Boys Prep Wrestling Roundup: Elma wins second straight district title

Also: Twin Harbors to be well represented at Mat Classic state-championship meet

By Ryan Sparks • February 10, 2025 1:30 am
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Elma’s Rusty Johnson (top) wrestles Rochester’s Maddox Rogers during the 1A District 4 EvCo tournament on Saturday at Hoquiam High School.
RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Elma’s Rusty Johnson (top) wrestles Rochester’s Maddox Rogers during the 1A District 4 EvCo tournament on Saturday at Hoquiam High School.

State qualifications were on the line for local Twin Harbors boys wrestlers as we take a look at the results of district meets.

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BOYS PREP WRESTLING

Elma wins second straight district crown

Elma beat all comers for the second-straight season at the 1A District 4 Evergreen League Championships on Saturday at Hoquiam Square Garden.

Five Eagles won their respective weight classes and 15 total Elma wrestlers earned spots at the state-championship meet by placing third or higher on Saturday.

“We got a lot of kids through and that’s something we preach in practice starting in November. When the smoke clears, we want to have our name on the line at the Tacoma Dome,” Elma head coach Jeff Catterlin said. “If you have your name on the line, you have a chance.”

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD The Elma Eagles won their second-consecutive district title at the 1A District 4 EvCo tournament on Saturday at Hoquiam High School.

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD The Elma Eagles won their second-consecutive district title at the 1A District 4 EvCo tournament on Saturday at Hoquiam High School.

Elma was led by Xavier Espinoza (113 pounds), Aidyn Johnson (126), Troy Rupe (138), Blaize Salazar (144) and Rusty Johnson (157), each of whom won their respective weight class as the Eagles won the meet with 357.5 points.

“This season is a grind,” said Catterlin, adding his team has dealt with its fair share of adversity this season but has turned into a solid group of coachable kids. “I’m going to give my coaching staff all the credit today. They really put the time in with the kids and the kids really buy in, and when they buy in, good things happen.”

PHOTO BY SUE MICHALAK BUDSBERG Elma’s Troy Rupe (right) lifts Rochester’s Maddox King during the 138-pound title match of the 1A District 4 EvCo tournament on Saturday at Hoquiam High School.

PHOTO BY SUE MICHALAK BUDSBERG Elma’s Troy Rupe (right) lifts Rochester’s Maddox King during the 138-pound title match of the 1A District 4 EvCo tournament on Saturday at Hoquiam High School.

Montesano placed second with 296 points.

The Bulldogs were led by weight-class champions Finley Ekerson (106), Gage Stutesman (165), Gabe Pyhala (175), Felix Romero (215) and Logan Roberts (285).

Eleven total Bulldogs placed in the top three to earn a spot at the state finals

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Montesano’s Gabe Pyhala (left) attempts to take down Rochester’s Christopher Tartios during the 1A District 4 EvCo tournament on Saturday at Hoquiam High School.

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Montesano’s Gabe Pyhala (left) attempts to take down Rochester’s Christopher Tartios during the 1A District 4 EvCo tournament on Saturday at Hoquiam High School.

Hoquiam finished third with 219 points.

Junior Soto (120), Burton Chavis (132), Kingston Case (150) and Oliver Bryson (190) with weight-class wins.

PHOTO BY SUE MICHALAK BUDSBERG Hoquiam’s Oliver Bryson (bottom) defeated Montesano’s Kyle Caton during the 190-pound title match at the 1A District 4 EvCo tournament on Saturday at Hoquiam High School.

PHOTO BY SUE MICHALAK BUDSBERG Hoquiam’s Oliver Bryson (bottom) defeated Montesano’s Kyle Caton during the 190-pound title match at the 1A District 4 EvCo tournament on Saturday at Hoquiam High School.

A total of eight Grizzlies earned a spot in the state-championship meet.

The fourth-place finishers in each weight class will wrestle against the fifth-place finishers from the 1A Trico League to determine the final state-playoff spot.

The WIAA 1A Mat Classic XXXVI will be held Feb. 21-22 at the Tacoma Dome.

Full results available at trackwrestling.com.

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Montesano’s Lucas Roberts (right) wrestles against Tenino’s Rowdie Tafoya during the 285-pound championship at the 1A District 4 EvCo tournament on Saturday at Hoquiam High School.

RYAN SPARKS | THE DAILY WORLD Montesano’s Lucas Roberts (right) wrestles against Tenino’s Rowdie Tafoya during the 285-pound championship at the 1A District 4 EvCo tournament on Saturday at Hoquiam High School.

