Some action-packed events are impossible to understand unless you see them in person.
Take Mat Classic 1,018 wrestlers from 264 teams competing in six simultaneous state tournaments on as many as 24 mats in the Tacoma Dome. Sounds crazy, right? Well it’s even crazier when you’re there. Mere mind-boggling numbers don’t tell the story.
Always-busy announcers with booming voices try to keep up with the ridiculous amount of matches (2,109 of them altogether) that constantly start and stop over two very long days in the Dome. It’s a unique environment. After covering local teams there for four consecutive years, I finally feel like I know what the heck is going on.
Sometimes.
Here are some of the most memorable moments from this year’s Mat Classic
The joy of Josh Heinzer: The Lake Stevens sophomore jumped up and down and clapped in the center of the mat after winning the Class 4A 103-pound championship. Heinzer’s huge, unstoppable smile instantly explained why kids put in so much time and go through so much pain to get to Mat Classic. There’s nothing like winning for the first time.
Last year I saw Lake Stevens’ Kelly Kubec win his third consecutive state title, but Kubec didn’t win as decisively as he had hoped and actually looked disappointed after his final match.
Special moment for father and son: It was quite a weekend for the Perry family of Snohomish. Former Panthers head wrestling coach Mark Perry guided athletes to 10 runner-up individual finishes at the state championships during the 17 seasons he was head coach, a tenure that ended in 2002.
At Mat Classic XX he finally saw the runner-up streak end. Perry’s son, Snohomish senior Brad Perry, won the 140-pound title Saturday by beating previously undefeated Cody Hoiness of Moses Lake. Mark Perry was mat-side with sixth-year Snohomish head coach Kevin Judkins and assistant Rob Zabel.
Brad Perry, who requested that his dad be allowed to sit by the mat during the match, is Snohomish’s first individual state wrestling champ since 1970. After winning, he hugged his younger brother, Snohomish sophomore Luke Perry, who qualified for Mat Classic in the 130-pound division.
Another thing worth noting: Kamiak capped the best season in program history by have two wrestlers earn top-eight finishes for the first time. Colton Kusilek placed fifth at 119 pounds and Nate Regan finished eighth at 145.
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