Local prep wrestlers wrapped up the final meets ahead of the Mat Classic state championships as we review Saturday’s boys wrestling regional-tournament action.

1A REGION 2 TOURNAMENT

Elma’s resurgence continues with second-place finish

Led by wins from Aidyn Johnson and Taye Lessard, the Elma Eagles placed second overall at the WIAA Region 2 Tournament on Saturday at Hoquiam High School.

Elma had seven state qualifiers in the tournament, led by Johnson and Lessard, each of whom placed first in their respective weight classes.

PHOTO BY SUE MICHALAK BUDSBERG Elma’s Taye Lessard, top, controls La Center’s Wyatt Ballard during the 144-pound final of the WIAA Region 2 Tournament on Saturday at Hoquiam High School.

Johnson, a sophomore, defeated Montesano’s Adam Schmitz via fall at 3:24 to win the 113-pound class.

“Aidyn is wrestling better right now than I’ve ever seen him wrestle,” Elma head coach Jeff Catterlin said. “He’s firing on all cylinder and his attitude and mindset are off the charts right now.”

League-champion Lessard bested La Center’s Wyatt Ballard 7-2 to take the top spot at 144, drawing praise from his head coach after dominating the weight class over the past three events.

“To come in and wrestle as well as he has, it’s safe for me to say Taye is definitely peaking at the right time,” Catterlin said. “That’s the formula we set out for the kids. … We’re not trying to burn them out early. We want them to peak when it matters most and he’s doing it.”

Elma’s Xavier Espinoza and Colin Chandler qualified for the state tournament by placing second and third, respectively, at 106 pounds.

Elma senior Kale Reeves lost a 9-6 decision to Castle Rock’s Landon Ramos in the 126-pound final to place second after rallying for a spectacular 12-10 comeback victory over La Center’s Jett Johnson in the semis.

Ben Totten (132 pounds) earned a surprising third place as a freshman and teammate Blaize Salazar (138) also placed third as the Eagles finished second with 211.5 points, just 6.5 points behind region-champion Castle Rock.

PHOTO BY SUE MICHALAK BUDSBERG Elma head coach Jeff Catterlin (front row, third from left) is surrounded by his team after the Eagles placed second at the WIAA Region 2 Tournament on Saturday at Hoquiam High School.

Elma also had five wrestlers place fourth to earn an alternate spot at the Mat Classic state championships and provide a boost to the Eagles’ point total.

“It all adds up,” Catterlin said. “It’s another reason why we were so close (to Castle Rock) at the end.”

Catterlin said the program’s resurgence this season has been due in large part to the mindset of his student-athletes.

“The kids this year hit another gear for us. They’re starting to believe,” he said. “They’ve bought in and we’re seeing a big change in attitude in our wrestling room.”

PHOTO BY SUE MICHALAK BUDSBERG Montesano’s Gage Stutesman, left, gains control of Castle Rock’s Braden Swihart during the 157-pound final match at the WIAA Region 2 Tournament on Saturday at Hoquiam High School.

Montesano also had a solid meet, earning six state qualifications led by three weight-class champions.

Bulldogs sophomore Gage Stutesman defeated Castle Rock’s Braden Swihart 6-2 to win the 157-pound championship.

PHOTO BY SUE MICHALAK BUDSBERG Montesano’s Gabe Pyhala, top, works against Tenino’s Koy Knox during the 175-pound final of the WIAA Region 2 Tournament on Saturday at Hoquiam High School.

Monte junior Gabe Pyhala defeated Tenino’s Koy Knox 8-3 to win the 175-pound title.

Junior Logan Roberts pinned Castle Rock senior Aaron Smiley to place first at 285, helping Monte place third overall with 162 points.

PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Montesano’s Logan Roberts, right, throws Stevenson’s Caden Harbaugh during a 285-pound quarterfinal match at the WIAA Region 2 Tournament on Saturday at Hoquiam High School.

