Knights up to challenge of defending title

TACOMA — The Royal Knights held off fierce challenges from former 2A powerhouses Lakeside and Orting to defend their 1A title at Mat Classic XIX this weekend.

Royal scored 163 points to outdo Orting's 154 and the 146 put up by Lakeside.

Royal, which returned the bulk of their 2006 championship team for a run at this year's title, would have in most years been a runaway favorite to repeat as champions. However, with defending 2A champion Lakeside and 2A runner-up Orting dropping down to the 1A ranks, the Knights were facing a difficult road to the top of the Tacoma Dome leader board.

While the teams were evenly matched, Royal once again proved that team championships are won with depth.

Orting had four individual champions and Lakeside had six of its nine state qualifiers place third or better. Royal overcame that top-end firepower by getting team points from 14 of its 18 state qualifiers and scoring points in 12 different weight classes.

"We knew it was going to require everybody," said Royal coach Ben Orth of what it would take to bring the title back to Royal City. "Our seconds (junior varsity wrestlers) were tough enough to get in there and score some points. Even the kids that didn't qualify for state made somebody better."

Royal put four wrestlers in the finals, including 285-pound champion Trandon Benson, and runners-up Arturo Barajas (125 pounds), Sam Villegas (140 pounds) and Angel Ledezma (145 pounds). Jordan Thomas, at 160 pounds, finished third for the Knights as well, while other Royal placers included Hernon Cortez (5th, 103 pounds), Juan Esquivel (5th, 119 pounds), Omar Avelar (7th, 130 pounds), Josh Mathis (6th, 152 pounds) and Hector Ledezma (7th, 189 pounds).

As much as 285-pound champion Trandon Benson was a part of the Knights' title defense, so were wrestlers like Mitch Christensen, Jerry Villa, Ernesto Deras and TJ Hunt. Without the team points scored by these four non-placers, Royal would have trailed Orting by two points entering Benson's finals match, putting an incredible amount of pressure on the Knights' second-year wrestler.

Even without the pressure to win for the team, Benson put the pressure on himself to reach the top of the podium in Tacoma.

"I wanted to take this real bad," said the 285-pound champion. "Just to know people had their doubts about me and I proved them all wrong."

On the strength of their depth, Royal jumped into first place after the first round, and from there never surrendered the lead in the team race. The Knights got several big wins early in the tournament that helped them keep the lead over their challengers, including a monster quarterfinal showdown at 125 pounds.

In Friday night's quarterfinals, Barajas drew the tough task of taking on Vashon Island's Tyler Gateman. The Vashon wrester had beaten Barajas earlier in the season and was favored by many to do so again at state.

Barajas took control of the match early, hitting Gateman with a head-and-arm that gave the Royal wrestler a 5-0 lead. The Royal senior was able to protect his lead and win the match by a 7-4 margin.

"He hit a hellacious head-and-arm," said Orth. "That got him off to a quick start."

Another Knights wrestler who came up big on Friday was Esquivel. After winning by fall in his first match, the Royal freshman earned a 13-5 major-decision victory over Lake Roosevelt's Kasey Green, a wrestler who had defeated Esquivel handily earlier this season.

"He just doesn't know not to go hard," Orth commented of Esquivel's effort against Green.

Yet another big win came from Josh Mathis at 152 pounds. Mathis earned a stall point to tie his match at two in the third round and force overtime. After allowing an escape in the first of two double overtime periods, Mathis scored a crucial takedown that gave him a 4-3 lead that led to an eventual 5-3 win for the Royal senior.

"I got good position and I just knew it," said Mathis of his match deciding takedown. "That's big for my team."

For all their hard work on Friday, Royal still led Orting 81-67 in the team race, with Lakeside right behind at 64 points.

In Saturday's semifinals, Royal did enough to maintain their lead over their challengers. After Cortez and Esquivel were knocked into the consolation brackets, Barajas became Royal's first finalist with an 11-5 victory over Newport's Steffen Ellison. Barajas fell behind 4-1 in the second round before rallying to tie the match at four entering the third round. With his composure regained, the Royal wrestler took it to Ellison in the third round to turn a precarious situation into a comfortable victory.

"We weren't quite ready," said Orth of his 125-pound wrestler. "These state meets, you have to be ready for anybody."

Unlike his teammate, Villegas had little trouble reaching the finals, winning his Friday matches by pin and technical fall before crushing Lakeside's Kyle Cartwright 15-0 to reach the finals. The match, one of just a handful between Royal and Lakeside wrestlers, helped the Knights distance themselves from the Eagles in the team race.

"He just let the flood gates go, he just kept pressing," said Orth of Villegas' effort against Cartwright.

Angel Ledezma built a 3-1 lead in his semifinal match with Tonasket's Hector Aguila after two rounds. In the final round, Ledezma took the action to his opponent, wrestling aggressively rather than simply sitting on his lead. The strategy worked to perfection, as Aguila was unable to mount a serious offensive threat in the face of the Royal wrestler's pressure.

Jordan Thomas, who methodically wrestled his way to a third-place finish, was another Knight wrestler who had a great tournament. Thomas lost an 8-5 decision to eventual champion Micah Sohl of Vashon Island before storming though the consolation brackets for the bronze.

"He was the only kid who didn't score points in 2006," said Orth of Thomas. "He provided us bigger things this year.

"It was a great year," said Orth reflectively. "In retrospect, this was the best team we've had from top to bottom. You go, go; push, push; train, train, and then it's done," remarked Orth. "It's almost sad. Winning the first time was special, but winning it the second time was more special. We're just real proud of the kids."