Rewriting family history: Montesano’s Cole Ekerson becomes the first in four generations to win at state

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, February 25, 2026

For a family steeped in Harbor wrestling tradition, the state-championship tournaments felt like some cruel, sick joke.

Four generations of Ekersons have competed in a combined 14 state tournaments and wrestled in five state-championship matches over the past 89 years, only to experience a fair share of heartache along the way.

It looked as though their latest state-level competitor, Montesano sophomore Finley Ekerson, was also subject to what the family half-jokingly dubbed the “Ekerson curse” after seeing a state title slip away with an overtime loss last season.

That all changed this year as Finn exercised his family’s state-tournament demons when he defeated Wapato’s Zxavier Garza to win the 1A class’ 120-pound championship at the Mat Classic XXXVII on Saturday in Tacoma.

“I couldn’t really believe it at first,” Ekerson said. “Just looking over at my brothers, seeing how proud they were and so happy for me getting that title that the family has been wanting for so long. That’s really what made it for me.”

It didn’t come easy, and if there is any wrestling family that knows that, it’s the Ekersons.

Dating back to Finn’s great-grandfather, Waldo Ekerson, the family has a long list of high state placements and gut-wrenching defeats at the state tournament.

Waldo placed second in both 1937 and 1938 while father Sean Ekerson placed third in the state for Elma in 1992 and had his shot at a state final crushed when he was injured in the 1993 state semis.

Finn’s older brothers have also had their share of Mat Classic misfortune.

Ty Ekerson placed third in 2020 on a controversial headgear call bounced him from state-title contention and, despite being a state-title favorite, never got another crack at it due to the tournament being canceled due to COVID in 2021.

Cole Ekerson placed fifth as a freshman in 2020 and lost in the state-title match in both 2022 and 2023.

After Finn’s overtime loss last season, one could figure the pressure to win at state would be overwhelming.

As it turned out, the exact opposite was true.

“When I was a freshman, I felt the pressure a lot more than I did this year. This year, I wasn’t as worried about it. I knew that whatever happened, happened. After I lost as a freshman, I didn’t feel as nervous about it. The pressure was kind of relieved this year. I didn’t feel a whole lot about it,” Finley said. “I knew all the work I did in the offseason, all the wrestling I’ve done and all the preparation, I was ready. I was prepared.”

The family played a big part in Finn’s victory as they made certain the “curse” was not discussed around the Bulldogs sophomore and that they cold be leaned on for support.

Both his older brothers have been credited with helping prepare Finn for the state tournament, one in which he performed to perfection according to Monte head coach Jeff Nelson.

“These matches stay really close and that’s by design, especially if you don’t know a whole lot about them and haven’t wrestled them,” Nelson said. “You don’t want to take any chances you don’t need too. It was kind of a feeling out process and Finn just found the things we had talked about.

Finn took a 4-0 lead with an escape followed a minute later by a three-point takedown in the second period. He then controlled Garza for the remainder of the match to earn the shutout victory.

“The takedown was set up off of something he’s been doing all year and once he scored it, he’s tough on top,” Nelson said. “He did a great job of riding him when he needed to and stayed out of trouble for the most part. It was just a solid match where he executed the game plan. … It was exactly what we were hoping to see.”

“It’s six minutes of your best wrestling. If I wrestle how I wrestle for six minutes and empty the tank out, go as hard as I can, If I can do that, I’ll win that match,” Finley said of his title-match preparation. “I was just listening to my coaches. Whatever they were saying, I’d do what they say. If I listen to my coaches, it ends up working out.”

Upon winning the match, Finn headed over to his coaches. The first person there to greet him, arms stretched wide for an embrace, was older brother Cole.

“I went over and gave (Cole) a big hug right after the match,” Finley said. “He just said, ‘I’m so proud of you. I knew you’d do it.’”

Finn then sought out Ty, who was awaiting him just off to the sidelines.

For Finley, having his brothers, family and friends there to share in the moment was what the victory was all about.

“I was happy I was able to do it for my brothers really,” he said. “I knew how bad they wanted it for me and how bad they wanted it and never got it. That’s really what made it all for me.”

“They are a wrestling family and in some ways, I think Finley was wrestling for his family as much as wrestling for himself, his school and his teammates,” Nelson said.

What was also not lost on Finn was the large contingent of both Montesano and Elma supporters in the crowd that were cheering him on in the final.

“Without them, I don’t know if I could keep going,” he said of his supporters. “They help you get through the season. Everyone is just there for me when I need them.”

The curse has indeed been lifted.