‘I got you’: How Xela Kowoosh ended Aberdeen’s state-losing streak

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, February 25, 2026

The Mat Classic state-wrestling tournament has been cruel to longtime Aberdeen head coach Craig Yakovich through his first 14 seasons of building the Bobcats into one of the state’s best 2A-class girls programs.

Despite churning out multiple state-title contenders through the years, the Bobcats were 0 for 5 in championship matches under Yakovich.

It was getting to the point where Yakovich was wondering if an Aberdeen girls wrestler would ever stand atop the podium at the Tacoma Dome.

But any doubts or nervousness Yakovich was feeling ahead of his freshman phenom Xela Kowoosh’s 125-pound title match was erased by none other than Kowoosh herself.

“We’re getting into the finals and warming up and I go up to her and say, ‘Earlier today, I had my big moment. Let’s go out there and get that championship so we can celebrate our first big moments together,’” said Yakovich, who was named the 2A State Coach of the Year earlier in the tournament. “She nods her head and I said, ‘I hate to tell you this, but I’m 0-5 in state championships and really could use a win.’ And she just sticks her fist out, I bump it and she says, ‘I got you.’”

The veteran head coach knew then and there that it was just a matter of minutes until an Aberdeen girls wrestler’s hand would finally be raised after a state-championship match.

“You could tell by the look in her face, she was determined to go and win,” he said. “I was nervous for her, but when she gave me the fist bump I thought, ‘We’re going to win this.’”

Win it they did as Kowoosh completed one of the most memorable freshman seasons for an Aberdeen wrestler by defeating Steliacoom’s Nadia Winn to claim the state title, the first ever for a Bobcats girls wrestler.

“I told him that I was hoping I could break that streak,” Kowoosh said of her pre-title match interaction with Yakovich. “I was just thinking about what to do in my match.”

It’s that mentality that defies her 14-years of age and has led to a 43-5 record and Bobcats single-season records for wins (43), sets of near-fall points (61) and ties Felicia Bell with 33 falls.

Wrestling is in Kowoosh’s DNA. Her mother is former Hoquiam High School three-time state champion Alex White and Kowoosh has been wrestling since the age of five.

So Kowoosh entered the 2025-26 season as experienced as any other athlete in the Aberdeen wrestling room, and that experience came in handy in the state tournament, as she would face tough competition as a relatively unknown No. 9 seed.

The real test for Kowoosh came in the quarterfinal round, where she faced the top-seed in Ridgefield’s Lillian Hulegaard, a wrestler Kowoosh lost to 13-3 in the district tournament the previous week.

“We spent a week preparing for that girl,” Yakovich said. “We knew we were going to see her in the quarterfinals.”

Kowoosh turned the tables on Hulegaard at state, using the Spudders standout’s aggressiveness against her by countering multiple shoot attempts and turning them into points.

Kowoosh scored eight unanswered points over the final 1:31 of the match to win an 18-8 major decision, collapsing on the mat after the win due to exhaustion.

The Bobcats freshman said the victory over Hulegaard completed one of the goals she had for her tournament run.

“I was hoping to at least place, but I was also hoping to beat the girl that beat me in districts,” Kowoosh said. “It definitely boosted my confidence and I felt very proud of myself, but I also knew I had other matches and had to stay focused.”

Yakovich said that quarterfinal win put his talented freshman on track to win the title.

“Once we saw that happen, we knew that was going to be the toughest test,” he said. “When you take out the girl that is the state favorite, you basically change places with her and the pathway is yours.”

Kowoosh then dominated No. 4 seed Amelia Myers (Anacortes) 12-3 to make the final, where she would face No. 6 seed Nadia Winn, who was having a nice tournament herself with wins over the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds.

With both wrestlers looking for scoring chances, it was Kowoosh who struck first with a lightning-quick shoot and single-leg takedown to go up 3-0 in the first period.

Kowoosh’s defense took over in the second period as she locked up Winn face-to-face, entering the final frame still up 3-0.

Kowoosh chose the top to start the third and kept a vice grip-like grasp on Winn, keeping her from escaping while throwing her to the mat on three separate occasions.

Winn earned a point when Kowoosh was docked for stalling, but she was unable to escape from the Aberdeen star’s grip as Kowoosh rode out the clock to earn her first state title.

“(Xela) controlled the whole match. We knew we could control the match and control the time once she got ahead,” Yakovich said. “She just has a super-high wrestling IQ … She’s at a different level than other kids you see coming into a high-school program.”

“I was just trying to preserve my energy for later because I knew I probably wasn’t going to pin or tech her,” Kowoosh said of her championship performance. “So I was trying to save most of my energy but also be on defense and ready to attack, so I could be ready for her shots and be ready to take some shots of my own.”

After the win, a teary-eyed Kowoosh went over and gave Coach Yakovich a big hug, followed by hugs from his assistants Tamar Yakovich, Emmersyn Yakovich, Caleb Lock and Drew Lock.

“I just felt so many emotions. I was thankful for all of my coaches. I definitely wouldn’t have got there without them and my first thought was to go thank all of them,” she said. “I felt very joyful and very happy. I felt proud of myself and happy that I did not let them down.”

“She is amazing. You put something in place and she goes out and executes it. She’s like a wrestling robot. She’s dialed in at all times,” Yakovich said. “I don’t know if I’m turning into a big baby as I’m getting older, but it brought tears to my eyes. I’ve been doing this for 15 years. … To have that many attempts at it and not succeed, it was like a weight off our backs. Finally, we got a champion and hopefully, we can keep it rolling.”

Regardless of how the final three years of Kowoosh’s prep career plays out, she is now and always will be a state champion, and she is the only one that will be the first for the Aberdeen girls program.

“It means a lot to me,” said Kowoosh, who is just trying to follow in the footsteps of her biggest fan and a legend in her own right. “I’m just trying to be like my mom.”