TACOMA — Things were not looking great for Carmelo Larocca.
Facing a familiar foe in Shorewood’s Lukas Probizanski for the 3A Boys 190 State Championship at Mat Classic XXXVII in the Tacoma Dome on Friday, the Edmonds-Woodway senior went down 2-0 at 1:13 in Period 2 when he was ruled to have been stalling right before Probizanski picked up a point for an escape.
Fifty-six seconds later, Probizanski masterfully avoided falling out of bounds while spinning Larocca to the mat for a three-point takedown. With just 17 seconds before Period 3, Larocca would need a big swing to come back. He had defeated Probizanski in a 7-1 decision for the District 1 3A 190 Championship on Feb. 7, but had lost to him in both prior bouts at the Edmonds Invite (7-0 decision on Dec. 6) and Shorewood Invitational (9-4 decision on Dec. 20).
Larocca would do anything to avoid going 1-3.
With time running out in Period 2, Larocca stuck to his game plan and made his move. He spun out from underneath and gained the upper hand for a two-point reversal. He had just enough time left before the whistle to hold Probizanski in a near fall for four seconds. With four more points, Larocca took a 6-5 lead heading into Period 2.
“I got to go. I know I’d get tired, but I gave it everything I had,” Larocca said, relaying his thoughts in the moment. “I’m on zero right now. … He had two on me before. I got him at districts. I got to leave it even.”
Larocca picked up another point to begin Period 3 with an escape from bottom, and he avoided getting spun down for a takedown by staying on his feet before spinning out of bounds, but the score was later cut to 7-6 with 1:11 left after officials ruled Larocca was stalling.
With such a thin margin for error and time winding down, Larocca left everything on the mat.
He increased his lead to 10-6 with another takedown with 44 seconds, which held until the final whistle. Larocca exploded off the mat and pounded his chest and yelled out, “Let’s go!” Facing slimmer odds just minutes before, he came out the other side a state champion.
“I knew I could ride him out,” Larocca said. “I knew I’m stronger. I beat him at districts, so I knew that was going to happen. I trust my process, and I did it.”
Edmonds-Woodway’s Carmelo Larocca gains control of his opponents back during the 3A boys 190-pound championship match at the Mat Classic on Friday, Feb. 20, 2026 in Tacoma, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
According to Edmonds-Woodway coach Brian Alfi, that explosive celebration is not typical for Larocca, who he described as “super quiet and reserved.” If there was any time to show that passion, that was it.
“When you look at him, he just looks like Tarzan, but he’s the kindest kid you’ve ever met,” Alfi said. “He’s so nice. He’s friends with every kid on the team. He doesn’t have a large presence with his voice, but in the room, he carries gravity. He works incredibly hard every day. He works his butt off. We’re just really lucky we have him. …
“He’s so quiet and reserved, and then after you get to see that cool explosion out of him after. He doesn’t do that that often. There’s not a lot that gets him like that, so it’s pretty cool to see those moments come out of him.”
Once the initial post-match intensity subsided, the emotions set in. Larocca never expected he would end his high school career as a wrestling state champion. He didn’t even start the sport until his sophomore year.
After transferring to Edmonds-Woodway from Richfield, Larocca was set on continuing his football career as a running back and linebacker. It was his new friends on the Warriors football team that ultimately pushed him into wrestling. It wasn’t the most natural transition. Alfi admitted Larocca didn’t really know how to wrestle in that sophomore season, and Larocca described himself as just “head and arms” at that point, but the potential was evident.
He managed to qualify for the state tournament in the 3A 215, where he lost his opening matchup but picked up a win in the consolation round. That was enough to motivate him to put more focus into the sport.
“I was like, ‘I got to fix this if I want to be a state champion,’” Larocca said. “Working out every day after football season, during football season, offseason. Every day, I was working.”
Larocca improved enough to place seventh in the 3A 190 in last year’s Mat Classic, and he kept getting better before reaching the top as a senior this time around.
“I think he’s grown competent,” Alfi said. “And like, ‘I don’t need to know everything,’ but he’s really good at some positions. I mean, you can’t beat him. He’s a huge weight room guy, so he’s always in the weight room, always getting stronger. He does an incredible job just with everything that you could ask.”
