Six Ocosta High School Wildcat wrestlers traveled to Tacoma on Friday, Feb. 21, to compete in the 2015 Mat Classic XXVII State Wrestling Tournament. After strong showings at the Sub-Regional and Regional Tournaments, hopes were high that the Cats would bring home some hardware. Competition at the State Tournament was a fierce as ever, and wins proved hard to come by.
Friday first round
Wrestling action started Friday morning with winners moving to the semi-finals and losers dropping to the consolation bracket. 106-pound junior Cole Rutzer wrestled first for the Wildcats and faced off against Ryan Issakides of Selkerk. Rutzer won the match by a 10-5 decision.
The Wildcats had two wrestlers in the 113 pound division, sophomores Kobe Christian and Sam Quinby. Kobe wrestled a hard-fought match against Jacob Smith of Lake Roosevelt, but fell short in a 12-8 loss.
Sam Quinby took his opponent, Justin Volking of Kettle Falls, into the third round, but was caught in a fall with a minute to go in the match.
Senior Wildcat Connor Maben squared off against Gabriel Mireles of Mabton in his first match of the 120-pound weight class. The action was close in the first two periods, but Mireles gained control and won by fall in the third.
In the 152 pound class, senior Bryce Hongell’s first match was against Kaleb Hafner from Liberty Spangel. Hongell wrestled tough for three rounds, but fell just short in a 5-2 loss.
Friday second round
Friday’s second round matches opened with the championship semi-finals and Cole Rutzer wrestling Anthony Payton of Okanagon. Payton, who would go on to win the championship, outscored Rutzer 11-2.
In the consolation quarter finals, winners would move on and losers would be out. Kobe Christian wrestled next, and his tournament came to an end with a loss to Adrian Tapia of Warden. Quinby faced James Guard of Friday Harbor and squeaked out a victory with a 7-6 decision. Maben’s consolation match was against Nick Betrozoff of Willapa Valley. The two had wrestled several times throughout the season, with Maben winning each time. This rematch would also go Maben’s way, with an 11-4 victory.
Hongell’s next match was against Cruz Plasencia of Davenport. The first period of the match was close for two minutes, but Plasencia was able to score a late takedown to lead 2-0. Hongell came back in the second and third but fell just two points short and lost 7-5.
Consolation semi-finals
In the consolation semi-finals on Saturday morning, Cole Rutzer beat Gilbert Martinez of Mabton 6-2. The win guaranteed Cole a top four finish, and a state medal.
Quinby wrestled Jacob Smith of Lake Roosevelt and his medal hopes ended with a fall in the second period. Connor Maben wrestled Caleb Cole of Republic in his consolation-semifinal, but was never able to gain advantage. Maben lost by a 9-2 decision.
The last match of the tournament for the Wildcats featured Cole Rutzer against Randy Dixon of Mary Walker. The match went the distance, but after the third round, the 12-4 score favored Dixon, and Rutzer finished his state weekend with a fourth place medal.
Daniel Helman, who finished in third place at Regionals in the 285-lb weight class and qualified for state, was unable to wrestle due to a medical issue. Sophomores Kaleb Orton, Matthew Hart and Cosmo Silver weighed in Friday morning as alternates, but did not have an opportunity to wrestle in the tournament.
Long journey
The State Tournament is the culmination of a long journey that began back in November. The team put in many hours of practice, logged many miles of travel and spent long days in gyms getting to this point.
For some it ends a season; for our seniors, it brings a close to their high school wrestling career. As their coach, I am proud of everything our wrestlers have accomplished. We have shared celebrations, consolations, sweat, blood and tears. I hope their wrestling experience has given them tools that they will be able to use for the rest of their lives, and that they don’t measure their success by awards won but by the person they have become.
I would like to thank all the people who have contributed to our 2014-2015 wrestling season. Thanks to parents, family, friends, school staff and administration and Wildcat fans. It truly takes a team effort to do what we do.
