The Tahoma High wrestling team continued its dominance Friday and Saturday during the Class 4A Region I tournament at Auburn High.
Meanwhile, Kentwood standout Ruben Navejas bounced back in a big way after a stunning loss a week before.
Behind six finalists and three champions, top-ranked Tahoma walked away with the team title at the tournament, holding off three-time state champion Lake Stevens 197.5-172. Auburn finished in third (147), Snohomish fourth (127.5) and Edmonds-Woodway fifth (90).
Kent-Meridian, which took sixth with 89 points, was the highest placing team among the Kent School District programs. It’s K-M’s highest regional placing in more than a decade.
The tournament, however, belonged to Tahoma, which put itself in prime position to win its first state championship this weekend since 1996, when it won a Class 3A title.
“We’re firing on all cylinders right now,” said Tahoma coach Chris Feist. “We’re peaking at the right time. This is the best I have ever seen a Tahoma team wrestle.”
Tahoma advanced a tournament-high 10 wrestlers to the state tournament (Feb. 19-20 at the Tacoma Dome), which will put the Bears in the driver’s seat to capture the team crown. Lake Stevens, long a state powerhouse, advanced seven wrestlers to the state tournament.
“We came into the season saying this was our year,” Feist noted.
It has been Tahoma’s year thus far. On Saturday, Tahoma crowned three of the 14 regional champions – Tyler Lamb (140), Nick Bayer (189) and Konner Knudtsen (215).
The importance of getting past Lake Stevens and winning a state team title is huge, Bayer insisted.
“Getting past Lake Stevens is a mental thing. If we can beat them at regionals, then we can beat them at state,” said Bayer, a two-time state champion. “To me, winning a team title is more important than my (potential) three titles. We haven’t done it in 15 years.”
The other big news from the tournament came from Kentwood’s Navejas, the team’s 103-pound standout. Navejas was stunned a week earlier in the sub-district championship against Tahoma’s Steven Hopkins.
This time, however, Navejas would not be denied. The Kentwood senior pinned his way into the championship match, then held on for a convincing 7-4 win over Hopkins to improve to 36-2 this season.
Navejas did not comment on the win, instead choosing to wait until after the state tournament to speak with members of the media.
The performance, however, was not lost on Kentwood coach Ken Sroka.
“Every time Ruben steps on the mat, I expect him to win,” said Sroka. “Ruben is a special wrestler. Hopkins has improved and gotten better and it’s going to be a battle like that each time. But I’m pretty confident in Ruben’s ability. If he wrestles like that and how he did (Friday), I think he’ll be just fine at state.”
Nathan Herrick (285 pounds) captured Kentwood’s other crown, which proved to be the only other title by a Kent School District participant.
Herrick held off Auburn’s Nick Conlan, 2-1. It was Conlan’s first loss of the season as he dropped to 28-1.
“It was important to win, but I knew I was going to state and that’s the main part,” said Herrick, who lost to Conlan a week earlier in the sub-district championship. “Last year, I took fifth (at regions) and ended up taking third (at state). Once you get there, it’s a whole new ballgame.”
The top five wrestlers from each weight class at the regional tournament earned berths to the state tournament. Kent-Meridian will take five wrestlers to the tournament, the high among Kent Schools, followed by Kentwood (4), Kentlake (4) and Kentridge (1).
One of the tournament’s most inspirational performances came from Kentwood’s Jose Hernandez, who competed at 171 last year and lost roughly 50 pounds in the offseason and now competes at 125.
Hernandez took third en route to earning a state berth. In the process, he stunned Kentridge standout Nick Aliment, who won the sub-district title and competed at state a year ago.
“I am happy, I am excited, and I am pumped,” said a beaming Hernandez. “Now my goal is to make it to the second day at state.”
On the flipside of Hernandez’s big day was Aliment’s heartbreak. After falling to Hernandez, Aliment was eliminated from state contention by Tahoma’s Daniel Haniger in a triple-overtime bout. Tied 1-1 after regulation, Aliment aggressively attacked Haniger and neared a takedown on three separate occasions, but he wasn’t able to finish the job. In the final 30-second overtime, Haniger managed an escape to win the match and seal the state berth.
“It’s hard, man. He’d been wrestling so tough all year long,” said Kentridge coach Jason De La Rosa. “But at least Nick has another shot. A lot of these kids are seniors and won’t be back next year. Nick will be back next year.”
Kentridge’s Jeff Seid, who took fourth at 160 pounds, was the lone Charger to advance.
Meanwhile, things proved to be nearly flawless for Kent-Meridian, which brought six wrestlers to the tournament and pushed on five to state. Kent-Meridian hasn’t advanced this many wrestlers to the state tournament since the 1990s.
“It has been really good. I’m very proud of ’em,” said K-M coach Todd Owens. “(Friday) was almost flawless.”
K-M advanced six wrestlers into the semifinals on the tournament’s first day. None advanced to the championship round, however, Jesus Valdez (103), Andrew Smith (140), Nick Lemmon (160), Luke Barzie (171) and Jean Claude Atkinson (215) all took third. Valdez will be making his fourth straight state appearance.
While K-M clearly is on the rise, the same can be said for Kentlake, which advanced four to state. Sean Cavanagh (145) led the way, advancing to the finals before falling to Thomas Jefferson standout Kyle McIntosh.
“He’s taken a huge step up this year,” Kentlake coach Jeremy Williams said about Cavanagh. “He just wrestled outstanding today. He got to the finals, which was one of his goals.”
Other Kentlake wrestlers moving on to state include: Sean Farr (112), Colton Marlowe (119) and Samir Faizoullin (130).
MAT CLASSIC XXII: TEN TO WATCH AT STATE
NAME, SCHOOL WEIGHT
1. Nick Bayer, Tahoma 189
Notable: Aiming to become Tahoma’s fourth three-time state champ.
2. Konner Knudtsen, Tahoma 215
Notable: Enters the state tournament with a perfect 35-0 record.
3. Ruben Navejas, Kentwood 103
Notable: Looking to become KW’s first two-time champion since Brandon Hunter (2002-2003).
4. Steven Hopkins, Tahoma 103
Notable: Looks to be Navejas’ biggest challenger for a state title.
5. Jesus Valdez, K-M 103
Notable: Gritty, gutty wrestler is making fourth state appearance. Took fifth in 2009.
6. Tyler Lamb, Tahoma 140
Notable: At 37-1, he’s quietly enjoyed one of the state’s most dominant seasons.
7. Nathan Herrick, Kentwood 285
Notable: If all clicks, he could end the tournament on top of the podium.
8. Nick Lemmon, K-M 160
Notable: Three-sport athlete is making second trip to state.
9. Sean Cavanagh, KL 152
Notable: Has come into his own during the final month of season.
10. Jeff Seid, Kentridge 160
Notable: Sophomore could surprise in first trip to Mat Classic.
Talk to us
Please share your story tips by emailing editor@kentreporter.com.
To share your opinion for publication, submit a letter through our website https://www.kentreporter.com/submit-letter/. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. (We’ll only publish your name and hometown.) Please keep letters to 300 words or less.
