical fall in first round (15-0); beat Bethel's Caden Hollenbeck by decision in quarterfinals (6-1).
Christopher Neal, Tahoma, sr. (182/170): Beat Mount Si's Jack Hendricks by technical fall in first round (16-0); beat Camas' Omar Shaheen by fall in quarterfinals (1:03).
CLASS 3A
Jacob Chapa, Southridge, jr. (now at 113 pounds/won it at 106): Bye in first round; beat Edmonds-Woodway's AP Tran by fall in quarterfinals (2:39).
Elijah Cater, Silas, sr. (126/120): Bye in first round; beat Cleveland's Elliot Kim by fall in quarterfinals (3:29).
Ethan Freund, Kelso, sr. (138/132): Bye in first round; beat North Thurston's Charles Parker by decision in quarterfinals (7-2).
Q'veli Quintanilla, University, sr. (145/145): Bye in first round; beat Peninsula's Marcus Reum by fall in quarterfinals (0:19).
Alex Ford, Prairie, sr. (170/160): Bye in first round; beat Oak Harbor's Josiah Christophers by fall in quarterfinals (5:24).
Jaxson Gribskov, Hermiston, sr. (182/182): Bye in first round; beat Silas' Jack MucCullough by fall in quarterfinals (2:28).
CLASS 2A
A.J. Salguero, Orting, soph. (now at 120 pounds/won it at 106): Beat Pullman's Gavin McCloy by decision in first round (10-1); beat Sedro-Woolley's Koe Greenough by decision in quarterfinals (8-0).
Quentin Harding, Orting, soph. (126/113): Bye in first round; beat Ellensburg's Jack Eylar by decision in quarterfinals (5-1).
Bryan Dickerson, Orting, jr. (132/126): Beat Washougal's Grady Lieziert by fall in first round (0:58); beat Cedarcrest's Francisco Contreras by decision in quarterfinals (10-1).
Apollo Cruz, Orting, jr. (138/120): Beat Washougal's Owen Leifsen by fall in first round (0:51); beat Othello's Forrest Roylance by decision in quarterfinals (16-3).
Thor Michaelson, Bremerton, sr. (170/160): Beat Burlington-Edison's Nathan Keith by fall in first round (2:47); beat Ellensburg's Breck Hammond by technical fall in quarterfinals (24-9)
Lars Michaelson, Bremerton, jr. (182/170): Beat Shelton's Jaxon Wolfe by fall in first round (1:40); beat Othello's Brandon Garza by technical fall in quarterfinals (23-7).
Dalton Reed, Orting, sr. (182/182): Beat Columbia River's Keller Lake by fall in first round (1:29); lost to Prosser's Nehemiah M Medrano by decision in quarterfinals (7-3).
Sofian Hammou, North Kitsap, sr. (220/220): Beat Cedarcrest's Andrew Weiker by fall in first round (0:46); beat East Valley of Spokane's Orlando Morales by fall in quarterfinals (1:11).
CLASS 1A
Adan Estrada, Toppenish, jr. (now at 113 pounds/won it at 106): Bye in first round; beat Cascade of Leavenworth's Angel Sandoval by technical fall in quarterfinal (16-1).
Marcos Torrez, Toppenish, jr. (138/132): Bye in first round; beat Eatonville's Kasey Whitney by technical fall in quarterfinals (21-2).
Kiyanno Zuniga, Toppenish, soph. (145/126): Bye in first round; beat South Whidbey's Cole Thorsen by technical fall in quarterfinals (17-2).
Jermiah Zuniga, Toppenish, sr. (152/145): Bye in first round; beat Riverside's Bryce Scarpelli by fall in quarterfinals (5:55).
Mitchell Helgert, Naches Valley, sr. (160/152): Bye in first round; beat Vashon's Chase Bradrick by fall in quarterfinals (1:38).
Kaiden Kintner, Toppenish, jr. (182/170): Bye in first round; beat Stevenson's Gavin Gantner by fall in quarterfinals (4:50).
Byron Newby, Deer Park, jr. (195/182): Bye in first round; beat Zillah's Aiden Ford by decision in quarterfinals (9-3).
Joshua Luna, Toppenish, sr. (195/195): Bye in first round; beat Cashmere's Luke Jacobson by decision in quarterfinals (4-2).
CLASS B
Rodger Cate, Lake Roosevelt, soph. (now at 106 pounds/won it at 106): Bye in first round; beat Reardan's Joey Matusik by fall in quarterfinals (1:56).
Jose Toscano, Granger, sr. (138/126): Bye in first round; beat Selkirk's Jameson Davis by fall in quarterfinals (1:38).
Cody Northwind, Granger, jr. (160/152): Bye in first round; beat Davenport's Matthew Wines by decision in quarterfinals (10-0).
Conan Northwind, Granger, sr. (182/170): Bye in first round; beat Pomeroy's Curtis Winona by fall in quarterfinals (0:48).
Johnny Swartsel, Okanogan, sr. (195/160): Bye in first round; beat Forks' Sebastian Qunneke by fall in quarterfinals (1:02).
GIRLS
Libby Roberts, University, soph. (now at 105 pounds; won it at 105): Bye in first round; beat Federal Way's Mia Han by fall in quarterfinals (1:01).
Zeta Lee, Mount Tahoma, jr. (110/110): Bye in first round; beat Shorecrest's Ana Reed by fall in quarterfinals (2:35).
Ashley Dayana Naranjo, Moses Lake, jr. (115/115): Bye in first round; beat South Kitsap's Larissa Barfknecht by fall in quarterfinals (1:05).
