Rainier High School will have a heavy presence at the Mat Classic XXXV in Tacoma after each of its wrestling teams had successful outings at the 2B District 4 regional tournament on Saturday, Feb. 10.
Three girls and seven boys will travel to Tacoma to compete at the state championships on Saturday, Feb. 16 and Sunday, Feb. 17. Each team will also have one alternate. The Mountaineers boys placed second at regionals, finishing with 121 points behind Forks’ 186.5, while the girls took fifth and were the only B school in the top five.
Emma Desotell (110 pounds), Keira Anderson (170) and Katherine Kinahan (190) advanced to the state championships after they all placed second in their respective divisions. Freshman Ryleigh Cruse (235) is an alternate after finishing fourth in her division.
For the boys, Jacob Scott (106), Zander Peck (157), Rudy Garcia (157), Dorien Cano (165), Matthew Kenney (215), Blake Roberts (215) and Ryder Cruse (285) will head to the Tacoma Dome after finishing in the top five in their respective divisions. Peck was the lone first-place finisher. Connor Power (150) placed sixth and will be an alternate at the state championships.
Rainier head coach Chris Holterman said his team will enter the state championships as the underdog.
“People look past the underdog, and that’s a great time to surprise them. Anyone can get beaten on a given day, and we are going to work this week so we have the opportunity to beat some people,” Holterman said.
The longtime head coach added that he was especially proud of the girls for placing in the top five, despite being the smallest school in the top five. Each of the schools ahead of them were 2A schools with considerably larger enrollments.
“I think our girls showed that they can compete with the larger schools,” Holterman said. “They work so hard every day. They never complain, and they have such good attitudes. It is a great pleasure to watch them wrestle.”
Scott was one of the stars of the weekend, according to Holterman, as he won his match in a sudden victory tie-breaker. Garcia also scored a takedown near the end of the first round of overtime to secure his victory.
“Those are proud coach moments there, when they successfully execute things that we drill in practice,” Holterman said.
For the Mountaineers, the Mat Classic represents a brand new season and approach for his wrestlers.
“Everyone is zero and zero, and if they want a medal, they just have to go get it. I’m sure most of the kids wanted to place higher, win one they lost, but at the end of the day, getting to the dome is all they need to do,” Holterman said.
To view the Mat Classic brackets, visit https://www.wiaa.com/tournament-xwr/?sport_id=4.
