Royal qualifies 9 wrestlers for Mat Classic

ROYAL CITY — The Royal High boys wrestling team gave Granger a run for its money at the SCAC Regional Wrestling Tournament at Highland Saturday, finishing second and qualifying nine boys for state at the Tacoma Dome this weekend.

Granger won the title with five champions, 11 state qualifiers and 217.5 points. Royal scored 198 points and had three champions.

“Sending nine guys to state is a good accomplishment, but my heart goes out to those guys that worked so hard and committed so much and didn’t make it,” coach Randy Miller said. “Like most coaches, I want the best for all my guys. I feel bad for my seniors that did not make it, but I will never forget their resilience through all the training I put them through.”

Wahluke qualified two boys for state. They are Reyes Ramirez, runner-up at 220 pounds, and Cristian Garcia, 4th at 145 pounds.

The Warriors expected to do better but lost two of their district qualifiers before the meet.

Wahluke got team points from Felix Rangel and Erick Valdovinos by finishing with one win and sixth place at 120 and 132.

The best Wahluke wrestling news of the day came at the girls regional meet. Victoria Gaytan won the 170-pound championship and qualified for state by steamrolling her opponents.

Becoming more determined as she went, Gaytan pinned Mikayla Homer of Burbank in one minute, 37 seconds. Then she rolled Caily Mendez of Connell in 1:19. She finished off her sweep with a 29-second pin of Lakota Barrett of Ellensburg.

The Royal boys alternates (fifth place) were Steven Toro at 126, Kevin Pastor at 132, Regan Callahan at 145 and C.J. Quintero at 160.

Royal got fourth place finishes from Daniel Bonilla at 132 and Addin Felker at 138. They will have the toughest starts at state, drawing No. 1 seeds from other districts.

Taking third place for the Knights were Eduardo Rodriguez at 113, Adrian Trinidad at 182 and David Lopez at 285. Rodriguez pinned Trey Matarazzo of Kioina-Benton in 1:26. Trinidad took out Devin Roberts of River View in 41 seconds, and Lopez stopped Oscar Ibarra of Granger with a 26-second pin.

Jose Jimenez scored the lone second place for Royal, dropping his finale at 195. He secured second with a pin in 1:27 of Brendan Rubalcaba of Zillah.

“It was very impressed with the team’s fight,” Miller said. “There were times that we needed to score and did. The younger guys now have a better sense of what it takes to achieve the next level. This will motivate them to work harder.”

Royal’s fist title came from Kiki Chabolla at 126. He has been a regional champ three times, and has placed at state three times.

Chabolla started by pinning Chris Williams of Naches in 1:58. He topped Isaac Guillen of Granger, 6-2, and he took the final with a pin of Wade Koerner of Zillah in 1:02.

The second title came at 126 from Abraham Medina. He started with a 40-second pin of Bryan Funk of Zillah. He pinned Kramier Patrick of Naches in 1:45 and won the title with an 8-0 shutout of Flavio Sandoval of Ki-Be.

Darrin Miller, who was slowed by a shoulder injury at mid-season, took the regional crown at 170 for the third straight year. But his finale was a struggle.

Miller started hot, pinning Isaias Vela of Zillah in 1:26 and Brice Wilkins of Goldendale in 1:26. That put him in a final against Jack Moen of Cle Elum, who won his preliminaries in 1:06 and 1:25.

Miller and Moen waged battle for three periods, and Miller prevailed, by 7-6, to keep his hopes alive for the state championship that has just eluded him the last two years.

“These guys have earned the opportunity to earn that prestigious state medal,” Miller said. “After looking at the brackets, most of the guys have great draws. Either way it is state, and everyone is focused on the same goal - win. I am sure the qualifiers will bring their best to the Dome.”