Karianne Baldwin, Glacier Peak, jr. (125/125): Bye in first round; beat Rogers of Puyallup's Lindy Strowbridge by fall in quarterfinals (2:37).
Bianca Johnson, Moses Lake, sr. (130/120): Bye in first round; beat Kelso's Emma Ramey by fall in quarterfinals (0:57).
Alanna Haney, Chiawana, sr. (140/135): Bye in first round; beat Peninsula's Mira Sonnen by fall in quarterfinals (0:22).
Alondra Morales, Royal, sr. (145/140): Bye in first round; beat Blanchet's Lucyanna Dahl by fall in quarterfinals (3:01).
Clarissa Wangen, Curtis, jr. (155/145): Bye in first round; beat Jefferson's Girett Perez-Espiti by fall in quarterfinals (1:29).
Ruby Rodriguez-Rios, Toppenish, sr. (155/155): Bye in first round; beat Mount Baker's Sydney VanBrocklin by fall in quarterfinals (1:27).
Alivia White, Marysville-Pilchuck, sr. (190/190): Bye in first round; beat Camas' Avery Vega Padilla by fall in quarterfinals (0:28).
Faith Tarrant, Prairie, soph. (235/235): Bye in first round; beat Kennedy Catholic's Kanora Diederichs by fall in quarterfinals (3:12).
WHAT-IFS OF 4-PEAT DREAMS
Photo courtesy of Andrea White
Well-regarded University wrestler Q'veli Quintanilla expressed a sentiment that likely is shared by most of the elite senior and junior wrestlers in Washington.
The pandemic screwed any chance of joining the Mat Classic four-peat club by wiping out the 2021 WIAA winter season.
"When state comes around, I think about that a lot, especially knowing that other states - Oregon, Idaho and Pennsylvania - were competing in a state championship," Quintanilla said. "When we got that taken away, it was hard knowing my goal, ever since I was 4 years old coming to watch my older brother wrestle ... was over."
There are guys such as Granger's Gage Cook, Chiawana's Isaiah Anderson and Toppenish's Haracio Godinez who graduated after last season with three titles - and no shot of being a four-timer.
And this class of 2023? It is headlined by Quintanilla, but Toppenish's Jermiah Zuniga and Granger's Conan Northwind would have also liked their shot at joining that special fraternity.
For Quintanilla, it stings extra, especially since he watched his brother, Clai, win four in a row for North Central (2014-17).
"I wanted us to be the first duo of brothers to win four state titles," Quintanilla said. "Things happen, and that's part of life."
Alivia White, the talented 190-pounder from Marysville-Pilchuck who has signed with Iowa, is in the same boat as Quintanilla as well.
"It's not the end of the world," she said. "The name - four-time state champion - was the goal as a freshman and would have definitely been in reach.
"I do think about it. I wish I could have done it."
BADDEST MAN ON A MAT?
Photo by Todd Milles
North Kitsap's Sofian Hammou is a quick worker.
Not only is he an all-state defensive end for the Vikings in football, he is nearly untouchable on the mat in wrestling.
Not convinced? Up until last weekend, no teenager weighing 200 pounds or more had gone a full six minutes against him this season (and that includes top-ranked heavyweight Daniel Matagi, of W.F. West).
After his two quick pins Friday at Mat Classic, Hammou - the defending Class 2A champion at 220 pounds - is 36-0 with 35 falls.
"I haven't seen anybody this dominant in a long time, besides the Michaelsons (from Bremerton)," North Kitsap coach Robert Gomez said. "What he is able to do is phenomenal."
There is a motivation, Hammou said, getting off the mat quickly: "My forearms tense up - I don’t know why. Usually after the first round, my grip pressure is gone."
It wasn't always like this, however. In youth wrestling, Hammou said he was the kid "that ate pizza" right before a match - and then lose.
"I was pretty chunky," he said, detailing he was 140-plus pounds at age 10. "I was the kid my parents would say, 'OK, it will be over in a few seconds, he is going to get pinned.'"
Not anymore - Hammou, a seasonal wrestler only, is the one doing the pinning.
"I look around at people like Lars and Thor Michaelson and how they treat it full-time - and how it shows up on the mat," said Hammou, who won't be playing any college sports, instead going to WWU to study code development. "I feel like if I were to do that, I would be at 195 and be even more dominant."
BROTHERS BEWARE!
Photo by Todd Milles
Over the past decade, Quintanilla has seen the rise of this crop of fantastic sibling wrestlers in the state of Washington.
There are Michaelsons (Thor, Lars) out of Bremerton. There are the Zunigas (Jermiah, Kiyanno, Justyce) out of Toppenish. There are the Acostas (Ivan, Israel) out of Pullman. There are the Northwinds (Conan, Cody) out of Granger.
And, of course, there are the continuing line of Quintanillas (Q'veli, Czar) in Spokane.
"Honestly, I get more anxious watching (Czar)," Quintanilla said, "than wrestling myself."
Then, there is the development in the 126-pound class in Class 3A where Silas brothers Elijah (2022 Mat Classic champion) and Emanuel Cater are on a collision course toward the state finals.
Both are embracing the possibility of facing each other.
"It might be a great experience for us to wrestler in the finals," said Elijah, adding the two have wrestled against each other about 10 times in club matches. "It is exciting."
PREVIEW COVERAGE EARLIER THIS WEEK
* Mat Classic XXXIV primer listing reigning WIAA champions, handicapping teams races
* Marysville-Pilchuck's Alivia White signs on to part of new women's program at Iowa
* 14 must-see boy wrestlers at Mat Classic
* 10 must see girls wrestlers at Mat Classic
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(Featured photo by Vince Miller)
