Five Royal wrestlers, one from Wahluke place at Mat Classic XXVI
Emilio Bustos (above), of Royal, grapples Omak's Caleb Riggle during the second round of the 1A 160-pound tournament. Bustos placed fifth overall.
TACOMA - There were no champions, but four boys and one girl from Royal and one boy from Wahluke placed in their weight classifications at the state wrestling tournament at the Tacoma Dome last weekend.
There were some surprises. Royal's two biggest boys were eliminated early, as was Wahluke's single girl. Royal's 170-pounder finished fifth after being rated No. 2 all season. A Wahluke district champ and regional runner-up did not place.
As a team, Royal's boys finished 11th with 59 points. The Knights scored 18 points for fifth place in the first round with five wins in six matches. They slowed down as the competition became tougher. Wahluke finished 33rd with 15 points.
The good news for Royal is that five of the six entries will form a strong nucleus next year. Only one senior will be lost. Wahluke will lose both of its state entries.
Royal's biggest success was provided by its smallest entry, 113-pounder Kiki Chabolla. He lost the title match but took second place with victories over Sean Hussey of Cascade Christian, 10-0, Raul Barajas of Quincy, 11-10 in 3OT, and JoJo Sabingan of Castle Rock, 4-0.
At 120 pounds, Royal's Carlos Hernandez made it to the semifinals then settled for third place. He defeated Derbeck Camba of Blaine, 16-2, Ivan Reyes of Chelan, 17-3, Jesse Velez of Hoquiam, 12-2, and Seth Garcia of Kiona-Benton by pin. His semifinal loss was by 3-2.
At 124 pounds girls, Brea Diaz of Royal started with a 1:19 pin of Rebeca Diego of Spanaway Lake. After a quarterfinal 3-2 loss, she defeated Niki Velasquez of Othello, 9-2, and Gabriela Herrera of Lynden by pin for seventh place.
At 160 pounds, Emilio Bustos of Royal made it to the semifinals, where he lost, 3-2. He battled his way back to fifth place, beating Alex Tyska of Mt. Baker, 12-5, Caleb Riggle of Omak, 7-3, and Riggle again, 3-2.
At 170, Royal's Darrin Miller, dominant all season, was upset in the second round, 8-6 in OT, by Shane Armstrong of Vashon Island. He beat Alex Valliere, 9-3, to continue on to fifth place. His first win was over Clark Asher of Lakeside, 4-1. His third was by 5-1 over Tristan Hunter of Blaine for fifth place.
At 182, Wahluke's Jack Yorgesen was a surprise semifinals qualifier, winning in the first two rounds. His undoing was old nemesis, undefeated and eventual state champ Cruz del Angel of Kiona-Benton.
Yorgesen came back from a pin to capture fifth place. His victories were over Kenny Hoffman of Hoquiam, by pin, Carl Hausserman of Kalama, by pin, and Andrew King of Lakeside by injury default.
At 137 pounds girls, Wahluke entered Asusana Bartolo. She was overwhelmed by the event and was eliminated in two matches.
At 138, there was a mild surprise when Wahluke district champ and regional runner-up Adrian Toscano did not place. He opened with an 11-4 win over Abisai Garcia of Forks then dropped two straight matches.
Royal's entry at 182 was senior Carter Allred, who had defeated Yorgesen at districts and regionals. He stumbled in the first round, won his second match but didn't fully recover. He defeated Trevor Garrett of Port Townsend, 7-4.
At 195, Royal's Matt Bartlett started hot, trouncing J.T. Keeney of Mt. Baker, 17-8. Then he dropped 7-0 and 8-1 decisions to Preston Morris of Vashon Island and Sebastian Hyta of Freeman.