Mat Classic XXXV state wrestling preview: Can Chiawana extend its 4A dominance with five-peat?

Welcome to another installment of Mat Classic - the home for seven separate WIAA state wrestling tournaments (five boys, two girls).

On the girls side, this will be the second season of large-school classification (4A/3A) and small-school classification (2A/1A/B) tournaments.

* SUMNER WRESTLER GOING FOR PERFECT CAREER RECORD

There will be 48 wrestlers attempting to defend their 2023 Mat Classic title - 33 on the boys side, and 15 on the girls side.

Here is a preview of the two-day tournament in the Tacoma Dome:

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SCHEDULE

Session I Friday - First round, quarterfinals and consolation are from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. Session II Saturday - Semifinals and consolation are 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Session III Saturday - All championship matches go from 3 p.m. until 8 p.m.

2023 TEAM CHAMPIONS

Class 4A - Chiawana. Class 3A - Mead. Class 2A - Orting. Class 1A - Toppenish. Class 2B/1B - Tonasket. Large-school girls - Moses Lake. Small-school girls - Toppenish.

RETURNING 2023 INDIVIDUAL WINNERS

4A - Curtis Carlisle, Rogers of Puyallup, sr. (now at 113/won at 106); Elias McDonald, Sumner, sr. (132/120); Daeton Johnson, Chiawana, jr. (138/126); Cody Miller, Sumner, sr. (157/145); JJ Schoenlein, Skyview, jr. (175/170); Connor Aney, Glacier Peak, jr. (285/285).

3A - Czar Quintanilla, University, soph. (now at 113/won at 106); Jacob Chapa, Southridge, sr. (120/113); Andrew Flores, Lincoln of Tacoma, soph. (120/120); Josh Neiwert, Mead, sr. (132/132); Tre Haines, Arlington, soph. (157/138); Ezekiel McEwen, Capital, sr. (175/170); Navarre Dixon, Lincoln of Tacoma, sr. (190 at 4A Emerald Ridge/182).

2A - Dominic Thomas, Orting, soph. (now at 113/won at 106); Michael Fritz, Orting, soph. (144/113); Alan (A.J.) Salguero, Orting, sr. (126/120); Quentin Harding, Orting, jr. (138/126); Bryan Dickerson, Orting, sr. (132/132); Apollo Cruz, Orting, sr. (150/138); Lars Michaelson, Bremerton, sr. (190/182); 

1A - Steve Romero, Toppenish, soph. (now at 113/won at 106); Adan Estrada, Toppenish, sr. (126/113); Justyce Zuniga, Toppenish, soph. (132/126); Darrell Nanpuya, Omak, jr. (138/132); Marcos Torrez, Toppenish, sr. (150/138); Kiyanno Zuniga, Toppenish, jr. (144/145); Darrell Leslie, Toppenish, sr. (215/220); Anthony Nava, Toppenish, jr. (285/285).

B - Gerardo Hernandez, Tonasket, jr. (now at 126/won at 113); Tanner Grooms, Okanogan, jr. (120/120); Aaron Polito, Tonasket, sr. (132/126); Cody Northwind, Granger, sr. (175/160); Sloan Tumaua, Forks, sr. (285/220); 

Big-school girls - Libby Roberts, University, jr. (now at 105/won at 105); Zeta Lee, Lincoln of Tacoma, sr. (115/110 at Mount Tahoma); Ashley Dayana Naranjo, Moses Lake, sr. (110/115); Madisyn Erickson, Yelm, sr. (120/120); Karianne Baldwin, Glacier Peak, sr. (125/125); Sierra Wangen, Curtis, sr. (135/130); Flor Parker-Borrero, Graham-Kapowsin, soph. (140/140); Clarissa Wangen, Curtis, sr. (155/155); Ryley Nager, Curtis, soph. (170/170); Faith Tarrant, Prairie, jr. (235/235).

Small-school girls - Sophia Torrez, Toppenish, soph. (now at 105/won at 105); Adalyne Montiel, Toppenish, soph. (110/110); Ruby Clark, Toppenish, sr. (140/140); Makayla Torres, Toppenish, jr. (145/190); Madisen Pillers, Newport, sr. (235/235).

4A PRIMER

Is this the year four-time defending state champion Chiawana goes down? Even with 11 combatants in the state tournament, including three regional champions (one being Daeton Johnson, a defending state champion), the Riverhawks will have to be near-perfect to overcome Tahoma's depth. The Bears have 19 wrestlers at Mat Classic, most of any classification, including eight regional winners, as they pursue their first team title since 2017.

3A PRIMER

Greater Spokane League powerhouse Mead is on track for its third consecutive state title. The Panthers dominated their regional tournament (404 points), qualifying 17 wrestlers for Mat Classic, including four regional champions. One of them is Josh Neiwert, a returning state champion at 132 pounds. ... If the Panthers have an off weekend, the best bet to chase them down is Hermiston, Ore., which finished second behind them at the regional tournament and has 10 state qualifiers.

2A PRIMER

The Orting locomotive to a third consecutive Mat Classic championship is full speed ahead. And with half of its 16 wrestlers coming to Tacoma as regional winners - and six being returning state champions - the Cardinals could challenge Toppenish's classification scoring mark of 310 points, set in 2019. Last season, the Cardinals posted their best showing with 258.5 points. ... Individually, Bremerton's Lars Michaelson, a Stanford signee, is the consensus top wrestler in the state going for a third WIAA title.

1A PRIMER

Toppenish is on a historic run of four consecutive Mat Classic titles (two in 2A; past two in 1A) - and has scored more than 300 points in three of those seasons (including its state-record 402 points in 2022). Title No. 5 is a virtual lock with 17 state qualifiers, including 10 regional winners. Seven of those standouts are returning state champions. As coach Pepe Segovia noted, "We are in competition with our girls team" for highest point total of the weekend.

B PRIMER

Tonasket has won the 2B/1B tournament in five of the past six seasons - and is the front-runner against this weekend. The Tigers advanced 13 wrestlers into state brackets, including seven regional finalists - and have returning Mat Classic gold medalists Gerardo Hernandez and Aaron Polito in the field. Okanogan, the regional runner-up to Tonasket, and Forks should battle it out for state runner-up.

GIRLS PRIMER

Last winter, Toppenish became the fifth school in state history to repeat as Mat Classic team champions on the girls side. And the Wildcats are clear 2A/1A/B favorites this week with four returning state champions, most of any girls program in Washington. Only team to win more than three consecutive team titles in Sedro-Woolley (2009-2012). ... Curtis was the 4A/3A runner-up to Moses Lake a year ago, but comes in as the only large-school program with multiple returning state champions - and scored 192 points in running away with a regional crown last week. If the Vikings win, it would be their first team title.

TICKETS

Tournament passes are $36.50 for adults, and $24.50 for students and senior citizens. Single-day tickets are $21.50/$14.50.