Titans take title

TACOMA – Heart can trump talent when two wrestlers take to the mat. A dose of both led to a banner day for State 4A champion University and third-place North Central, which turned the 3A tournament for a time Saturday at Mat Classic XXII into a three-team donnybrook.

The Titans placed nine of the 10 wrestlers they brought to Tacoma, eight of them finishing fourth or higher, and outscored Tahoma – with three individual champions – 156.5-114.5 for the title.

“Our motto was 24-7,” coach Don Owen said of their 24-hour-a-day, seven-days-a-week resolve. “These kids lived it.”

NC’s Indians, who had a remarkable Saturday, sent four to the finals with two others rolling through consolations to place third and fourth. The effort bumped them into title contention, at one point 8 ½ points separating three teams.

They finished with 124.5 points to Yelm’s 148.5 and Enumclaw’s 142

“It was a good day for us. For a while there, holy cow, we couldn’t lose,” coach Luke Leifer said. “The finals were tough, because people put pressure on themselves. But think about it, four finalists and a third and fourth place is a great tourney.”

State 4A

It doesn’t necessarily take a championship by an individual to produce a championship team, as the Titans proved.

They did have champions in workout partners Ryan Zumwalt and second-time winner Jake Mason. But it was the collective determination of a driven group that secured U-Hi’s second team title. The first was in 2005.

“Our other state championship team was senior-oriented and might have had more talent,” Owen said. “I think this team, man-for-man, has more heart.”

Five wrestlers bounced back from second-round losses to win three or four matches in succession. Those valuable back-door points helped hold Tahoma at bay.

Nowhere was that effort more evident than at 285 pounds, where Titans teammates Jake Laden and Dalton Cosby wrestled for third and fourth.

“Who in the world would have at the beginning of the season put Dalton in the top four?” Owen said.

But his intellect, strong hands and a killer cradle got him there. Laden, involved in three overtime decisions during the weekend, garnered his fourth one-point win of the tournament. Also placing third was Tyler Clark, who turned the tables on Central Valley rival Jarod Maynes at 112 pounds.

“He had one of the toughest weights there’s been in this tournament in a long time,” Owen said. “He’s done a great job.”

In Saturday night’s finals, Zumwalt completed dominance at 152 pounds a year after losing a controversial final. He reached the finals winning his matches by eight or more points and for the title proved a nonstop dervish against Decatur’s Dylan Aparis before pinning him in 3 minutes, 45 seconds.

“I wasn’t going to let myself lose in the finals again,” said Zumwalt, who was second last year in overtime. “I was going to finish it off right.”

He credited working with Mason every day and said he would wrestle as if he were wrestling his teammate. The title was culmination of a steady four-year medal progression.

“After what happened to him last year made him dial in from the beginning of the year,” Owen said. “I haven’t had anyone work as hard as he did.”

Mason’s second title at 160 pounds was certainly different than last year’s waltz. He was forced to overtime in both the semifinals and finals. It took a penalty point plus escape to survive 7-6 against Snohomish’s rugged Micah Morrill.

“He’s a tough kid, no doubt about it,” Mason said. “He was good on defense. I was trying my shots, but he blocked them.”

There were two other Greater Spokane League finalists and champions, none so thoroughly dominant as Ferris 135-pounder Brandon Riehle.

Riehle had an impressive tournament. He won twice by pin and once in a 16-0 technical fall before pinning Lake Stevens’ Steven Walkley with a minute left in the title match.

“I had so many big goals and kept in mind how much time I put in and how bad I wanted this,” Riehle said in becoming the fourth Saxons state champion.

Coach Tim Owen said Riehle has really good feel for an opponent’s body position and took advantage with strength for a person his size.

Mead 125-pounder Jeremy Golding (125) also had close semifinal and final matches, winning the title 5-4 with escape and ride in the third overtime. He upheld the Panthers’ cause after defending state champions Jordan Rogers couldn’t compete because of appendicitis and Jake Trotter lost a tough 5-3 semifinal against Tahoma unbeaten Konner Knudtsen. Trotter finished third.

State 3A

North Central’s six wrestlers combined to win eight straight matches Saturday to earn the third-place team trophy and for a time were in the thick of the title hunt thanks to a tourney-high four finals qualifiers.

But all four wrestlers lost. Jared Berlinger (119 pounds) made his first final in convincing fashion, 24-7.

“My goal is to win and I just planned on going out my hardest and do as well as I could,” said Berlinger, who lost 3-0 for the title.

Nate Brown (125) was seconds away from a title in his second final, but inexplicably surrendered a reversal as time expired and lost in overtime. Ben Carter (171), another two-time finalist, ran afoul of four-time champion Derek Garcia of Sedro-Woolley. Anthony Whitmarsh lost 3-1 at 189.

East Valley’s Sean Biltoft (135) was the GSL’s other 3A finalist.