Gig Harbor Wrestlers Fall Short at State Championships

The Mat Classic state championships turned out to be a hostile environment for the Gig Harbor wrestlers who qualified in the 4A division.

Four wrestlers qualified for a chance to win a state title, but none made it out of the first day, leaving Gig Harbor without a place finisher.

Jacob Spadoni (135) and Ben Small (152) each split their first two matches before being eliminated, while Kyle Iverson (130) and Jake Baker (285) each fell in their first two matches.

Meanwhile, Lake Stevens created some breathing room for itself in the 4A team title race in the first half of the day and held on to take the championship at the second day of the Mat Classic.

The Vikings led the 4A division for most of the tournament, but Moses Lake was on their heels much of the way. Lake Stevens  began the day with a narrow lead and relied on a big victory from Steven Walkley in the 140-pound final to ensure that it controlled its own fate.

“Moses Lake was knocking on the door,” Lake Stevens head coach Brent Barnes said after the match. “We needed to close it a little bit.”

Mead finished third in the 4A division with a score of 108.5, followed by Central Valley with 91.5 points and Graham-Kapowsin with 91 points.

Edmonds-Woodway got its first state champion in over two decades (when it was still just Edmonds High) when Ryan DeWeese dominated in the 130-pound division, winning 19-6 to complete his title run. DeWeese is the first Warriors champ since Marcus Requa in 1989, who was in attendance to see the schools second champion in the last 22 years..

“It’s amazing, I’m so proud of Ryan, he did it,” Coach Joe Trieu said of DeWeese.