TACOMA — After finishing second at Mat Classic in his sophomore and junior seasons, Marysville Pilchuck’s Killian Page was on a mission to end his Tomahawks wrestling career atop the podium as a senior.
The bruising, free-wheeling Page capped his career with a title, and he did it his way.
After pinning his way to the semifinals of the 170-pound bracket, Page showed in his last two bouts that he’s a wrestler, not just a phenomenal athlete.
In so doing, he became the third member of the Wesco 3A division to take home a state title on Saturday, joining Stanwood 138-pounder West Weinert and Glacier Peak 285-pounder Mosese Fifita, who beat conference mate Jackson Constant of Oak Harbor to gain his title.
He dispatched North Central’s Bryson Pierce in a 4-3 slugfest in the semifinals before going on the offensive early and holding off Juanita’s Mason McDaniel 7-4 in the final, setting off a jubilant and tearful celebration.
“I knew what I came here for, and I kept my head straight and kept that focus every single match,” Page said. “Losing in the finals the last two years pushed me harder. The tragedy at our school pushed me harder. Losing a friend, family member and teammate pushed me harder.”
The family member Page referenced is Jaylen Fryberg, who instigated the school shooting at Marysville Pilchuck on Oct. 24. The teammate he referenced is Nate Hatch, a relative of fellow MP wrestler Drew Hatch.
Page’s performance in the final was a case study in dictating the tempo and style of the match to one’s advantage.
Always better when things are in motion, when his athleticism and creativity can be brought to bear on the mat, Page immediately took McDaniel down in the first period, and instead of keeping him on the mat and riding him, he intentionally let him up, or “cutting” the opponent in wrestling parlance.
“I am much more comfortable on my feet,” Page said. “It’s not that I’m bad on top, but I just know I wrestle worse when things are slow. I know it’s almost cocky to say, but there aren’t many people who can keep up with me when I’m on my feet.”
Marysville Pilchuck coach Craig Iversen admitted the decision to cut McDaniel and gift him a one-point escape, was a gamble, but one he’d take every time with Page on the mat.
“It’s a gamble, but you can get trapped down there on the mat,” Iversen said. “Our game plan with him is always the more motion the better.”
Page began the second period on the bottom position, and immediately escaped McDaniel, took him down and cut him again to take a 5-2 lead into the third period.
McDaniel rallied for an escape, and Page was hit with his second stalling call to make it 5-4, but he took the Juanita junior down on the edge of the mat in the final seconds for the 7-4 decision.
“With it being his third time in the finals, that’s a lot of pressure,” said Iversen, who was named the Class 3A Coach of the Year by his peers on Saturday. “It’s just a great moment for him and a great moment for our school after the tough year we’ve had.”
Weinert was the first Wesco 3A competitor to claim an individual title on Saturday night, and he dipped way into his bag of tricks to pull out a heart-stopping 3-2 decision over Tino Nieves of Lakes in the final seconds.
Trailing Nieves 2-1 with 10 seconds to go in the match, the Stanwood senior, spurred by his internal wrestling clock and the ear-splitting screams of Spartan coach Ray Mather in his corner, executed a textbook Granby roll to earn a two-point reversal and the lead with 2.3 ticks remaining on the clock.
It’s a move most junior high wrestlers can pull off without a hitch, but not one Weinert uses very often.
“I kept it in reserve until I needed a quick move there at the end,” he said. “I know Coach was scared for his life.”
After finishing fourth last year and second as a sophomore, Weinert finished his career on top.
“I have a poster up in my room that just says, ‘State Champ’,” he said. “I’ve been looking at it all year.”
Fifita made history repeat itself in pinning Constant in 1:12 to capture the 285-pound crown.
He also decked the Oak Harbor senior in the regional final between the two.
Fifita said that facing Constant in regionals was helpful to give him an edge on what he might do in the championship match.
“It feels amazing,” Fifita said of winning his first state title. “You can’t get another feeling like this. It was my ultimate goal, and I knew this season would be my time.”
The three champions, combined with the four Wesco 3A runners-up — Edmonds-Woodway’s Hiram Martin, Arlington’s Ruben Crew, Stanwood’s Garret Arrona and Meadowdale’s Tim Smith — helped to place four of the league’s teams in the top 11 at state and seven in the top 20.
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