TACOMA — Five Clark County high school wrestlers claimed individual state titles Saturday at the annual Mat Classic at the Tacoma Dome.
Battle Ground sophomore Jake Rogers, Union senior Ethan Rotondo and Camas senior Dylan Ingram won championships in their respective weight divisions in the boys competition and Washougal senior Abby Lees and Skyview junior Hikaru Abe were the area girls who earned individual titles.
Of the performances of the five state champions, Lees’ title effort appeared to be the most impressive. Lees was competing at the girls state tournament for the fourth time, having won one previous title in her sophomore season.
As a senior, Lees won the title in the 235-pound division by winning four matches all by pin. In fact, Lees didn’t need more than one round to defeat any of her opponents. In her title match, Lees pinned Federal Way’s Mariah Stewart in 90 seconds.
While there was very little suspense in Lees’ matches at Mat Classic, Abe claimed her victory over Holly Beaudoin, of North Kitsap, in the girls 105-pound division by the narrowest of margins, 5-4.
The trio of Clark County boys champions each had an interesting twist to their titles. Ingram, who won the title in the Class 4A 220-pound division, was also a member of the Papermakers’ state champion-football team in the fall. Ingram defeated Tahoma’s Dagen Kramer 7-4 in the title match to claim his state championship.
Rotondo won a state title for the second consecutive year, claiming the 4A 120-pound championship with a 5-4 victory over Sunnyside’s Elias Romero in the finals. In the semifinals, Rotondo advanced with a 12-1 victory over Union teammate Vitaliy Manolov, who went on to finish fourth in the weight division.
It was just the first state championship for Rogers, who joined his father Jay as a state champion wrestler. The Battle Ground sophomore capped an undefeated season with a 9-0 victory over Curtis’ Ketner Fielders in the finals of the 4A 160-pound division. Rogers finished second at 145 pounds last year as a freshman. The elder Rogers won back-to-back 2A titles in 1986 (190 pounds) and 1987 (unlimited).
Battle Ground senior Izaiah Duran came within a single point of joining Rogers as a state champion. Duran lost a 2-1 decision in overtime in the 4A 152-pound finals to Moses Lake’s Hunter Cruz.
La Center’s Jeffrey Mayolo finished second in the 1A 152-pound division. Mayolo was pinned in the first round of his finals match by Vashon Island’s Adrian St. Germain.
Skyview’s Jackson McKinney also finished second. McKinney lost a 5-4 decision in the 4A 182-pound finals.
Union finished fourth in the boys 4A team standings with 99 points. Camas finished ninth with 55 points. Washougal finished 12th in the girls team standings.
Battle Ground’s Sierra Joner finished second in the girls 120-pound division. Joner, who placed at state in all four of her high school seasons, lost a 3-1 decision to Puyallup’s Brooklyn Bartelson in the finals.
Other area wrestlers who claimed top-8 finishes at Mat Classic included:
Boys
- Camas (4A) — Tanner Craig (8th, 126 pounds); Rylan Thompson (7th, 132); Sam Malychewski (182, fourth.
- Union (4A) — J.J. Talavera (3rd, 145); Danny Snediker (5th, 145); Tommy Strassenberg (3rd, 152); Six Buck (7th, 152).
- Evergreen (3A) — Ryan Logan (7th, 120); Dylan Goodpaster (7th, 170).
- Hudson’s Bay (3A) — Jon McMillan (7th, 138).
- Mountain View (3A) — Alton Culver (5th, 182).
- Prairie (3A) — Bryan Person (6th, 220).
- Ridgefield (2A) — Trevor Newburn (5th, 126).
- Washougal (2A) — Tanner Lees (4th, 145); Nick Wolfe (7th, 145).
- King’s Way Christian (1A) — Mike Garrison (4th, 195).
Girls
- Camas — Lacy Dunlop (8th, 115).
- Hudson’s Bay — Allison Blaine (3rd, 130).
- Skyview — Jennesee Sayler (6th, 170).
- Union — Annabelle Helm (8th, 130); Krista Warren (8th, 140); Stephanie Cuevas (8th, 155).
- Washougal — Morgan Ratcliff (7th, 145).
- Woodland — Ashlyn Daugherty (5th, 100).
