At their regional wrestling tournaments, the Yelm boys and girls wrestling teams both secured second place finishes during their final postseason outing on Saturday, Feb. 11.
The boys team didn’t need to travel far as their tournament was hosted at North Thurston High School, while the lady grapplers tournament was held at Kelso High School.
The Yelm boys team will send six wrestlers and one alternate to the Mat Classic state championship tournament on Friday, Feb. 17 at the Tacoma Dome, while the girls will send seven wrestlers.
Boys Wrestling
Five of the six boys heading to state are sophomores or younger. For the boys, freshman Wesley Thompson, in the 120-pound weight class, placed second, while freshman AJ Erickson, 138, placed fifth.
Two of Yelm’s young heavyweight wrestlers punched their ticket to the Mat Classic, as freshman Jonah Smith and sophomore Chris Hauss placed third and fourth, respectively, in the 285-pound bracket. Sophomore Lake Harris, 145, placed second in his weight bracket to earn a spot in the state tournament.
Coach Gaylord Strand said his young wrestlers have to get in the right mindset as they head to the Mat Classic.
“This is all new to these young guys. They know they have nothing to lose and that they’re coming back next year,” Strand said. “I’m excited for them. Getting them to the Mat Classic that young is so important. Win or lose, they know what to expect coming back next year.”
Aside from the five talented young Tornados grapplers, the team will also send senior William Carreto to the Mat Classic.
Carreto finished in second place in the 182-pound bracket, but Strand said his match was winnable and that Carreto learned a valuable lesson.
“I think he can be a finalist. He lost in the finals at regionals, but he came out a little too aggressive and had to battle back from a five-point deficit,” Strand said. “He came up a little bit short and ended up losing by one point. He won’t do that again. We had a little talk and he knows what he did wrong.”
Senior Andrew Davis, 126, placed sixth at the regional tournament and will serve as an alternate at the Mat Classic.
At the regional tournament, Stanwood finished in first place with a total of 245 team points. Yelm and Ferndale tied for second place with 151 points each. They were followed by Arlington with 150 team points, Capital with 130 team points, Peninsula with 104 team points and Oak Harbor with 102 team points.
Other schools that were involved in the tournament included Central Kitsap, Snohomish, North Thurston, Mount Vernon, Marysville Pilchuck, Timberline, Everett, Monroe, Gig Harbor, River Ridge, Cascade Everett and Marysville Getchell.
Girls Wrestling
The lady Tornado grapplers saw the same finish at the boys team as they placed second in its 3A/4A bracket.
Madisyn Erickson was the team’s sole champion of the regional tournament, winning her respective weight bracket. Two Tornados found themselves as regional finalists, as Samantha Blank and Camryn Erickson each placed second at the regional tournament.
Amailee Niz and Alayna Preston each punched their ticket to the 2023 Mat Classic with fourth place finishes, while Maddy Lawson and Kaitlyn Dover each qualified for the state tournament by placing fifth at regionals.
The Mat Classic will be held on Friday, Feb. 17 and Saturday, Feb. 18 at the Tacoma Dome.