The host Grizzlies earned two state qualifications as sophomore Junior Soto defeated Eatonville junior Justen Koch via 9-0 major decision to place third at 120 pounds with teammate Kingston Case placing second after falling to Castle Rock’s Nolen Nelson in the 138 final.

The Grizzlies placed seventh overall with 75 points.

Full meet results are available at trackwrestling.com.

Mat Classic XXXV is scheduled for Friday and Saturday at the Tacoma Dome.

PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Elma’s Kale Reeves celebrates after winning a semifinal match a the WIAA Region 2 Tournament on Saturday at Hoquiam High School.

Team standings

1, Castle Rock 218 points. 2, Elma 211.5. 3, Montesano 162. 4, Eatonville 126. 5, La Center 113. 6, Columbia (White Salmon) 79.5. 7, Hoquiam 75. 8, Seton Catholic 69.5. 9, Stevenson 56. 10, King’s Way Christian 39.5. 11, Tenino 36.

PHOTO BY FOREST WORGUM Hoquiam’s Junior Soto, top, wrestles against Seton Catholic’s Connor Crum during a 120-pound semifinal match at the WIAA Region 2 Tournament on Saturday at Hoquiam High School.

State qualifiers

106 pounds: 1, Skylar Ammons, Castle Rock. 2, Xavier Espinoza, Elma. 3, Colin Chandler, Elma.

113: 1, Aidyn Johnson, Elma. 2, Adam Schmitz, Montesano. 3, Mark Devera, Eatonville.

120: 1, Cooper Williams, Castle Rock. 2, Connor Crum, Seton Catholic. 3, Junior Soto, Hoquiam.

126: 1, Landon Ramos, Castle Rock. 2, Kale Reeves, Elma. 3, Alex Gomez-Paz, Seton Catholic.

132: 1, Kasey Whitney, Eatonville. 2, Landon Fulton, Castle Rock. 3, Ben Totten, Elma.

138: 1, Nolen Nelson, Castle Rock. 2, Kingston Case, Hoquiam. 3, Blaize Salazar, Elma.

144: 1, Taye Lessard, Elma. 2, Wyatt Ballard, La Center. 3, Kole Kjesbu, Montesano.

150: 1, Ashton Baker, King’s Way Christian. 2, Kasen Polzel, Stevenson. 3, Trey StaRosa, Eatonville.

157: 1, Gage Stutesman, Montesano. 2, Braden Swihart, Castle Rock. 3, Jacob Ostendorf, Eatonville.

165: 1, Isaac Chromey, La Center. 2, Ian Burton, Castle Rock. 3, Liam Cox, Columbia (White Salmon).

175: 1, Gabe Pyhala, Montesano. 2, Koy Knox, Tenino. 3, Mason Darvell, Castle Rock.

190: 1, Sawyer Muehlbauer, Columbia (White Salmon). 2, Stephen Ibsen, Castle Rock. 3, Jasper Armstrong, King’s Way Christian.

215: 1, Wyatt Eiesland, La Center. 2, Roman Tabile, Seton Catholic. 3, Felix Romero, Montesano.

285: 1, Logan Roberts, Montesano. 2, Aaron Smiley, Castle Rock. 3, Dakoda Libby, Stevenson.

Alternates – Justice Larsson, Hoquiam (106); Luis Torres, Elma (113); Caiden Rademacher, Elma (138); Rusty Johnson, Elma (150); Lucky Douvier, Elma (157); Eastin Wright, Elma (165); Oliver Bryson, Hoquiam (190).

2A REGION 3 TOURNAMENT

Aberdeen at regionals

Aberdeen senior Talatheon Warness led the Bobcats to a fourth-place tie at the WIAA 2A Region 3 Tournament on Saturday at Washougal High School.

Warness continued his impressive senior campaign, defeating Tumwater’s Diego Concepcion via fall at 1:50 to win the 106-pound regional title and move his record to a sparkling 33-1.

