It can be said that Kya Roundtree is in one of the more peculiar situations a prep athlete can find themselves in.

In a sense, the standout junior wrestler competes for two schools.

Roundtree, who attends Montesano High School, is one of the premiere wrestlers in her classification, but with Monte not currently fielding a girls wrestling team, Roundtree has donned the colors of the Aberdeen Bobcats for much of the past two seasons as part of a deal between the schools that allows the 170-pounder to practice and compete for a full team.

As part of the deal, Roundtree wears a Montesano singlet in the postseason, yet competes as a member of the Bobcats team.

While the scenario can be perplexing, what’s not is Roundtree’s performance on the mat.

Roundtree dominated the competition to win the 170-pound championship at the 1B/2B/1A/2B Region 2 Championships on Saturday in Shelton.

Roundtree won the title by defeating defeating Napavine’s Maya Kunkel via pinfall 39 seconds into the third round while wearing Montesano colors and helping her Aberdeen teammates to a fourth-place team finish with 72 points.

“It was great to see Kya win a regional championship,” Aberdeen head coach Craig Yakovich said of his standout junior, of whom he has coached the past two seasons. “She has been working hard on her mat wrestling the past few weeks getting prepared for the postseason and when she needed it a reversal turned into an opportunity to finish the match. She capitalized on it with a pin.”

Also reaching the podium for Aberdeen was Felicia Bell, who placed second at 125 pounds after an unfortunate incident in the championship match led to her disqualification, giving the title to Hockinson’s Teagan Trenda.

“Felicia was a force in this tournament, but a misplaced setup caused an injury to her opponent in the finals and when the wrestler decided not to continue, she was disqualified,” Yakovich said. “It was very unfortunate because I have no doubt Felicia would have won the match and been the regional champion. The good news is she’s a sophomore, so she will have a couple more opportunities.”

Aberdeen’s Kadence Braaten placed fourth at 140 pounds after dropping a third-place match against Stevenson’s Regen Minnis, qualifying for the state meet as an alternate.

“This tournament was definitely a learning experience for our girls,” Yakovich said of his young team. “Most of them are first or second-year wrestlers, so for a bunch of them to be a win or two away from qualifying for state, hopefully, this will be future motivation.”

W.F. West won the meet with 160 points with Washougal (95 points) and Forks (86) placing second and third, respectively.

Stanfield

GIRLS PREP SOCCER

Monte’s Stanfield to remain a Bulldog, chooses Gonzaga

Montesano superstar soccer player Mikayla Stanfield decided to remain a Bulldog when she competes at the next level.

The two-time 1A Evergreen League MVP and First Team All-State selection has committed to play for Gonzaga University after she graduates in 2024.

Only a junior, Stanfield has been instrumental in Montesano’s runs to the state Final Four over the past two seasons, leading the team in scoring.

Multiple universities showed interest in Monte’s prodigous goal-scorer, incuding Oregon, Boise State and Idaho, but it was on a visit to the campus in Spokane that helped cement her decision.

“It was the competitiveness, the culture, I just loved all of that,” Stanfield said. “Just being able to be there and see that and see the coaching. I just thought that was the place for me.”

Stanfield said making the decision early means more focus on helping Montesano achieve its team goals on the field.

“It’s awesome to have that done and know where I’m going. I’m super excited for that,” she said.

WEIGHTLIFTING

Local lifters open prep season

Local prep powerlifters from across the Twin Harbors opened the season with a meet at White River High School in Buckley on Jan. 28.

Elma’s Colton Moran took the Best Overall lifter of the men’s meet by lifting 1,235 pounds to win the 181-pound class.

The meet featured 133 weightlifters from 16 different high schools.

The Montesano Powerlifters placed third in the men’s competition and first in the women’s team standings.

Monte had weight-class wins from Zach Timmons and Rylee Chapman in the boys competition and Hailey McElroy, Emily Stuttsman in the girls event.

Aberdeen’s Iris Singleton won the women’s 132-pound class with 680 total pounds lifted, earning Best Overall Female Lifter of the Meet in the process.

Local results are as follows:

Men’s Team

1, Stanwood 35 points. 2, Olympia 29. 3, Montesano 27.

Men’s Individual

123 pounds: 2, Nathan Moua, Montesano.

132: 1, Zach Timmons, Montesano, 685 total pounds lifted. 5, Hudson Royer, Montesano.

148: 5, Thomas Flink, Montesano.

181: 1, Colton Moran, Elma, 1235.

242: 1, Rylee Chapman, Montesano, 1060. 4, Greg Boley, Montesano.

UNL: 4, Mason Milbourn, Montesano.

Best Overall Male Lifter of the Meet: Colton Moran, Elma

Women’s Team

1, Montsano 37. 2, Shelton 32. 3, Northwest Christian 31.

Women’s Individual

114: 1, Hailey McElroy, Montesano, 435. 5, Kolie Broten, Montesano.

123: 3, Jessyca Gleeson, Montesano.

132: 1, Iris Singleton, Aberdeen, 680. 3, Sam Roundtree, Montesano.

148: 2, Kristina Wallace, Montesano.

165: 1, Emily Stuttsman, Montesano, 615. 2, Hayden Prentice, Montesano.

Best Overall Female Lifter of the Meet: Iris Singleton, Aberdeen