TACOMA — Edmonds-Woodway’s Jeremy Pautler wanted to soak in every last second of Mat Classic XVIII.

As he stood in the center of the Tacoma Dome, Pautler took in the sights and sounds of the state wrestling tournament moments after his final high school match.

Pautler ended his high school career with a sixth-place finish in the Class 4A 152-pound division.

The Edmonds-Woodway senior dropped an 8-7 decision to University Prep’s Trevor Robb Feb. 18 in the fifth-sixth place match.

Pautler almost pulled out the victory but ran out of time. He trailed 8-5 before cutting the deficit to 8-7 on a reversal late in the third round. Pautler was close to scoring more points when time ran out.

“I felt like I wrestled real well in that last match,” Pautler said. “That kid was good … I tried to leave it all out there because I knew it was my last match. I’m just happy to know that I wrestled my hardest. I have no regrets.”

Finishing sixth at state was a significant accomplishment for Pautler, according to Edmonds-Woodway coach Mike Hanchett.

Pautler advanced to the semifinals with a pair of victories on the first day of the tournament before losing in the semifinals to Tahoma’s Andrew Johnson, last year’s 145-pound state champion. In his first match in the consolation bracket, Pautler fell to Auburn’s Tyler Roshau, who was the 152-pound runner-up a year ago.

“He got beat by a returning state champion and a kid who took second,” Hanchett said. “He’s in good company as far as where he was. He wrestled his heart out this last match. It was a tough one to lose. He did everything he could to get where he got. Coming out of fourth in regionals and placing sixth in state is a pretty tall accomplishment.”

Hanchett appreciated all of the hard work Pautler did not only as an individual but also as a team captain. Pautler’s leadership meant a lot to a young Edmonds-Woodway team.

“Jeremy was one of those kinds of kids who worked hard in season. He worked hard in football,” Hanchett said. “Whatever he was doing he just applied himself to it, not just personally. He was very unselfish about what he did with the other teammates and how he brought them along.

“He was a leader. His leadership, his team ethic and just his personal work ethic — those are the things that characterized him.”

Pautler opened the tournament with a pair of convincing victories. Pautler pinned Evergreen’s Cory Dodge at the 5:03 mark in large part due to his conditioning.

“I outlasted him,” Pautler said. “He was just all out of energy.”

In the quarterfinals, Pautler recorded a pin over Kennewick’s Armando Luna at 3:58. Pautler heard the announcer counting down the final seconds of the second round as he went for the pin.

“I had the guy on his back stuck the whole time,” Pautler said. “I heard that person saying ‘5, 4, 3, 2,’ so I really cinched it up tight as I could for the last couple of seconds and I got him.”

Pautler came into the first day of the tournament feeling good.

“I was just kind of relaxed and went out there and did what I do best,” he said. “I kind of let things happen … I had a good week of training.”

The second day of the tournament didn’t turn out as well for Pautler, who lost 9-1 to Johnson in the semifinals. Roshau then recorded a 16-1 technical fall over Pautler, which sent him into the fifth-sixth place match.

Hanchett understood Pautler’s taking a look around the Tacoma Dome following his final match.

“You never realize that it’s all finished until that last second ticks off the clock and you look up and you realize this is the last high school match,” Hanchett said. “As a coach you see it coming, but as a kid it kind of hits them like a dream.”