In addition to becoming a key figure in Edmonds-Woodway’s wrestling program, Larocca has developed a close relationship with Alfi and his family, including his four sons. Alfi said two of them wanted to stay up past their bedtime to watch Larocca’s championship match.
“He FaceTimed them to tell them to go to bed,” Alfi said. “(He said), ‘I’ll take care of business for you, and you can see it in the morning.’”
True to his word, Larocca took care of business.
Snohomish’s Schwabenbauer caps undefeated season with 3A 285 Championship
It was never really close.
Through the entirety of the Boys 3A 285 bracket at Mat Classic XXXVII, Snohomish junior Odin Schwabenbauer exuded dominance. The top seed, Schwabenbauer picked up pins within two minutes in his first two bouts before winning the quarterfinals in a 10-1 decision, and the semifinals in a 17-0 technical fall. Each round is supposed to get harder in a state tournament. Schwabenbauer made it look easy.
Facing the No. 2 seed, Shelton’s Not Tuitea, the Panthers star picked up a quick seven points with a takedown and four-point near fall in the first 30 seconds of the match. After getting another takedown early in Period 2, Schwabenbauer secured the pin at 3:37. In his 47th match of the season, he picked up his 47th win and became a state champion.
“He tried to throw me. It didn’t work,” Schwabenbauer said afterwards. “So I was just being cautious of that, kept my feet moving, bust my attack.”
Snohomish’s Odin Schwabenbauer reacts after wining the 3A boys 285-pound championship match at the Mat Classic on Friday, Feb. 20, 2026 in Tacoma, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Upon leaving the mat to hug his coaches, the emotions hit immediately.
“It’s all the hard work,” he said. “All the time my partners, my coaches put into me. I can’t be grateful enough. I don’t know how to put into words how grateful I am for all of them.”
Wrestling has always been a part of Schwabenbauer’s life. His father, Lance, wrestled at Gannon University in Erie, Pennsylvania, when he was in college, and passed his love of the sport onto Schwabenbauer. A lifetime of work went into reaching the peak on Friday, but in one way, Schwabenbauer was still a novice.
After placing fourth in the 3A 190 at last year’s Mat Classic, the 2025-26 season marked Schwabenbauer’s first wrestling in 285. Moving up two weight classes and nearly 100 pounds, he had to completely change his style of wrestling.
“At 190 last year, I would just blast, double (leg takedown), blast, double,” Schwabenbauer said. “I think one of the first matches I tried it in (at 285), nope. It just did not work. So I really had to try to get around all the heavy weight.”
Blending the skill he already had with new techniques, Schwabenbauer quickly adjusted and tore through his competition. After he takes part in national tournaments over the coming months, he’ll have the opportunity to do it all again in his senior season.
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Area Boys 3A State Medalists
Championship matches
150— Paxon Cunanan (University) dec. Avi Wylen (Shorecrest) 8-4; 165— Aydin Nuraddinov (Kent Meridian) maj. dec. Alex Buiukli (Everett) 14-4; 190— Carmelo Larocca (Edmonds-Woodway) dec. Lukas Probizanski (Shorewood) 10-6; 285— Odin Schwabenbauer (Snohomish) pinned Noa Tuitea (Shelton) 3:37.
3rd place: Cameron Grant, Everett, 120.
4th place: Luke Sage, Snohomish, 190.
5th place: Jamier Perry, Meadowdale, 215; Edson Belizaire, Edmonds-Woodway, 285.
6th place: Christopher Ramirez, Meadowdale, 144; Max Morse, Snohomish, 150.
7th place: Eduardo Gonzalez, Lynnwood, 113.
8th place: Emiliano Olivera-Matias, Shorewood, 106; Michael Carpenter, Monroe, 113; Gideon Ryder, Shorecrest, 120; Zadrin Morga-Baisac, Shorecrest, 126; Soren Andersen, Stanwood, 144; Owen Boswell, Mountlake Terrace, 190; Ryan Pineda, Mountlake Terrace, 285.
Area Boys 2A State Medalists
4th place: Maxwell Woodall, Marysville Pilchuck, 144.
8th place: Gunnar Janes, Marysville Pilchuck 138; Steven Morales, Marysville Pilchuck, 190.
Area Boys 2B/1B State Medalists
3rd place: Creed Wright, Darrington, 138.
7th place: Nathan Elliott, Darrington, 113.
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