TACOMA – Perfect.
That’s how Lester Brown described Mat Classic XVII. He couldn’t find any opponents capable of proving otherwise.
Brown, a senior who wrestles for Lake Stevens High School, won a second consecutive individual state championship in style Saturday during the all-classification state tournament at Tacoma Dome. He was one of three individual champions for the Vikings, who staged a comeback but came up short in their attempt to win a second consecutive Class 4A state team title and their fourth championship in six years. The Vikings scored 118 points to finish second behind first-time winner and favorite University of Spokane (135). Auburn tallied 98.5 points to take third.
Brown won at 135 pounds to become the first repeat state champion for Lake Stevens since Burke Barnes, a rare four-time state champ who graduated in 2002. Brown, who won at 125 last year, barely gave the crowd time to exhale, pinning his opponent, Battleground’s Trevor Hall, in 57 seconds.
Displaying his well-known toothy grin afterward, Brown beamed after completing a title run that included three pins, a 14-0 major decision and no points scored against him. “The goal was to wrestle the best I could,” he said, “and I think I did that.”
Senior Clint Osborn (275 pounds) and sophomore Kelly Kubec (112 pounds) also won titles for Lake Stevens. Junior Jon Wilbourne (189) placed second and senior Brock Austin (140) took fourth for the Vikings.
Along with Brown, Osborn, a first-time state champ, was one of the most dominant athletes in the tournament. He earned four pins, all within the first two rounds, and avenged a loss in last year’s heavyweight final.
“Beautiful,” Osborn said when asked to describe his weekend, which he capped with a pin in 3:51 against Capital’s Mikel Camus.
Kubec, a sophomore who placed third at 103 last year, also earned his first individual state title with a late rally in one of the most intense finals of the night. Facing a 3-2 deficit in the final minute against Auburn-Riverside freshman Michael Mangrum, Kubec broke away from a hold and completed a bout-winning reversal in the closing seconds for a 4-3 decision.
“To pull something out like that that was awesome,” Barnes said of Kubec’s effort.
Kubec lost to Mangrum 5-3 in overtime last weekend at the Region 1 tourney and evened their season series at 2-2. Calling it one of the top two victories of his life – the other being a triumph that earned him a Cadet Greco-Roman national championship – Kubec said he prefers blowout victories over last-second heroics. “I don’t like having it like that,” he said. “It’s scary, and I guarantee you it freaks my mom out.”
The race for the team title revolved around familiar foes. Wrestling has connected University coach Don Owen and Lake Stevens coach Brent Barnes for more than 20 years. As an assistant coach, Owen taught and wrestled against Barnes in the early 1980s at North Idaho College, where Barnes won a national title as an athlete.
“(Barnes) won a national championship because of me,” Owens joked Saturday.
Over the last several years Barnes’ Vikings have gotten the best of University and the entire state but University was too deep this time. None of its nine wrestlers placed worse than seventh. Barnes said Owen, in his 15th season at University, and the Titans are deserving champs.
“If somebody’s gonna win it besides Lake Stevens,” Barnes said, “I’m glad to see Don and his team get it.”
A morning-session comeback got the Vikings within 1.5 points, but Lake Stevens had only a glimmer of hope when it entered the finals trailing 124-102. University clinched the title when Brian Owen (103 pounds) won the first championship final 12-4.
Still, nothing could bring Osborn and the Vikings down.
“We wrestled our hearts out,” Osborn said. “We did our best. There’s no regrets – I’m proud of what we did.”
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