Titan wrestlers begin title quest at Tacoma Dome
The preparation is finished and 120 area wrestlers are on the mat this morning in the Tacoma Dome in pursuit of their dreams.
Mat Classic XVII, the four-classification, 24-mat state tournament extravaganza, opens its first round beginning at 10 a.m.
The goal is to be on the awards stand Saturday night as one of eight medalists.
For Greater Spokane League schools, University (4A) and East Valley (3A) in particular, the stakes are higher. Both are contenders for team championships this weekend.
For four other schools – Medical Lake and Lakeside-Nine Mile Falls in 2A, Newport and Colfax in 1A/B – a team trophy is well within reach.
“There are a couple of things that are good and a couple of things really challenging for us,” said U-Hi coach Don Owen of his 4A title chances. “Jeremy Montang has kind of a tough draw at 140 pounds. He draws the No. 2 kid in state in the second match. And Brian Owen (at 103) has a couple of top kids.”
Even defending champion Cory Fish of U-Hi is in a class with four state placers. But, Owen conceded, the Titans have some better draws elsewhere.
“And the bottom line is, if guys like Jeremy and Brian want to win a gold medal at state, they have to beat everybody,” he said.
Although three Titans state veterans were beaten last weekend at regionals, U-Hi has a school-best 10 competing this morning. The team the Titans expect to challenge, Lake Stevens, has seven wrestlers. The draw kept the two schools separated.
Last year’s third-place team, Battle Ground, brings nine wrestlers to Tacoma. Several other schools have six or more.
“It would have been a lot easier if we had the extra kids,” coach Owen said. “I’d be sleeping a lot more soundly than I am right now. We’ve got our work cut out for us, but I feel our chances are good.”
EV did everything Knights coach Craig Hanson could have expected in qualifying 12 to state in an attempt to halt Sedro Woolley’s state-title run at three in a row.
“Sedro has more depth and more kids who have been to the tournament before,” Hanson said. “But our kids don’t act like first-timers. They think they’re going to win this thing.”
The toughest draw came at 130 and 135. EV state placer Jared Imes wrestles Sedro Woolley state champion Nathan Decker in the second round. When they met before, Imes lost a four-point match.
“He’s tough at riding,” Hanson said of Decker. “If we win the battle on our feet, we win the match.”
EV’s Matt Hanson would face another Sedro Woolley state champion, Patrick O’Neil, if the two reach the 135-pound semifinals.
Two other Knights, Joey Plumb at 112 and Bryce Fisher at 145, open against Sedro Woolley wrestlers. Fred Arnold could face one in the second round at 160, and Matt Helm yet another in the 275-pound semis, if he gets that far.
“They might get a couple more kids in the finals than ours,” Hanson said of Sedro Woolley, “but I think we’ve got a lot of ‘back-door’ kids. To our advantage, we have a lot of kids who want to be on the podium Saturday night and will claw and scratch to get there. It’s going to be fun.”