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Boys Prep Wrestling Roundup: Elma, Aberdeen place at respective state dual championship meets

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, February 3, 2026

PHOTO BY SUE MICHALAK BUDSBERG
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PHOTO BY SUE MICHALAK BUDSBERG
PHOTO BY SUE MICHALAK BUDSBERG Elma’s Liam McManus (top) competes in a dual match against Kalama at the WSWCA 1A Boys State Duals Championships on Saturday in Wapato.
PHOTO BY SUE MICHALAK BUDSBERG Montesano’s Fin Ekerson (top) competes in a dual meet against Cascade Christian during the WSWCA 1A Boys State Duals Championships on Saturday in Wapato.
PHOTO BY SUE MICHALAK BUDSBERG Montesano’s Gage Stutesman (top) competes in a dual meet against Cascade Christian during the WSWCA 1A Boys State Duals Championships on Saturday in Wapato.
PHOTO BY SUE MICHALAK BUDSBERG Elma’s Troy Rupe (right) competes in a dual meet against Cashmere during the WSWCA 1A Boys State Duals Championships on Saturday in Wapato.
PHOTO BY SUE MICHALAK BUDSBERG Elma’s Luis Torres (top) competes in a dual meet against Chelan during the WSWCA 1A Boys State Duals Championships on Saturday in Wapato.
ERICA MCCRORY | MCCRORY PHOTOGRAPHY Aberdeen’s Jimmie Gertson (top) controls his opponent during a duals match at the WSWCA 2A Boys State Duals Championships on Saturday in Orting.
ERICA MCCRORY | MCCRORY PHOTOGRAPHY Aberdeen’s Landon Hamblin (top) wrestles against Steliacoom at the WSWCA 2A Boys State Duals Championships on Saturday in Orting.
SUBMITTED PHOTO The Aberdeen boys wrestling team poses with its state trophy at the conclusion of the WSWCA 2A Boys State Duals Championships on Saturday in Orting.

Elma and Aberdeen’s boys wrestling teams placed at their respective state dual championship meets as we review recent Twin Harbors boys prep wrestling events.

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BOYS PREP WRESTLING

Elma places fifth at 1A state duals

The Elma Eagles finished fifth in the state at the inaugural 1A Washington State Wrestling Coaches Association Boys State Wrestling Duals Championship meet on Saturday at Wapato High School.

The Eagles dominated Kalama 62-15 in the opening round.

Elma won eight of the dual’s 10 head-to-head matches, with Eagles Connor Olson (106 pounds), Luis Torres (113), Alexander Brown (120), Aidyn Johnson (126), Xavier Espinoza (132), Caiden Rademacher (150), Liam Boling (165) and Levi Russell (175) earning victories.

The Eagles then lost to Cashmere 39-30 in the semifinals, with Olson, Torres, Brown, Troy Rupe (144), Liam McManus (157) and Russell earning head-to-head wins for Elma.

From there, Elma battled its way through the consolation bracket.

The Eagles took out Chelan 59-17 as Olson, Torres, Brown, Johnson, Rupe, Bryston Crawford (150) and McManus earned six-point pinfall victories in another dominant team performance.

Elma then squeaked past Royal 38-35 in their final match of the contest.

Ben Totten (138), Rupe and Rademacher won their head-to-head matches while Johnson, McManus and Johnathan Henderson (190) to give Elma the win and co-fifth place trophy with the La Center Wildcats.

“I would say that we are grateful for the opportunity to compete in Wapato for the first ever Washington State Dual Championships,” Elma head coach Jeff Catterlin said. “We are thankful for the fifth-place finish there, but we still have room to grow and we still haven’t wrestled our best. We have another opportunity in Hoquiam on Saturday for the state qualifier to prove ourselves and to wrestle better. Our goal from Day 1 has been to peak at the right time.”

Full results available at flowrestling.org.

Elma competes at the 1A Evergreen League Championships at 10 a.m. on Saturday at Hoquiam High School.

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Aberdeen seventh in inaugural duals state championships

Aberdeen placed seventh overall in the first ever Washington State Wrestling Coaches Association Boys State Wrestling Duals Championships on Saturday at Orting High School.

The Bobcats opened the inaugural 2A duals state-title meet with a 57-24 first-round victory over Burlington-Edison.

