TACOMA — Josh Heinzer was so excited that he completely flipped out.
After winning the final wrestling match of his career Saturday in a Lake Stevens High School uniform, Heinzer beamed with pride and pointed to his mom, Debbie Heinzer, in the bleachers at the Tacoma Dome.
Then he scored a few style points.
Heinzer, a senior, celebrated his third straight Class 4A individual title with a backflip, completing an impressive two-day performance during the Mat Classic XXII state wrestling championships.
It wasn’t the first time Lake Stevens coach Brent Barnes saw Heinzer perform the aerial maneuver. “He’s done it in my class (at Lake Stevens High). He’s done it in practice,” Barnes said.
Heinzer’s latest flip came after he joined an impressive club. By defeating Rogers of Puyallup sophomore Bryce Evans with a 13-5 major decision in the 112-pound final, Heinzer became the third Lake Stevens wrestler to win at least three individual state titles. The others are Kelly Kubec (2005-2007) and Burke Barnes (1999-2002), Brent Barnes’ son.
Heinzer placed first at 103 pounds in 2008 and won at 112 last year. A frustrating freshman season pushed him to improve, he said; he missed out on a trip to state because teams can only enter two athletes per weight class in the postseason.
Heinzer was third in the Lake Stevens pecking order at 103 behind older teammates Zach Zweifel and Jack Stilwell. Heinzer, who likely would have been the No. 1 103-pounder for any other team in the state, watched Zweifel and Stilwell finish first and second at Mat Classic.
“He used it for motivation,” Brent Barnes said, “and he worked hard after that and came back.”
Lake Stevens had six top-eight placers but was not able to win its fourth straight 4A team championship. The Vikings, ranked No. 3 by WashingtonWrestlingReport.com, scored 89.5 points and placed fourth, half a point behind Moses Lake. University (156.5 points) placed first and Tahoma (114.5) was second.
But after struggling on Day 1 of the tournament, especially Friday morning, Lake Stevens recovered and competed much better. “I’m really proud of the way they came back in a tough season, a tumultuous season,” said Barnes.
Three team members — Heinzer, Steven Walkley and Josh Villani — were suspended near the end of the regular season for athletic code violations. Heinzer and Walkley returned to compete but Villani, at the time ranked No. 2 at 152 pounds, was suspended for the season.
Walkley, a sophomore, was a 135-pound finalist Saturday. He got pinned in the third period by top-ranked Brandon Riehle of Ferris. Lake Stevens’ other placers were Eric Soler (fifth, 103 pounds), Ryan Rodorigo (fifth, 119), Jacob Anderson (third, 160) and Justin Grow (eighth, 189).
Snohomish’s Micah Morrill and Edmonds-Woodway’s Ryan DeWeese also lost in 4A championship matches.
Morrill, a senior, took a perfect 41-0 record into the 160-pound final against defending state champ Jake Mason of University, also a senior. It was an epic fight and Mason emerged with a 7-6 triumph in triple overtime. Mason upped his season record to 39-2 and his career record to 106-8.
Morrill, one of three Snohomish placers, was overlooked all season, Snohomish coach Rob Zabel said. But by reaching the final and pushing Mason to the limit, Morrill proved he belonged.
“We call him our bulldog,” Zabel said after Morrill’s semifinal win Saturday, “because he just fights and he scraps and he just doesn’t give up many points.”
Snohomish, the 2009 4A team runnerup behind Lake Stevens, scored 53 points and tied with South Kitsap for 11th place. The Panthers’ other placers were Luke Perry (fifth, 145 pounds) and Mark Morrill (fifth, 171 pounds).
Edmonds-Woodway’s DeWeese had a historic tournament. According to first-year Warriors head coach Joe Trieu, the junior became his school’s first state wrestling finalist, dating to when E-W opened in the early 1990s.
DeWeese hung with Kelso’s Kurtis Giberson throughout the 130-pound final but Giberson hung on for a 4-1 decision.
Mike Cane: mcane@heraldnet.com. Check out the prep sports blog Double Team at www.heraldnet.com/doubleteam.
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