Yelm Girls Place Third at Mat Classic as Madisyn Erickson Is Crowned State Champion

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The Yelm High School girls wrestling team had another strong showing at the annual Mat Classic state tournament at the Tacoma Dome as Madisyn Erickson became a state champion and the team secured a third place finish on Saturday, Feb. 18.

Erickson, a junior, took the top honors in the 120-pound bracket as she defeated Reese Prescott of Moses Lake High School. She won 7-6 via decision.

“We knew that Reese wasn’t going to let Maddy reverse her, and she applied what she learned and got her first escape during the state championship match,” head coach Amy Earley said. “She’s coachable and now she’s able to reap the benefit of all the hard work she’s put in.”

Earley said they were both confident Erickson could defeat Prescott, who was the top ranked wrestler in the 120-pound class. Prior to the Mat Classic, Erickson trained and repped escapes to build on her skills.

Earley said Erickson has wrestled since she was 5 years old and entered the 2022-23 season refreshed and hungry for a state championship.

“She came in on fire this fall when we started up. She was more explosive and had more of a determination to her,” Earley said. “Throughout the season, she kept getting better and better, and quicker and stronger.”

Earley said the team was ranked top three for the 3A/4A bracket as they headed into state. They were hopeful they would secure a top three finish at the Mat Classic to back the rankings up.

“Looking at the competition and how the bracket played out, it was pretty close. I figured we’d be in the top three unless we completely fell apart,” Earley said. “It’s all about how things play out in the bracket, but we were excited because we took fourth last year and we saw an improvement this year by taking third. Next year, we’ll be working for second place or better.”

Samantha Blank, a sophomore, placed second in the 135-pound weight class. Blank wrestled Annika Lee of North Thurston High School, and lost 3-0, via decision.

Earley said Blank is already making a name for herself through judo and the coach believes that Blank’s best wrestling days are ahead of her.

“Whatever she puts her mind to, she accomplishes,” Earley said. “She’s going to be a force to be reckoned with going forward, whether she chooses to pursue wrestling or judo. I know the sky’s the limit for her.”

In the 145-pound weight class, senior Camryn Erickson finished in second place. She finished as a finalist to Monica Kaiser of South Kitsap after being pinned in the finals.

“I’m proud of Camryn for leaving it all out there, and even though she didn’t get it, second place isn’t anything to be ashamed of,” Earley said. “She should be proud.”

Earley said she’s proud of both of the finalists. She credited Camryn Erickson and Blank for their “tremendous” and “determined” efforts during the Mat Classic.

“Both of those girls left it all out there on the mat. Although they didn’t walk away with a title, they came into the tournament as fighters and they left as fighters,” Earley said. “Both of them have a lot to be proud of. Those girls left it all on the mat. I’m super proud of them and I know the Yelm community is super proud of them. Even though they didn’t get the result they wanted, they made the program and Yelm athletics look great.”

Senior Amailee Niz, in the 145-pound weight class, finished in sixth place. Niz lost 11-7 in decision to Kayla Reddick of Lincoln High School of Tacoma.

Senior Alayna Preston, sophomore Katelyn Dover and freshman Maddy Lawson were also Tornado representatives in the 34th annual Mat Classic.

Earley said the team will graduate a big group of girls this June who will be hard to replace.



“We have a young team and had a big group this year. We’re hoping we can get a lot of those girls back next year, too,” Earley said. “We had a lot of conversations at the end of the season about leadership and I think a big part of our success next year will be these juniors taking leadership roles.”

Team Scores

Moses Lake: 136

Curtis: 120

Yelm: 109

Graham Kapowsin: 89

Sunnyside: 78

Richland: 76

Lake Stevens and Spanaway Lake: 75.5

Davis: 75

Chief Sealth: 74

Other South Sound Conference Placements

River Ridge: 59

North Thurston: 51

Peninsula: 48

Central Kitsap: 16

Timberline: 14

Gig Harbor: 13