MILL CREEK — After Ki Burgess made her final move, taking down Arlington’s Jaymari O’Neal and securing the pin to claim the WIAA District 1 Girls’ 4A Wrestling 125-pound title at Jackson High School on Friday, the Kamiak sophomore quickly ran over to give her coach John Knight-Baldwin a hug. It was a special moment for Burgess – her first tournament win – and the program as a whole.
The Knights were knocked down a peg during the COVID-19 pandemic and are still rebuilding. Kamiak had just four wrestlers qualify for the district tournament, so winning the team title over six other schools represented by 10 or more wrestlers each would be a long shot.
The Knights (53.0) indeed finished last, but thanks to Burgess and junior Eden Cole, who won the 135-pound weight class, it was still a resounding success.
“This was the best-case scenario for us today,” Knight-Baldwin said. “I was hoping that we might get a third-placer today. That would have been our record for the team, but we had two first-placers before, so it’s nice to tie that again.”
Knight-Baldwin graduated from Kamiak in 2006 and joined the boys’ wrestling coaching staff as an assistant in 2010-11. When Ally de la Cruz joined the team in 2014-15 as the program’s only girl at the time, Knight-Baldwin took charge of planning her tournaments, shuttling her around the state in a legendary career that saw her become the first state wrestling champion (male or female) in Kamiak history.
From there, more girls joined the team, and Knight-Baldwin officially became the girls’ head coach in 2018. With consistent growth every year, the team peaked at 18 athletes before the COVID-19 pandemic.
“When they did the pause, I lost half the team because people freaked out. So after that, we haven’t quite recovered,” Knight-Baldwin said.
Kamiak now has just eight girls’ wrestlers, but Knight-Baldwin is hoping to get the totals back up to 16-20 in the future. With Burgess and Cole’s success inspiring their teammates, that goal could come sooner than expected.
“That’s the best part, is seeing my other teammates grow and feeling their support,” said Cole, who won a district title in her first season wrestling. “That is one of the best parts.”
Said Burgess: “I like that my teammates feel comfortable coming up to me and asking me things, because it just shows how much I’ve accomplished, I feel like. I also love helping them because the team is the most important thing.”
With her family waiting for her in the corner of the gym, just outside the mat where she won the 125-pound title, Burgess made her way over, giving hugs to each of her parents, two younger sisters – Ember and Luna – and surrounding friends and family.
“My family, they support a lot,” Burgess said. “It can be hard at times for me, and stressful. Like family, sometimes we go bat-to-bat, but they’re definitely one of my biggest supporters, and it’s nice having them there.”
After Burgess left her family to go back to her team, Ember’s eyes started to well with tears, overcome with pride towards her older sister’s success.
“We’re going to state,” she repeated. “We’re going to state.”
Burgess and Cole have two weeks to prepare for the 4A State Tournament in Tacoma on Feb. 20-21, but no matter the result, this season is already a success for the Knights.
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