The Nisqually Valley region is no stranger to the Mat Classic wrestling tournament, as Yelm High School and Rainier High School each saw tournament success in 2024 and in previous years.
In 2025, there are several regional storylines to watch at the Tacoma Dome as Tornados and Mountaineers hit the mats.
Yelm High School will send 11 boys and 10 girls to the WIAA’s 4A Mat Classic XXXVI tournament on Thursday, Feb. 20, and Friday, Feb. 21. The field of wrestlers includes Ethan Venuto, Wesley Thompson, Hunter Owens, Lake Harris, Hunter Holman, Ethan Owens, Kaleb Holman, Ashton Carreto, Zander Peterson, Jonah Smith, Tamaas Wakefield, Aurora Smith, Destiny Mathews, Aiyana Valera, Olivia Kaiser, Samantha Blank, Mariah Gibson, Kylie Minker, Kaitlyn Dover, Sienna Venuto and Brandy Larson.
Rainier High School will send 23 wrestlers to the Tacoma Dome. The field of RHS wrestlers consists of eight girls and 15 boys, and includes Addison Poole, Zander Peck, Dorien Cano, Evan Delaney, Jacob Scott, Tristin Sawyer, Jayden Alegarbes, Brayden Walker, Nick Starr, Johnny Grimmett, Ean Viik, Dominic Cano, Steven Johnston, Jace Lavender, Blake Roberts, Annabelle Whiteman, Lauryn Lapine, Dakota Gardner, Layla Hill, Keira Anderson, Chloe Willis, Ryleigh Cruse and Faithe Jarvis.
Can Jonah Smith repeat?
At Mat Classic XXXV, YHS heavyweight Jonah Smith became former head coach Gaylord Strand’s final state champion after defeating Ferndale’s Wyatt Strait 9-2 by decision to officially take home the WIAA 3A 285-pound state championship. With his victory over Strait in the championship round, Smith officially became a multi-sport state champion, his first coming in football his freshman year. He concluded his sophomore wrestling season with a record of 26-3.
With YHS’s reclassification to 4A in the 2024-25 school year, Smith now has his sights set on becoming the 4A heavyweight champion. The competition in the 4A’s 285-pound division will be tough, as the classifications returning heavyweight state champion, Glacier Peak’s Connor Aney, has the same intentions as Smith. Emerald Ridge’s Jesse Mains, the 2024 4A 285-pound runner up, also returns to the Tacoma Dome and intends on making his claim for a state championship.
Sam Blank, Lake Harris, Zander Peck seek championships
Three wrestlers in the Nisqually Valley region finished Mat Classic XXXV as runners-up in their respective weight classes. They now have their sights set at landing themselves in the WIAA’s history books with a Mat Classic XXXVI state championship victory.
Samantha Blank finished in second place in the 3A/4A division at the Mat Classic last year as she came up short against Sierra Wangen of Curtis in the state championship match. The senior finished in third place at the Mat Classic XXXIII as a freshman and second as a sophomore at Mat Classic XXXIV. After two straight second place finishes inside of the Tacoma Dome, and a dominant senior season, will Samantha Blank finish atop the podium?
Yelm’s Lake Harris, like Blank, finished as a runner-up at Mat Classic XXXV in the 3A 150-pound division, losing to Mead’s Jeroen Smith by a 4-1 decision. Strand, after the tournament last year, said after Harris was initially taken down, the matchup was even for the remainder of the bout.
In his senior season, Harris looks to join his older brothers, Darren and Dylan Harris, as state champions within his family. Darren won his third and final state championship as a senior at Mat Classic XXVII in 2015, and finished his career as a Tornado with the record of 129-7.
Peck, 36-4, seeks to redeem his second place finish at Mat Classic XXXV. The 157-pound wrestler was Rainier’s highest placer last year, finishing second in the 157-pound division after earning two victories before falling to champion Jared Haden from Chewelah.
After winning a District 4 1B/2B 157 pound championship on Feb. 8, Peck is primed to position himself for another strong showing inside of the Tacoma Dome. Last year’s field of wrestlers in the 157-pound division featured seven seniors — including the state champion, Haden, of Chewelah. With a new playing field in 2025, will Peck claim a championship?
Where will
Keira Anderson finish?
Making her third trip to the state tournament, Keira Anderson (170) is looking to make a name for herself at Mat Classic XXXVI. The RHS senior will enter the Tacoma Dome with a record of 34-1, and looks to improve on her finish in 2024.
Anderson is fresh off of winning a District 4 1B/2B/1A championship on Feb. 15 and has been on a roll in 2025. Both of the athletes who defeated Anderson at Mat Classic XXXV in 2024, Ihanna Perez and Emma Villa, have graduated.
Tim Beaudin, Ben Hawk enter first state event as head coaches
Two coaches will make their Mat Classic debuts as head coaches for YHS, with Tim Beaudin, boys, and Ben Hawk, girls, set to lead the way for a combined 19 wrestlers inside of the Tacoma Dome.
In their first impression at the Mat Classic event, both Beaudin and Hawk are hoping to score a lot of team points and place high in the 4A field. Specifically, Beaudin has stated he’d like to see his team finish in the top eight or higher, and Hawk said he expects his team to place higher in the Tacoma Dome than it did in the SPSL tournament.
