Washington high school wrestling at Mat Classic XXXV: 4 things you should be paying attention to on final day
TACOMA - The state's powerhouse programs flexed their muscles Friday at the start of the WIAA state wrestling championships.
Which means scoring could be at an all-time high come Saturday night.
Here are four storylines that need to be monitored Saturday on the final day of Mat Classic XXXV in the Tacoma Dome.
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CAN CHAMPION CHIAWANA STRIKE AGAIN?
Riverhawks wrestling coach Manny Plata heard the same talk last year about Sunnyside being the favorite to end Chiawana's championship reign - and it never materialized.
Now, the four-time defending Mat Classic champions are going through the same thing with Tahoma, which has a state-best 19 wrestlers in the WIAA championships, to Chiawana's 11.
Can the Riverhawks overcome that for a five-peat?
After the first day Friday, Tahoma leads in points (XX-XX) and amount of semifinalists (7-6).
Of more importance, the two teams have wrestlers in five of the same weight classes - 106 pounds, 120, 138, 144 and 157.
"We are going to have to beat them head to head, but also the guys who lost have got to score some points on the back side," Plata said.
Needless to say, the Riverhawks feel a little disrespected by all the pre-tournament chatter.
"Everyone is favoring Tahoma and writing us off," Plata said. "We are not writing back yet until our story is finished."
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FINAL SLICK RIDE FOR ORTING IN 2A
The last time a program won at least three consecutive Class 2A team titles was Deer Park in 2012 when it closed out its run of five WIAA championships in a row.
After tallying XX points and putting nine combatants into the semifinals on the first day, Orting is a near-lock for a three-peat Saturday night.
Next year certainly sets up to be a different challenge when 1A powerhouse Toppenish returns to 2A.
In fact, the last time Toppenish was in 2A, the Wildcats won the WIAA title in four of five years - with Orting place second three times.
Both programs have grown significantly since that juncture in 2020.
"It is a good, healthy rivalry," Orting coach Jody Coleman. "Yes, there is a lot of jawing in the stands, but both parent groups are so passionate, so it's fun."
The common denominator? Both communities' youth programs are two of the most accomplished in the state.
"I used to call it the arms race," Coleman said. "That is why we are here now - together."
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MEAD ON VERGE OF SETTING 3A SCORING MARK
With seven semifinalists, including reigning WIAA champion Josh Newart (132 pounds), Mead is on a runaway mission for its third consecutive Class 3A championship.
The only suspense is will the Panthers break their classification points scoring mark of 236.5, set in 2022?
They have 182.5 points through the first day.
"The depth we have - we have kids who push each other," said Mead wrestling coach Phil McLean, who counted nearly 120 boys out for wrestling at the start of the winter.
"The nature of a room like that, everybody rises up. We have some really high-end kids, but also some young kids who have gotten into the mix."
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TOPPENISH VS. TOPPENISH
By the end of Saturday night, the two teams with the highest points-scoring totals could come from the same school.
Toppenish.
It happened a year ago when the boys left Tacoma with 375 points to win another Class 1A title - and the girls followed with a whopping 299 points.
That is why coach Pepe Segovia issued both of his teams with an in-house challenge: Keep up with the other side.
"I ran the 'Little Guys' program until 2020, and realized I had a good, solid core of girls coming up," Segovia said. "The only way to get them to the next level was to beat the guys out at everything. As the years progressed, the girls started to make a name for themselves … and became nationally known."
Although the girls have come a long ways in building their brand, - they are ranked No. 2 in the country - the boys are the state's premier team in all of Washington.
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