At the end of last season’s Mat Classic state-championship meet, Elma wrestler Xavier Espinoza was crestfallen.

After failing in the title match for the second consecutive season, the Eagles sophomore found a quiet corner somewhere in the Tacoma Dome and let the emotions of a dream unrealized wash over him.

Elma head coach Jeff Catterlin found his way over to Espinoza and did what a good coach does. He didn’t coddle Espinoza, he provided further motivation.

“Xavier was very upset about it and went into this little corner of the Dome and I said, ‘Stop, I need you to look at me,’ and I took a picture of his face up close,” the fourth-year Elma head coach said. “Over the last couple of months and even over the summer, I would send him a picture of himself and say, ‘Remember this and how you felt? You need to be doing things to make it so you don’t feel that feeling again.’”

That photo fueled a determined Espinoza throughout the off-season and into the winter prep wrestling schedule. It culminated with Espinoza’s dream being realized with a state championship in the 1A class’ 113-pound weight division on Saturday at the Tacoma Dome, giving Espinoza his first state title in three tries and the program’s first championship since 2009.

COHEN ANDERSEN | MATFOCUS.COM Elma junior wrestler Xavier Espinoza (kneeling) lets his emotions out after defeating Life Christian Academy’s Elijah Miller (right) to win the 113-pound state championship on Saturday at the Tacoma Dome.

“I would see it every morning because it’s actually the lock screen on my phone,” Espinoza said of the infamous photo. “I’d see it before practice and I would just remember that if I want it, no one else is going to give it to me, so I have to work hard for it. It’s how I drove myself.”

Though he may have made it look relatively easy by earning three pinfall victories to advance to the final, where he dominated Life Christian Academy’s Elijah Miller with a 12-1 major decision, the road leading up to the title was anything but.

Just before the postseason, a strategic move made by Espinoza and his coaches to drop down to the 113-pound weight class after wrestling the majority of the season at 120 meant significant changes to Espinoza’s training regimen.

“We went through the rankings for the 120 and 113 weight classes because those were his two options. We saw a couple of question marks at 120 that we didn’t know much about,” said Catterlin, noting some unknowns about 120-pound wrestlers that became eligible late in the season. “It was Xavier’s choice to go to 113. … He cut the weight and got to 113 and we got to postseason and away we went.”

Espinoza, who normally sits around 119 pounds in-season, had trouble adjusting early on, especially surrounded by teenagers known for their fondness for sweets and junk food.

“That’s probably the hardest part of it,” he said. “We’d go out with my friends and they’d all be eating Cinnabon or Crumbl Cookie and it was almost like torture watching them eat it. When I went to 113, I had to cut out all sorts of cake and deliciousness, cut out sugar and most carbs. Just eat lean foods and drink water. Limit and monitor what I put in. I would go on runs a lot and try to get as much sleep as possible.”

If getting through a six-pound weight cut wasn’t tough enough to deal with, a hyper-extension to Espinoza’s left elbow a week prior to the state meet further complicated matters.

“I had to be cautious with it and I was trying to play my positions safely without getting amped up before semifinals,” he said. “Because I knew I was going to leave everything on the mat and if I got hurt, I got hurt. … After the first minute of wrestling, the adrenaline just took over.”

Espinoza used all his skills and talent to earn fall wins over Montesano’s Cruz Vargas (1:31), Zillah’s Lemuel Lustre (3:33) in the quarterfinals and Cascade Christian’s Tyler McManemy (5:12) in the semis to advance to the final.

“We knew where he was on his feet and that he liked to get on top and be a leg rider and kind of grind out the clock,” Catterlin said of Espinoza’s title-match opponent. “A lot of his matches, he’d get that first takedown and he’d get on top and choke the clock with his leg-riding. We knew we didn’t want to be on bottom with this kid. Not that we didn’t trust Xavier, we knew that we’d have way more success if we wrestled on our feet.”

So rather than play into his opponents’ strengths, Espinoza – who has only been wrestling for four years – used his elite scrambling, flexibility and defensive awareness to control the match and rack up points against Miller, jumping out to a 12-0 lead late in the third and final round.

After Espinoza surrendered a point late in the match, play was stopped as the two wrestlers were called back to the middle.

“We went out of bounds and had about 10 seconds left. I looked at the clock, saw he was looking at it and we kind of locked eyes,” Espinoza said. “I knew he was going to try something big, so I just had to hold good position and just stick it out for my win.”

The final seconds ticked off the clock and the sound of the buzzer signified the end of the match and the beginning of an outpouring of emotion from Espinoza, who fell to his knees in victory before running over and leaping into the arms of Catterlin and the rest of the Eagles coaching staff.

COHEN ANDERSEN | MATFOCUS.COM Elma’s Xavier Espinoza (foreground) leaps into the arms of his coaches after winning the 113-pound state title at the Mat Classic XXXVI on Saturday at the Tacoma Dome.

“Words can’t really describe it. It was everything I’ve dreamed of and more. I’ve been working for this for so long with my teammates and coaches. I’ve been praying about it with my family and I was just so thankful I had the opportunity to perform and be there in that moment,” Espinoza said. “It was really emotional. Every single time I would go and hug a member of my family, I would start crying because it meant so much to me and they were there to support me the whole way, through all these years. Knowing they were there for me throughout my wins and losses, it meant so much for me.”

“He wrestled phenomenally in that final,” Catterlin said. “I was excited for him. To be in the finals two years in a row and take second and get to the finals the third time and get over the hump, you feel great for the kid.”

Catterlin added he believed Espinoza had the championship match won before he even set foot in the circle.

“He made it up in his mind that he was going to win that match before it started,” he said. “He knew what he wanted to do.”

The good news didn’t stop there for Espinoza, who was awarded as a 1A-class Academic State Champion on Saturday, an honor the Elma junior also had his sights set on.

“It meant a lot,” Espinoza said. “I’ve been trying to hold good grades so I could get this award because you can only get it when you are a junior or senior. … Actually receiving it, along with the state title, it just meant so much for me, it was like a 2-for-1. It was definitely the best day of my life.”

But Espinoza he couldn’t have done it all alone and thanked all those that have been instrumental in his accomplishments, including his parents, Ricardo and Lupe Espinoza.

“First and foremost, I give God all the glory,” praised Espinoza. “I also want to thank my coaches and all my wrestling partners for helping me get to where I am today. And my parents especially, for all the opportunities and putting up with me when I was cutting weight, being a little jerk.”

Now with the season over, Espinoza reflected on a dream fulfilled.

“I put in so much and I thought I wasn’t getting anything out of it because I finished second the last two years,” he said. “I fell short, but I finally did it and I realized all my efforts paid off and the fruits of my labor came through.”

In the days following his arm being raised as a state champion, Espinoza took a little time to indulge, particularly in the culinary department.

“I’m already up 15 pounds,” he joked.