The Rainier High School wrestling team started the first day of Mat Classic XXXVI Friday, Feb. 21 with 23 athletes, and six stand alone in the quarterfinals with a state championship still within reach.
Zander Peck, 157, and Dorien Cano, 175, are the two lone boys who will enter Saturday unbeaten. Peck quickly defeated Kettle Falls’ Kincaid Freer via nearfall after a first-round bye, and Cano won via fall in each of his first two matches to be the only Rainier wrestler with two wins Friday.
Annabelle Whiteman, 140, Keira Anderson, 170, Chloe Willis, 190, and Ryleigh Cruse, 235, each earned a second-round victory in their brackets following byes in the first round. After needing just 44 seconds combined to win a district title Saturday, Feb. 15, Whiteman took until the second period to earn her first victory at state over Meridian’s Andrea Cruz.
Anderson, the top seed in the 1B/2B/1A 170-pound bracket, needed only 75 seconds to knock off Vashon Island’s Ashley Rice and advance to the quarterfinals. Willis had Rainier’s quickest win of the day, slamming Stevenson’s Bailey Webb to the mat for a pin in just 36 seconds. Following an extensive wait for her first match, Cruse made the most of her Mat Classic debut by pinning Fort Vancouver’s DC Cayetano in one minute and nine seconds.
Layla Hill, 125, also picked up a first-round win for Rainier over Montesano’s Kylee Geelan, but she couldn’t move on to the quarterfinals as she lost to Forks’ Jade Blair in the second round via a 21-second fall. Faithe Jarvis, 235, enters day two deep in the consolation bracket thanks to a first-round bye and two consolation byes after losing to Colfax’s Dory Doty in the second round.
Lauryn Lapine, 105, Dakota Gardner, 110, will both start Saturday in the second round of the consolation tournament with a first-round loss in the championship round and byes in the consolation first round.
Girls coach Kelli Garner said that her team, which boasts no Mat Classic experience outside of Anderson, handled the bright lights gracefully.
“I’m super proud of them. I know that a lot of them came in with a lot of nerves. I told them that the only people who are watching them are their coaches, their parents and the refs,” she said. “Other than that, it’s just another mat. It’s just another match. It’s just like any other day, so let’s not get in our heads.”
For the boys, Jayden Alegarbes, 132, Addison Poole, 138, and Blake Roberts, 215, advanced to the second round with first-round wins but were not victorious in the next match. Evan Delaney, 106, Dominic Cano, 175, Steven Johnston, 190, and Jace Lavender, 215, lost in the first round but bounced back with victories to open the consolation rounds. Johnny Grimmett, 157, remains alive in the consolation bracket following a first-round loss and a bye to start the consolation round.
Jacob Scott, 113, Tristin Sawyer, 120, Brayden Walker, 144, Nick Starr, 150, and Ean Viik, 165, were unsuccessful in their two matches Friday.
Coach Chris Holterman said he was impressed with how his veteran wrestlers who had first-round byes handled the long waiting periods and dominated in the second round.
“It’s tough when you get a bye and the other kids don’t. They’ve already had a match and you haven’t. Sometimes that’s a really hard match, but they all came through really well,” he said. “I try to get them to scout their opponents. I want to make sure they’re watching who they’re wrestling next.”
Cano, in his third trip to the Tacoma Dome, sported a new blonde hairdo on the mat along with several of his teammates. While there may not be any tangible evidence that dyed hair will increase chances of victory, it certainly didn’t hurt the junior on Friday.
“I just did it randomly out of the blue, and then Addison did it and it started a chain reaction. Honestly, I think it gave us a sense of confidence, like we were a new person,” Cano said. “It’s like when you’re a little kid and you get brand new shoes and you think the shoes make you run faster. That’s how it felt with the hair. The hair made us wrestle better.”
Cruse was an alternate for the Mat Classic last year but didn’t find her way onto the mat. She admitted she was nervous to wrestle under the bright lights, but she found comfort from her teammates and her coaches, including her older brothers Ricky and Ryder, the latter of whom placed sixth in the 285-pound division in 2024.
“They’ve been trying to get me to wrestle for a while, and I kept saying no. To be able to be on this stage with both of my brothers and knowing they’re behind me, I’m grateful,” Cruse said. “It’s really scary, but I’ve watched [the Mat Classic] a couple times because of Ryder, so I knew what I needed to do.”
Wrestling begins Saturday at 9 a.m., with championship matches scheduled for 5 p.m. at the Tacoma Dome.
