In Ben Hawk’s first season as Yelm High School’s girls wrestling coach, eight of his wrestlers qualified for the WIAA’s Mat Classic XXXVI state wrestling competition.
Though he views the qualifications as a massive success, the first-year head coach said the job is far from finished.
Wrestlers Aurora Smith (100 pounds), Destiny Mathews (105 pounds), Aiyana Valera (105 pounds), Olivia Kaiser (125 pounds), Samantha Blank (135 pounds), Mariah Gibson (155 pounds), Kylie Minker (190 pounds) and Kaitlyn Dover (235 pounds) all punched their tickets to the big dance after placing in the top seven at the South Puget Sound League’s (SPSL) district tournament on Friday, Feb. 7, and Saturday, Feb. 8.
“I’m excited,” Hawk said. “We put 12 of our girls in a position to put themself into the state tournament, which is higher than I expected. I expected to have a pretty competitive team at the tournament, but when we have that many girls fight until the last second of their season — it was a fun thing to be a part of, and it was fun to watch them gather around each other and support each other until the end of the season. Some of these girls really put a lot of work in, especially our senior class. They didn’t want the season to end. They fought until the end of it, and I’m really proud of them.”
Four YHS girls wrestling athletes — Mia Lope (115 pounds), Sienna Venuto (120 pounds), Brandy Larson (130 pounds) and Jayden Sasse (170 pounds) — placed eighth at the SPSL district tournament to qualify as alternates.
“They’ll still get to weigh in and be a part of the process of going to the Tacoma Dome,” Hawk said. “If there’s any girls that missed weight, or had skin conditions or any kind of travel issues, we could possibly have girls get in.”
Hawk believes his team is capable of a strong showing at the annual Mat Classic state tournament. He said the Tornados have three “big bruisers” ready to get on the mats to score big time points — and with the number of Tornados competing in the annual competition, Hawk believes the sky’s the limit for his team.
“If our horses show up, being Sam, Kylie and Kaitlyn, if they show up and put in the front side, the championship points, having that many girls that are fighting to get placements behind them — I think we’re going to do some damage. I hope we pass some of the teams ahead of us in our league on the way up, and make some noise at the league tournament,” Hawk said. “Hopefully, getting that many wrestlers into the tournament, we can put something together not only as individuals but put something special together as a team.”
Hawk said his team’s practice on Monday, Feb. 10, was their toughest practice and biggest test of the season. He believes that if his athletes can make it through an intense practice prior to the state competition, they’ll be prepared for any challenges thrown their way at Mat Classic XXXVI.
“I let the girls know that today is going to be the hardest day. They’ve earned a spot in the showcase of immortals, and they’re going to be fully prepared. I’m going to put them through the ringer tonight,” Hawk said on Monday, Feb. 10. “I told them that today’s practice was going to be their hardest test of the season, and when we walk in next Thursday in the Tacoma Dome, we’ve already been tested enough.”
In addition to directing his focus toward the athletes qualified for Mat Classic XXXVI, Hawk said he’s already begun to think about the 2025-26 Yelm Tornados girls wrestling team.
“I’ve already started thinking about next year and the girls who maybe their season ended early, and they have another year of redemption ahead. I’ve been talking to all of the junior high girls that’ve been participating and doing extra work already,” Hawk said. “It’s really exciting to see that we have a culture growing in year one of how these girls hold themselves on the mat, participate in the sport, and push themselves to get to some of these goals. I don’t see a reason why these girls can’t all get the goals they’re going for. Especially these seniors.”
The Tornados will compete in the annual Mat Classic competition on Thursday, Feb. 20, and Friday, Feb. 21.
