Kentwood’s Cody Quinn made history Friday night at the Tacoma Dome.
Teammates Ruben and Antonia Navejas want to follow suit today.
Meanwhile, Tahoma couldn’t have asked for a whole lot more during the first day of Mat Classic XXI, advancing four wrestlers into today’s semifinals.
Add it all up and the first day of the state’s biggest wrestling tournament of the year went rather well for several local competitors.
Quinn, aiming to become Kentwood’s first-ever four-time state placer, already assured himself of placing among the top eight, ripping through a pair of opponents, working technical falls in both matches.
But this time around, Quinn wants more than a top-eight finish. One of the favorites to win the 140-pound weight class, the ultra-competitive senior wants it all.
And when the semifinals begin this morning at 10 a.m., Quinn is in as good of position as anybody to do just that.
“I want a state title,” said Quinn, who improved to 37-4 this year. “Placing is great, but it’s so much better with a No. 1 on the end.”
Which is exactly what the Navejases have on their minds this morning. Ruben, a standout 103 pounder, and Antonia, one of the state’s premier 152-pound females, are looking to become the state’s first brother-sister champions.
Both did their part on Friday, advancing into today’s semifinals.
“I’m feeling good right now, I’m pretty confident,” said Ruben, who improved to 36-2 this year. “But I still have one more match to go until (the finals).”
Ruben, the state’s second-ranked 103 pounder, appears to be on a collision course with Bryce Evans of Rogers (Puyallup), who is in the opposite side of the bracket. The two have wrestled three times this year with Ruben taking one of those matches.
Meanwhile, sister Antonia continued to dominate en route to today’s semifinal berth.
As for today …
“I just want to keep good position, keep scoring and try and end the match early,” said Antonia, who is 21-0 this year and 96-20 for her career. “I’m taking it one match at a time.”
Teammate Jolene Crook-Meyers (140) was just as dominant Friday afternoon, working a quick pin and a major decision to earn a semifinal berth.
As good as Kentwood was on Friday, Tahoma was just as impressive.
The Bears brought six total wrestlers to the tournament and pushed four into the semifinals: Tyler Lamb (135), John Buban (145), Nick Bayer (171) and Konner Knudtsen (215).
Bayer, who won the state title at 160 last year, worked a second-period pin and a major decision to remain alive for state gold.
Being Tahoma’s lone returning champion brings pressure, Bayer admitted.
“Yeah, I feel pressure,” said Bayer, who improved to 40-2 this year. “All the kids want to be like you. You want to be a two-time state champ for yourself, but you want to win it for them as well.”
Buban, a senior, was making his first state appearance on Friday. The pressure, however, didn’t show as Buban remained calm to earn a 4-3 decision in the quarterfinals.
“It’s what I’ve been working for since I started wrestling,” he said. “It took me a while to figure out what the state tournament was all about. … I made the goal early to become a state champ. There have been a lot of setbacks along the way. Broken bones, seniority on the team, whatever.
“Now is the time to make it happen.”
Not in the semifinals, but still on target to earn medals include: Kent-Meridian’s Jesus Valdez (103), Kentridge’s Nick Aliment (112), Kentwood’s Teddy Zografos (125) and Nathan Herrick (285) along with Kentlake’s Austin Carrillo (145).
Carrillo lost his opening match only to fight back and win his next two.
“My first match was really disappointing. My head wasn’t in the game,” Carrillo admitted. “I came back, took a nap, watched some TV, did some sprints and an intense workout.”
And then Carrillo avoided elimination with a pair of convincing wins.
“It was really big, especially after that first match when he came out a little flat,” said Kentlake coach Pete Reardon. “Sometimes you just have a slow start. I really think that’s just what it was.”
Greg Eley (160) was Kentlake’s only other wrestler to advance to state. However, he reported to weigh-ins a bit too heavy to compete and was unable to wrestle.
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