Aberdeen’s Erick Silveira was the only other Bobcat to wrestle in his respective final, losing to Mark Morris’ Aimen Flemens via fall at 5:00 to place second at 165.

Aberdeen’s Michael Leontyev (32-15) defeated Hockinson’s Austin Wallace via fall at 3:19 to place third at 132 while Bobcats senior Aidan Watkins (30-4) beat W.F. West’s Andrew Snyder via 13-2 major decision to place third in the 157-pound class.

Mikey Hatton earned a state-tournament berth by placing fourth at 150 while Bobcat teammates Glenny Beck (138, 5th) and Landon Hamblin (285, 5th) will travel to the Mat Classic as alternates.

For full meet results, visit trackwrestling.com.

Team standings

1, W.F. West 187. 2, Washougal 143.5. 3, Shelton 119. 4-tie, Aberdeen 107.5. 4-t, Columbia River 107.5. 6, Black Hills 103. 7, Tumwater 97.5. 8, Ridgefield 71.5. 9, Hockinson 61. 10, Mark Morris 43. 11, Rochester 38. 12, Woodland 30. 13, Fort Vancouver 29. 14, Centralia 25.5. 15, Hudson’s Bay 23. 16, R.A. Long 0.

Aberdeen state qualifiers

106: 1, Talatheon Warness.

132: 3, Michael Leontyev.

138: 5, Glenny Black (alternate).

150: 4, Mikey Hatton.

157: 3, Aidan Watkins.

165: 2, Erick Silveira.

285: 5, Landon Hamblin (alternate).

1B/2B REGION 1

Ocosta’s Davis, North Beach’s Wollum win regional titles

Ocosta’s Aiden Davis and North Beach’s Adin Wollum took home regional gold as the 1B/2B Region 1 Tournament on Saturday at Adna High School.

Davis (27-3) defeated teammate Ronin Rutzer (25-9) via 18-2 technical fall to win the 138-pound title for the Wildcats.

Ocosta’s Andrew Martin (144, 2nd) and Kale Donovick (144, 4th) also earned state berths.

Wollum (28-7) defeated Rainier’s Matthew Kenney (21-18) via fall at 2:42 to claim the championship at 215 pounds and punched a ticket to the state tournament.

He’ll be joined by Hyaks teammate Wyeland Lomedico at the Mat Classic after the North Beach 126-pounder defeated Concrete’s Trenten Clark via fall at 3:41 of the third-place match.

Willapa Valley was the highest-placing Twin Harbors team at the meet, taking seventh with 81.5 points.

The Vikings were led by a second-place finishes from Lucas Swogger (157) and Tyson Portmann (165).

Swogger dropped his final via injury default to Rainier’s Zander Peck with Portmann losing to Toledo’s Bomani Birdwell via fall at 1:08 of his first-place match.

Valley’s Cody Strozyk (190) and Connor Reyes (150) each placed third in their respective weight classes.

Full meet results available at trackwrestling.com.

Team standings (top 5 and local)

1, Forks 186.5. 2, Rainier 121. 3, Darrington 115. 4-tie, Kalama 86. 4-t, Toledo 86. 7, Willapa Valley 81.5. 8, Ocosta 76.5. 12, North Beach 46. 14, Pe Ell 23. 19, Raymond 11.

Local state qualifiers

126: 3, Wyeland Lomedico, North Beach.

138: 1, Aiden Davis, Ocosta. 2, Ronin Rutzer, Ocosta. 5, Kasen Clements, Willapa Valley (alternate).

144: 2, Andrew Martin, Ocosta. 4, Kale Donovick, Ocosta. 5, Kevin Hovis, Raymond (alternate).

150: 3, Conner Reyes, Willapa Valley.

157: 2, Lucas Swogger, Willapa Valley. 4, Konnor Pilz, Pe Ell.

165: 2, Tyson Portmann, Willapa Valley.

190: 3, Cody Strozyk, Willapa Valley. 5, Hunter Harris, Pe Ell (alternate).

215: 1, Adin Wollum, North Beach.