GSL earns 3 titles
TACOMA – The evening began and ended with Greater Spokane League individual state champions with another in-between. But as fate would have it, no others from the rest of the combined 10 3A and 4A wrestlers at Mat Classic XVIII fared as well.
Central Valley 103-pounder Nick Cambron continued his late-season surge with a dramatic late-match reverse and overtime takedown for the first GSL win.
Tyler Jolley capped his unbeaten 275-pound season by adding another family state title 12 years after his oldest brother got the first.
And Clarkston three-time finalist Jason Fairley picked up his second championship, at 140 pounds.
But five GSL wrestlers would match up against returning champions during Saturday night’s finals and come up short.
Still, a smaller-than-usual, but no less effective Greater Spokane League wrestling delegation left its mark on both the 3A and 4A state tournaments.
East Valley, with six wrestlers, placed five and sent four into the finals for a third-place finish in 3A behind Sedro Woolley’s juggernaut and Kelso.
The Cubs won their fifth straight title with a whopping 197.5 points – even better than last year – to EV’s 97.5.
In 4A, University had a solid day two from four remaining performers and trophied in fourth place with 70 points.
3A
Jolley, said a Knight assistant coach, was miffed that he was ranked only fourth among the state’s Class 3A heavyweights.
When Derek Altona, a state champion two years ago, failed to lock up with him, he knew he would duplicate his brother Terry’s title.
“He’s a real tough kid and I came out a little skittish,” Jolley said. “When he didn’t throw collar ties like most heavyweights, I knew I was going to beat him.”
Jolley earned a reversal midway through the second period and rendered Altona nearly immobile for the remainder of the match.
Victory led to a mad dash to his father in the stands and an emotional tribute to his five brothers.
“If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t be here,” he said. “(Terry’s) picture when he won is on the wall, and when I walked by and thought about it, I wanted to repeat that.”
Fairley won state at 103 pounds as a freshman, didn’t qualify for state the next year and was second as a junior. He won the by third-round pin this time.
“I thought after the second period last year that I had it,” Fairley said. “This year I didn’t let up until (the end).”
East Valley’s Anthony Rivera at 119 pounds and Bryce Fisher at 145 lost to defending champion Sedro Woolley wrestlers, and sophomore 171-pound Clete Hanson was also beaten.
Jamie Tamura from North Central also faced a returning state champion in the 125-pound final, Sunnyside’s Steve Sanchez, who beat him 16-1 the week before. This time the score was 10-7.
“We wanted to be more aggressive on offense,” said coach Mike Ranieri, “but he took Jamie down four times. That killed us.”
4A
Cambron, said Bears coach John Owen, had been fighting weight issues and had struggled to get by the first couple of weeks of postseason competition.
“He seemed to catch fire in this tournament,” said Owen.
Cambron fell behind 4-1 to Eastern Regional champion Robert Cruz in their title match. But he scrambled back from a 6-4 deficit after two periods for a takedown, then a reversal with 21 seconds left forced overtime. It took just 20 seconds for him to get the match winner.
In other title matches, University’s Brian Owen and CV’s Lucas Chesher were denied repeat state championships.
Owen, who has wrestled this season with breaks in a lumbar vertebrae, was outmuscled by South Kitsap’s Josiah Kipperberg 4-2. Chesher lost 4-3 to Kai Van Leuven.
Van Leuven had ended the championship hopes of Lewis and Clark’s Anthony Varnell in overtime earlier in the tournament .
At 130 pounds, Ferris’s Taylor Yonago, whose brother Kyle was a two-time finalist, lost to defending champion Kelly Kubec of Lake Stevens.