Team standings

1, Elma, 357.5 points. 2, Montesano, 296. 3, Hoquiam, 219. 4, Rochester, 117. 5, Tenino, 93.

Podium placements (top three to state)

106 pounds: 1, Finley Ekerson, Montesano. 2, Jordan Meadows, Elma. 3, Bear Dixon, Rochester. 4, Gavin Derrick, Tenino.

113: 1, Xavier Espinoza, Elma. 2, Adam Schmitz, Montesano. 3, Luis Torres, Elma. 4, Cruz Vargas, Montesano. 5, Justice Larsson, Hoquiam.

120: 1, Junior Soto, Hoquiam. 2, Hank Cleverly, Montesano. 3, Cruz Ortiz-Cruz, Hoquiam. 4, Colin Chandler, Elma. 5, Alexander Brown, Elma.

126: 1, Aidyn Johnson, Elma. 2, Lincoln Troseth, Hoquiam. 3, Zeke James, Hoquiam. 4, Maddox Olson, Elma. 5, Seth Gideon, Tenino.

132: 1, Burton Chavis, Hoquiam. 2, Ben Totten, Elma. 3, Rylan Calica, Rochester. 4, Alex Salstrom, Montesano. 5, Brent McClanahan, Elma. 6, Israel Rosales, Hoquiam.

138: 1, Troy Rupe, Elma. 2, Maddox King, Rochester. 3, Brandon Lugo Flores, Hoquiam. 4, Ben Paluck, Hoquiam. 5, Matthew Carlson, Tenino. 6, Ezra Gadwa, Montesano.

144: 1, Blaize Salazar, Elma. 2, Kole Kjesbu, Montesano. 3, Bryston Crawford, Elma. 4, Zachariah Ash, Tenino. 5, Sebastian Matsen, Hoquiam. 6, Buell Benner, Rochester.

150: 1, Kingston Case, Hoquiam. 2, Ben Howard, Montesano. 3, Caiden Rademacher, Elma. 4, Gavin Maurer, Tenino. 5, Zakary Dick, Montesano. 6, Jackson Bucy, Elma.

157: 1, Rusty Johnson, Elma. 2, Maddox Rodgers, Rochester. 3, Liam McManus, Elma. 4, Winston Kaikaka, Hoquiam. 5, Matthew Causey, Montesano. 6, Ryan Iversen, Montesano.

165: 1, Gage Stutesman, Montesano. 2, Koy Knox, Tenino. 3, Lucky Douvier, Elma. 4, Liam Boling, Elma. 5, Cody Galpin, Rochester. 6, Mathew Dempsey, Rochester.

175: 1, Gabe Pyhala, Montesano. 2, Christopher Tartios, Rochester. 3, Levi Russell, Elma. 4, Joel McCullough, Montesano. 5, Sam Mullin, Elma. 6, Cody Sauer, Hoquiam.

190: 1, Oliver Bryson, Hoquiam. 2, Kyle Caton, Montesano. 3, Donavyn Kalakosky, Elma. 4, Johnathan Henderson, Elma. 5, Landon Franks, Hoquiam.

215: 1, Felix Romero, Montesano. 2, Alex Dryden, Elma. 3, Luis Contreras, Montesano. 4, Jaxon Johnson, Tenino. 5, Memphis Orama, Hoquiam. 6, Landen Simpson, Tenino.

285: 1, Logan Roberts, Montesano. 2, Rowdie Tafoya, Tenino. 3, Lucas McIntire, Rochester. 4, Lucas Delgado, Montesano. 5, Tristan Johnson, Rochester.

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Aberdeen at 2A EvCo

Three Aberdeen wrestlers won a league title at the WIAA District 4 2A Evergreen Conference meet on Saturday at Black Hills High School.

Aberdeen placed third overall with 237 points and were led by Ryder Lessard (120 pounds), Glenny Black (138) and Landon Hamblin (285), each of whom won their weight class on Saturday.

Lessard defeated Black Hills’ Aiden Labouff 8-1 to win his weight class.

Black pinned W.F. West’s Liam Land at 1:40 to claim the 138-pound title.

Hamblin defeated teammate Jimmie Gerston via pinfall at 1:56 to win the 285-pound crown.

Eleven total Bobcats qualified for the state meet by finishing in the top five of their respective weight class.

In addition to the weight-class champions, Aberdeen’s Alex Carlson (113 pounds), Jaidon Williams (126), Adonis Hammonds (144), Michael Hatton (165), Erick Silveira (190), Trevin Stewart (215), Bryan Sanchez (215) and Jimmie Gertson (285) punched a ticket to state.

Full results available at trackwrestling.com.

