Tre Haines is used to the limelight. In fact, he enjoys it. When the Arlington junior defeated Lake Stevens’ Jarrell David 21-6 via technical fall in the WIAA District 1 4A 157-pound championship at Jackson High School on Feb. 8, he got to bask in it a little more.
Success breeds attention, but not always the good kind. During his championship bout, in which Haines methodically executed takedown after takedown, one of David’s teammates from Lake Stevens watched from the side.
“He’s not that good,” the Lake Stevens wrestler said of Haines – a two-time state champion whose win against David brought him to 45-0 on the season – claiming to his peers that he benefits from facing weaker competition and would fare worse in a state like California.
For Haines, it’s nothing new. Initially, the pressure to follow up winning the state championship as a freshman bothered him. Now he embraces it.
“(I know) I have a target on my back,” Haines said. “Last year I had a target on my back. … I had a lot of anxiety going (in) because I was returning state champion as a freshman. But now, I just relax. Anything can happen, so I just go have fun.”
Haines earned the top seed in the Boys 4A 157 at Mat Classic XXXVI on Feb. 20-21 in Tacoma, where he hopes the fun will continue. A successful run through the bracket will make Haines the 122nd 3-time state champion in Washington history, according to the WIAA website. He’d become just the fourth current high school wrestler to hold the title.
With all that at stake, Haines does not want to get ahead of himself. Despite not losing for a while, he understands he won’t earn anything at Mat Classic by just showing up.
“I could lose any time,” Haines said. “No one’s perfect, and (I) mostly just believe in myself knowing I’ve lost many times, and anything can happen.”
That belief in himself combined with the acceptance of his vulnerability creates a relentless worker. Haines reviews each of his matches, theorizing what he could do differently. He creates game plans with his coaches, and then pushes himself “a little harder every practice,” as he describes, to avoid complacency.
Haines, of course, is not the first or only wrestler to have this process. So there’s something else to it that sets him apart.
“He has great feel. He has great technique,” Arlington coach Jonny Gilbertson said. “He’s wrestled for a very long time, and he’s a competitor. I mean, that guy, he knows how to wrestle, he knows how to win, and he executes really well.”
Haines’ skill and execution has a profound trickle-down effect on the rest of Arlington’s team, which finished second at the District 1 Tournament behind Lake Stevens. His teammates even voted him a captain when he was a freshman.
“I’ve had numerous kids tell me that they’re inspired by the way he wrestles and the tone that he sets,” Gilbertson said. “And he’s a good kid, treats everybody well. Better kid than he is a wrestler, which really says something.”
In addition to his training and skill, Haines leans on his faith. Before every match, he repeats his mantra: “to God,” during which he expresses gratitude for the opportunity to compete. When Haines steps on the mat on Friday and Saturday, he won’t let the pressure weigh on him like it did last year. Instead, it will be a catalyst.
“(I) say it (my mantra) probably 40 times before every match, just in my head,” Haines said. “Just knowing that I can go out there and not wrestle to ‘not lose’ but just go out there to wrestle and have fun, enjoy the time that I have wrestling.”
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