North Central out front after first day of State 3A wrestling

TACOMA – Defending State 3A champ North Central was at the top of the leaderboard after the first day of Mat Classic XXVII concluded Friday at the Tacoma Dome.

Now it’s a question whether the Indians can stay there.

Seven of eight Indians will earn a medal today and three of them – defending state champs and brothers, Clai Quintanilla (113 pounds) and Izaec Quintanilla (160), along with Bryson Pierce (170) – are in the semifinals.

NC posted 60.5 points and is chased by Enumclaw (54) and Mt. Spokane (47).

“We were hoping for more (in the semifinals),” NC coach Luke Leifer said. “This is when it starts getting tough.”

Mt. Spokane and Shadle Park matched NC with three semifinalists. Alec Hoover (120), Rich Bondurant (138) and Morgan Ruegsegger (152) advanced for Mt. Spokane while upper weights Stephan Babcock (170), Kyle Vinson (182) and Ryan Burnett (195) moved through for Shadle.

Markus Robinson of Rogers (220) joined the others in the semifinals.

Four Indians stayed alive in the consolation round. That’s key for hopes of a repeat, Leifer said.

“We had a really good consolation round,” Leifer said. “The kids battled and it was awesome. There was a lot of pressure.”

There’s not a lot of wiggle room, though. Enumclaw got four into the semifinals.

Clai Quintanilla was impressive with two pins Friday.

As soon as he signed the bout sheet after his quarterfinal match, Quintanilla ran to find a garbage can.

“I had to throw up,” Quintanilla said. “I’ve been sick all week.”

All he did Friday was make his opponents sick. In the quarterfinals, he turned his opponent on his head with his own head between his legs for a pin.

“That’s a position I’m used to,” he said. “The guy is on his back and I’ve got control. I expected at least back points there and the move came to me.”

Quintanilla said it was important to try for pins Friday.

“We’re all trying to get extra points for the team,” he said.

Hoover defeated Drew Alpin of Auburn 8-4. But it wasn’t without some anxious moments.

Mt. Spokane coach Travis Hughes cautioned Hoover a couple of times to not give up a reversal during scrambles.

“I knew he was looking for it because I wrestled him before at Tri-State,” Hoover said.

Hoover breathed a sigh of relief when he thought about the semifinals.

“It’s like a big cloud has been lifted,” Hoover said. “My goal is to win a state title. I just wrestled smart, safe and stayed in position and competed hard.”

Vinson advanced to the semifinals with a technical fall.

“I went 1-2 the first day at state last year,” Vinson said. “This means everything to me to get a chance to go for a state title. It’s what I’ve been working for.”

Robinson scored two pins. He needed just 19 seconds in his opener before putting away his quarterfinal opponent with 18 seconds remaining.