Aberdeen got pinfall wins from Sebastian Street (106 pounds), Jaidon Williams (126), Ethan Parris (138), Adonis Hammonds (144) and Bryan Sanchez (190) in the dual win.

George Yakovich III (132) won his match via technical fall while Glenny Black (150) earned a major-decision victory to help the Bobcats to the victory.

Aberdeen then advanced to the quarterfinals, where it met 2A Evergreen Conference foe W.F. West. In the dual, the Bobcats got pinfall wins from Street and Jimmie Gertson (215) and a 13-10 victory from Black, but it wasn’t enough as Aberdeen lost 60-21.

In the consolation round, the Bobcats lost to Steliacoom 47-29 and were led by Yakovich, Black, Gertson and a pinfall win from Landon Hamblin (285) to close out a seventh-place finish in the 11-team event.

“We were happy to be included in the first ever state duals meet,” Aberdeen head coach Jeff Hatton said. “We didn’t have our full varsity line up and the boys still stepped up, wrestled hard and achieved a seventh-place trophy. I’m very happy to be a part of guiding these Bobcats boys.”

Orting beat Othello 54-21 in the championship dual while Marysville-Pilchuck defeated W.F. West 47-30 in the state’s third/fourth-place match.

Full results available at flowrestling.org.

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Montesano goes 1-2 at state duals championships

The Montesano Bulldogs went 1-2 at the state dual championships on Saturday in Wapato.

The Bulldogs earned a 53-23 first-round win over Blaine to start the meet.

Titus Eaton (113 pounds), Hank Erickson (132), Cole Tobert (150) and Matthew Causey (165) earned pinfall wins for Monte.

Hunter Schmitz (106), Finley Ekerson (120) and Gage Stutesman also won their head-to-head matches for Monte in the victory.

In the quarterfinals, the Bulldogs lost to eventual state-champion Zillah 51-27.

Ekerson, Erickson, Tobert, Kole Kjesbu (157) and Stutesman earned wins in the dual-meet loss.

The Bulldogs closed out their trip to the state duals with a 48-32 loss to Cascade Christian.

Eaton, Ekerson, Kjesbu, Stutesman and Lucas Delgado (285) earned wins for the Bulldogs.

Full results available at flowrestling.org.

Montesano will compete at the 1A Evergreen League Championships at 10 a.m. on Saturday at Hoquiam High School.

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Hoquiam places second at Lumberjack Classic

The Hoquiam Grizzlies placed second overall at the Lumberjack Classic on Saturday at R.A. Long High School in Longview.

The Grizzlies tallied 160 points, just 7.5 points behind first-place R.A. Long and well ahead of third-place Eatonville (129.5 points).

Hoquiam was led by three weight-class winners on Saturday.

Grizzlies senior Junior Balagot defeated Eatonville’s Teagan Croppi via 16-0 technical fall to win the 120-pound title.

Hoquiam senior Cruz Ortiz-Ortiz pinned Mark Morris’ Lincoln Gaylord at 1:51 to win the 126-pound championship.

Finally, Grizzlies senior Kingston Case defeated junior teammate Ben Paluck via 12-3 major decision to take home gold in the 157-pound weight class.

The Grizzlies hosts the 1A Evergreen League Championships starting at 10 a.m. on Saturday.

Hoquiam podium placements

113 pounds: 3, Bryce Curley.

120: 1, Junior Balagot.

126: 1, Cruz Ortiz-Ortiz.

150: 4, Brayden Gonzalez.

157: 1, Kingston Case. 2, Ben Paluck.

190: 3, Cody Sauer.

285: 3, Memphis Orama.

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RSB’s Swogger, North Beach’s Ramirez place at Beach Brawl

Raymond-South Bend’s Lucas Swogger and North Beach’s Ayden Ramirez placed on the podium at the Beach Brawl on Saturday in Ilwaco.

Swogger placed fourth overall in the 157-pound weight class after defeating Toledo’s Carter Lairson via 17-0 technical fall in the semifinal round, but lost via forfeit in the consolation final.

Ramirez beat Adna’s Ben Moerke 7-4 in the semis to advance to the final, where the Hyaks freshman lost to Onalaska’s Steven Gomes via 14-4 major decision in the third/fourth-place match.

Full results available at flowrestling.org.