Team standings

1, W.F. West, 349.5. 2, Tumwater 317. 3, Aberdeen, 237. 4, Black Hills, 231.5. 5, Centralia, 218.5.

Aberdeen podium placements

113 pounds: 1, Ryder Lessard. 120: 3, Alex Carlson. 6, Roman Tadique. 126: 4, Jaidon Williams. 6, Adan Martinez-De Jesus. 132: 6, Alex Mendoza. 138: 1, Glenny Black. 8, Gio Warness. 144: 3, Adonis Hammonds. 8, Marc Avila. 157: 8, Cortez Ayala-Paniagua. 165: 3, Michael Hatton. 175: 2, Erick Silveira. 190: 6, Arian Berbati. 215: 3, Trevin Stewart. 5, Bryan Sanchez. 285: 1, Landon Hamblin. 2, Jimmie Gertson.

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North Beach leads local contingent at 1B/2B District 4 meet

Led by a fourth-place finish by the North Beach Hyaks, a contingent of Twin Harbors wrestlers earned state-tournament berths at the 1B/2B District 4 tournament on Saturday at Winlock High School.

North Beach was led by Obadiah Richards (144 pounds), Tycen Ross (190) and Adin Wollum (215), each of whom placed second in their respective weight divisions as the Hyaks scored 196.5 points to place fourth overall in the 16-team meet.

Eleven Hyaks earned a spot in the state meet by placing ninth or better on Saturday.

Ocosta placed seventh overall with 161.5 points.

Eight Wildcats advanced to state and were led by Ronin Rutzer’s second-place finish at 150 pounds.

Willapa Valley placed 12th with 71.5 points and had three grapplers earn spots at state, led by Lucas Swogger, who defeated Rainier’s Zander Peck via fall at 2:56 to win the 157-pound title.

Raymond-South Bend had five wrestlers advance to the state meet and placed 13th with 58 points.

The Ravens were led by Brody Young with a fifth-place finish at 113 pounds.

Taholah’s Derrick Waugh Jr. also qualified for the state tournament, placing eighth overall at 190 pounds.

Full results available at trackwrestling.com.

Team standings

1, Forks, 323.5. 2, Rainier, 294. 3, Napavine, 228. 4, North Beach, 196.5. 5, Ilwaco, 170.5. 6, Pe Ell, 162. 7, Ocosta, 161.5. 8, Toledo, 146. 9, Onalaska, 144.5. 10, Adna, 142.5. 11, Chief Leschi, 77.5. 12, Willapa Valley, 71.5. 13, Raymond-South Bend, 58. 14, Wahkiakum, 45.5. 15, Winlock, 44. 16, Mossyrock, 38.

Local podium placements

106 pounds: 7, Cash Gersitz, North Beach. 113: 5, Brody Young, Raymond-South Bend. 6, Brycen Parent, North Beach. 7, William Morris, Ocosta. 120: 7, Ethan Howell, RSB. 126: 3, Torrence Bonina, Ocosta. 6, Ashton Moody, North Beach. 7, Jake Barnum, Willapa Valley. 132: 8, Liam Kunkle, North Beach. 138: 5, Logan Rutzer, Ocosta. 9, William Anderson, RSB. 144: 1, Conner Reyes, Willapa Valley. 2, Obadiah Richards, North Beach. 8, Quinn Leonard, Ocosta. 150: 2, Ronin Rutzer, Ocosta. 5, Kale Donovick, Ocosta. 6, Timothy Carr, North Beach. 157: 2, Lucas Swogger, Willapa Valley. 165: 4, Ben Tackett, Ocosta. 6, Evan Cone, RSB. 175: 5, Isacc Chi, North Beach. 10, Coy Gage-Maestas, Ocosta. 190: 2, Tycen Ross, North Beach. 5, Parker George Harmon, North Beach. 8, Derrick Waugh Jr., Taholah. 215: 2, Adin Wollum, North Beach. 8, Lamont Paulino-Porter, RSB. 10, Caden Arbona, Ocosta. 285: 3, Isaiah White-Frisbee, North Beach. 4, Mark Sevilla, Ocosta.

PHOTO BY SUE MICHALAK BUDSBERG Montesano’s Felix Romero (top) defeated Elma’s Alex Dryden to win the 215-pound championship at the 1A District 4 EvCo tournament on Saturday at Hoquiam High School.

PHOTO BY SUE MICHALAK BUDSBERG Montesano’s Felix Romero (top) defeated Elma’s Alex Dryden to win the 215-pound championship at the 1A District 4 EvCo tournament on Saturday at Hoquiam High School.