Experience big factor for Royal boys at Mat Classic

ROYAL CITY — Royal High School boys wrestling coach Darrin Miller said his team’s experience should help them when they get to the Tacoma Dome. 

“We have a large group of seniors this year, so I think the consistency of showing up to practice every day for four straight years for a lot of these kids, as well as the underclassmen learning from some of those upperclassmen,” Miller said. “Everybody has just been really committed up to this point, which is what it really takes in the sport to be successful.”  

The Knights qualified 13 wrestlers from the boys team for Mat Classic 2026, following a fourth-place finish at the district tournament last weekend. 

“Any of them can win a lot of matches,” Miller said. “We're really pretty excited to get 13 guys through the state. Honestly, we couldn't have done any better, essentially. Really proud of those guys.” 

Six Royal wrestlers were seeded high enough to get a bye in the first round, and Miller said among the RHS wrestlers to watch will be the five who made the district finals.  

“At 106 lbs, we had Stratton Yorgesen. At 132 was Thomas Antonio; 165 was Cael Orth, 175 was Shea Stevenson. And then 285 was Williams Mendoza,” he said.  

Yorgesen is the second seed in the 106-pound class; Shea Stevenson is the second seed at 175 lbs. Orth is the third seed at 165. Antonio is the sixth seed in the 165-pound class, and Mendoza is seeded eighth at 285 pounds.  

“We have a pretty loaded district, so we're hoping to do well at state. I just told my kids, ‘Win as many matches as you can, wrestle your hardest for the full six minutes. And if we do that, then we'll place as high as we possibly can,” Miller said.  

He cited his team’s attitude as a contributor to their success. 

“Like I said, we have a large group of seniors this year, so those athletes, they've been consistent throughout the season,” Miller said. “But I've seen a ton of growth from those younger guys, just learning from (the juniors and seniors), and showing up to practice every single day." 

Like other Royal High programs, the wrestlers also benefit from community support, he said. 

“It's our kids that are competing, and they're showing that they're really committed and able to be successful. But I also think we have both great coaches and great community members that are supporting our programs all around,” he said.