Wrestling with confidence

QUINCY – Quincy senior Saidt Alvarez entered the 2024-25 season 23 wins shy of etching his name into the Jackrabbit wrestling history books – well, another mark for the three-time state placer. Alvarez was seeking to become Quincy’s all-time winning wrestler. 

“I knew I could attain it, but I wasn’t really focused on it,” Alvarez said. “Just wrestling, going into all the matches and tournaments that we go to. What surprised me was everybody around me telling me how close I was, and I didn’t know. It was cool seeing that people were asking me.” 

Alvarez entered Quincy’s Mat Animal Invitational with 119 career wins, four shy of breaking the previous record held by Brent Duda, a middleweight wrestler for the Jackrabbits during the mid to late 90s. He tied the wins record with a 16-1 technical fall in the tournament’s quarterfinals, defeating Zillah’s Derrick Chavez. 

One match shy of setting the record, Alvarez fell to Ellensburg’s Cash Eylar in the semifinals of the Mat Animal Invitational in Quincy on Jan. 25. The loss dropped Alvarez into the consolation bracket, setting up a match against Tyler McManemy of Cascade Christian, where Alvarez won in an 8-3 decision before finishing fourth in the tournament. 

“I was bouncing back from a loss, so it just felt awkward – I just wrestled, and I didn’t even like how I wrestled,” Alvarez said.  

The moment of realization that he had just become Quincy’s all-time winning wrestler with 123 career wins had mixed emotions for the Jackrabbit senior. 

“When Webley told me that I set the record, it was kind of like half and half,” he said. “I didn’t like how I wrestled, but I achieved something.” 

There was time for celebration with teammates though; Alvarez and his teammates went to Taco Bell following the tournament, where he enjoyed one of the restaurant’s box meals, a quesadilla and Cinnabon Delights. 

“We celebrated by eating just a little bit extra,” Alvarez joked. 

Alvarez noted the support he’s received from the Quincy community as a “really big deal.” 

“They enjoyed seeing my success – I think that’s a big part of it,” Alvarez said. 

Alvarez entered this season as a three-year veteran with the Jacks, earning trips to the state tournament in Tacoma each of those seasons. His biggest takeaway from the prior seasons was confidence, which he said shows up both on the mat and in other facets in his day-to-day life. Wrestling has helped him step out, where before he would “be too shy.”
“I got that from wrestling, and I like to take it into real life,” Alvarez said. “Just don’t be scared of anything.” 

A loss to Bryce Davis of Colville in the semifinals at last year’s 1A Region 4 tournament dropped Alvarez into the consolation bracket of the 113-pound class, where he took third in the tournament to take the final berth to Tacoma from the weight class. However, the semifinal loss at regional meant Alvarez had a tougher draw at the Mat Classic, wrestling against the eventual state champion, Toppenish’s Steve Romero, in the quarterfinals. Alvarez was pinned in the second round and dropped into the consolation bracket where he won three consecutive matches – one of which he avenged his loss to Davis at regionals – to take third in the 1A 113-pound class. 

In the third/fourth-place match, Alvarez won in a 7-2 decision over Elma’s Aidyn Johnson. 

“It was more about bouncing back, knowing that I should have been in the finals that year,” Alvarez said. “Getting through it was the next best thing.” 

The third-place match was also Alvarez’s 100th career win. 

“That moment was really special,” Quincy Head Coach Breck Webley said. “He had been building and building in his matches and had (improved) from fifth to fourth. He wasn’t able to get to the finals that year, but getting that win was really exciting. I’ll never forget his face as he walks off the mat, I say, ‘Congratulations, that’s your 100th win!’ He looks at me with a big old smile and says, ‘Really, Webley?’” 

“Nobody told me, I just went in wrestling like normal,” Alvarez said. “Then they told me – I don’t really celebrate too much, but Webley told me to (wave) at the crowd.” 

Last season’s third-place finish wasn’t the first time Alvarez has been on the podium at the Tacoma Dome; he took fifth in his freshman season and fourth in his sophomore season, both in the 113-pound class, before finishing third in 2024. 

“I think that really gave him the confidence that he could have high goals and that he has the ability to achieve them,” Webley said. “... That progression and moment of placing as a freshman helped him see that if he is committed to his craft, and he really wants to be the best he can, then he can be one of the best.” 

Quincy moved up into the 2A classification this year, increasing the competition faced during the postseason. Ahead of Thursday night’s dual against Ephrata, the results from which were not available in time for press deadline, Alvarez has posted a 6-1 record in bouts at Central Washington Athletic Conference duals this winter.  

“2A is definitely tougher, so I’ve just got to win the tight matches,” Alvarez said. “I think the CWAC, in my bracket, is very heavy on returning placers. I’ve just got to stay on top of everything.” 

Like many, Alvarez began wrestling in his youth, starting when he was in the fifth grade. It was his older brothers, Gustavo and Ramiro, who got him involved in the sport. After wrestling for the Jackrabbits in his freshman year, he decided to stick with it. 

“I was really lazy, so my brothers said, ‘Well, he has to do something,’” Alvarez said. “That was something that they did that they knew was very physically demanding, so they just threw me in there.” 

Alvarez thanked many, including his wrestling partners in junior Jace Reyes and sophomore Johnny Blancas. 

“They keep me active and getting better,” he said. 

Ahead of districts, Alvarez’s record this winter is 26-8. He posted marks of 33-15 his freshman year, 29-8 his sophomore year and 38-8 his junior season. 

“His consistency and his respect for his opponents helps him maintain a lot of focus on how he works in the wrestling room,” Webley said.  

Alvarez and the Jacks travel to Ellensburg next week for the CWAC district tournament. The two-day tournament begins Friday at 5 p.m. 

    Quincy senior Saidt Alvarez wrestles at the Mat Classic last February. Alvarez is a three-time state placer, taking fifth place his freshman year, fourth place his sophomore year and third place his junior year at the state tournament.
  

    Quincy senior Saidt Alvarez, right, takes on a wrestler from Ellensburg. Alvarez has posted a 6-1 record in matches at CWAC duals this winter.
  

    Quincy’s Saidt Alvarez wrestles at the 2023 Mat Animal Invitational during his sophomore year. Alvarez went 33-15 his freshman year, 29-8 his sophomore year, 38-8 his junior season and is 26-8 during his senior season ahead of the postseason.