TACOMA — The Twin Harbors didn’t place a wrestler into the state championship finals on Saturday, but four Harborites went as far as they could at the Mat Classic XXIV at the Tacoma Dome.
Aberdeen’s Jaime Miranda, Elma’s Anthony Heller, Montesano’s Bo Russell and Ocosta’s William Helman all finished in third place in their respective weight divisions to lead a 10-wrestler contingent onto the medal stand.
Heller was the only championship semifinalist out of the group, rebounding from a tough semifinal loss to win two matches for third in the Class 1A 182-pound division. Russell and Miranda each went 3-0 on the day to take home third in the 1A 220 and 2A 285 divisions, respectively.
Helman was just one of five Twin Harbor wrestlers who started the day in the Class B tournament to finish at the end, taking third in the B 220 division.
Third/Fourth Place
Heller’s day started with a meeting with the reigning state 1A champion, Chelan’s Cole Schwartz, and it didn’t go well.
Schwartz, who claimed the 189 division title last year, never allowed Heller to get a move in, dominating the match en route to a win by pin at 1:43. Heller wasn’t pleased with the result, but he made up for it.
In the consolation semifinals, Heller took on Chelan’s Alex Cortez for a spot in the third-fourth place match. This was a physical and intense confrontation. The Elma senior scored a takedown in the first period for a 2-0 lead, then traded escapes in the second and third periods. With the final seconds winding down, both wrestlers tried for one last move, but it ended with a 3-1 victory for Heller.
In the medal match, Heller prevailed in his third meeting of the season with Vashon Island’s Preston Morris.
The first two matches were 1-0 wins for Heller and this one was just as tight. With a 1-1 tie and just over 1 minute left in the match, Heller let Morris up from the down position for a 2-1 deficit. Aiming for a takedown, Heller got it with 40 seconds left and rode Morris out for a 3-2 win to cap his high school career.
“Anthony was pretty heartbroken with the loss (in the semifinals),” Elma head coach Jason Dick said. “He told me his goal was top three and I told him that he wasn’t done yet. He was excited to go out there and get the opportunity (for third). He knew what he wanted to do against Preston and he did it.”
Russell began the day with a three-match path to third place and he didn’t waste time. In the consolation third round, Russell pinned Naches’ Eli Curtsinger at 2:57 to advance. In the consolation semifinals, Russell was in a deadlocked match with Robert Easton, of Vashon Island. Trailing 1-0 after two periods, Russell scored a quick reversal for a 2-1 lead and pressed his advantage to win by pin at 4:47.
In the medal match, Russell was again in a deadlocked match, this time against Kiona-Benton’s Cody Zyph. With blood time breaking up the rhythm of the match for the first two periods, Russell grabbed the momentum from the top position and rolled Zyph for the pin at 3:52.
“Bo wrestled great today,” Montesano head coach Jeff Klinger said. “I don’t think he got a fair shake at regionals. If he was in a (top) seed coming in, he would be in the finals. With him, we were shooting for first or, if not, third. That’s all you can do and he did his job.”
Aberdeen’s Miranda also needed three wins to finish third and the junior stepped up.
Miranda took control of his consolation third round match with West Valley-Spokane’s Alex Hachman with takedowns in the first and second periods en route to a 5-0 victory. Against Fife’s Monike Failauga, Miranda didn’t take any time to get into the medal match, throwing Failauga quickly for a pin in 48 seconds in the consolation semifinals.
In the medal match, Miranda took on Grandview’s Martin Torres — an opponent Aberdeen coaches had well-scouted. Turning the contest into a technical match, Miranda held a 3-2 lead midway through the third period when the head official called him for a stall and tied the match at 3-3. In overtime, Miranda got Torres off-balance and scored the takedown at the edge of the circle for the 5-3 win.
“That was a great match; Jaime know what the kid would do,” said AHS head coach Chuck Veloni, who noted that Miranda and seventh-place finisher Jose Duran were Aberdeen’s first state placers since 2009. “Jaime was in great shape and we knew we had him in overtime.”
Ocosta’s Helman was the lone survivor of the Class B elimination matches for third-fourth. In an eight-man bracket, only the top-four finishers woul make it onto the medal stand.
Taking on Warden’s Rudy Martinez, Helman never allowed Martinez to get a step in, taking him down several times before a takedown onto his back in the third period for the pin at 3:15.
In the medal match, Helman aggressively attacked Ritzville’s Grayson Morris in a rematch of the opening-round match between the two seniors. Just like in the first meeting, Helman got control, taking a comfortable 9-0 lead on a four-point nearfall and finished it with a pin at 2:56.
“I’m proud of the way he bounced back and wrestled today,” Ocosta head coach Kevin Goodrich said. “William wrestled two very strong matches today. He wrestled aggressive. We wanted third place and he went out there and got it. I’m very proud of him.”
Fifth/Sixth Place
Elma’s Julia Arnold broke through with a win in the consolation third round in overtime when it appeared Federal Way’s Luaipou Lologo had the takedown on the Elma senior. However, Arnold spun around and in what appeared to be a mini-reversal, she got enough control to score the takedown for the 9-7 overtime win.
Following a loss in the consolation semifinals, Arnold finished off her high school career with a dominating 12-4 victory over Skyline’s Kara Alden for fifth place in the girls’ 145-pound division.
Elma’s Ryan Wilson dominated his first match of the day, a 15-6 victory over Riverside-Chattaroy’s Brandon Roberts in the consolation third round, but fell in the consolation semifinals. In the fifth-sixth match, Wilson fell behind after a second-period reversal and 3-point nearfall before losing to Grandview’s Jose Cienfuegos by pin at 2:44 for sixth place.
Seventh/Eighth Place
Hoquiam’s Sam King clinched the Grizzlies’ lone medal of the weekend following a loss in the consolation third round. Against Kelso’s Hannah Baron, King scored an escape late in the third round to secure a 2-1 victory for seventh place in the girls’ 155 division.
Aberdeen’s Duran clinched the Bobcats’ first medal of the day when he bounced back from a tough consolation third-round loss in the 2A 170 division. Against Brandon Todd of Archbishop Murphy, Duran maintained the momentum he gathered in the first period and scored a pin at 1:30 for seventh place.
Elma’s Tanner Sample had two tough losses on Saturday, capped by a 7-4 loss to Mabton’s Vicente Mireles for eighth in the 1A 126 division.
Montesano’s Ben O’Brien faced a familiar opponent on Rochester’s Collin Hornby in the medal match and fell by pin at 3:15 for eighth.
