With less than a minute left in the Class 3A finals of the 120-pound division at Mat Classic XXIV, Bonney Lake Panthers grappler Andrew Cunningham landed the most important reversal of his high-school wrestling career.

 Clinging to a 2-1 lead, Cunningham chose bottom position prior to the start of the third round. With 48 seconds remaining in the round, Cunningham registered a reversal, giving himself a 4-1 lead against Enumclaw’s Tyke Reid.

The lead stood the rest of the way and Cunningham walked away with a state championship in his senior year with the Panthers. Cunningham said he knew he had sealed the match when he completed the reversal late in the third round.

“I was up 2-1 and felt like I was in control of the match. That reversal really solidified it because it put me up by a pretty good margin,” he said. “It also kind of broke him, too, at the same time.”

Cunningham said he was motivated after losing to Reid the previous week at the Region III meet.

“You learn the most from your losses. You don’t learn stuff after you go out and tech fall a guy or pin a kid,” he said. “You learn from those losses. I think it really helped me last week and made me come back hungry.”

Panthers head coach Tony Clarke echoed Cunningham’s sentiments.

“Andrew probably has the best motor of any of the wrestlers I’ve ever seen,” Clarke said. “He lost last week (to Reid) and he was more focused and more determined this week than I  have ever seen him. Andrew just seems to wrestle better when it is tough. The more adversity he has, the tougher he wrestles.”

Cunningham knew plenty about Reid before they stepped on the mat.

“Every time we wrestle it’s a battle. This was our 10th time wrestling. This was my eighth win against him and he beat me twice,” Cunningham said. “Both times he beat me were on big moves in the first period. I knew I just couldn’t let him get that big move. As long as I didn’t make the big mistake and give him my back in the first period, I felt pretty confident in myself.”

Cunningham wasn’t the only Panthers wrestler to win a state title.

Yodi Lawes defeated Mountain View’s Kyra Batara 4-0  in the 112-pound girls division championship match. Clarke said Lawes possesses an incredible work ethic that propelled her to the pinnacle of what wrestling has to offer— a state title.

“This is only Yodi’s second year (of) wrestling. She made it to state last year and didn’t place,” Clarke said. “This past summer, she wrestled freestyle and wrestled in nationals in Fargo (N.D.).

“She just works so hard. After our practices she goes up to Vision Quest (a local gym) and practices there, too. She works harder than 99 percent of our boys’ wrestlers. I’m really proud of her.”

The Panthers saw four additional wrestlers place at the state tournament: Colton Tracy (113 pounds, second place); Chili Sabin (160, third); Jake Lueders (170, fifth) and Matt Yuste (145, eighth).

EMERALD RIDGE JAGUUARS

Emerald Ridge Jaguars wrestler Jennifer Anderson saw a familiar foe in the 124-pound girls championship match at Mat Classic XXIV.

Anderson faced Mount Vernon’s Katee Allen for the third time during the 2011-12 season. Anderson was victorious for the third time, earning a 6-0 victory to earn a state title in her senior year. Last year, Anderson finished in fifth place. Emerald Ridge head coach Jim Meyerhoff said the victory in the final was a testament to hard work and diligence.

“Nobody worked harder than she did in the last year,” Meyerhoff said of Anderson. “It has been pretty impressive to see how much she wanted to learn and how much she kept learning. She is an incredible person and a incredible worker. It was pretty exciting to see her win a state championship.”

Anderson said she didn’t feel the awestruck feeling of the Mat Classic until she finally earned a state championship in front of a packed house at the Tacoma Dome in the finals.

“The whole tournament  just kind of felt like any other tournament until after I won in the championship match; then I definitely could tell a difference,” she said. “My goal was to get to the state finals and I made it.  It feels amazing to have the opportunity that I had tonight.”

Other Emerald Ridge wrestling placing at Mat Classic included Cayle Williams (152, eighth), Imani Hampton (170, eighth), and Katie Bond (145, fourth).

CASCADE CHRISTIAN COUGARS

Another celebratory evening at Red Robin was in the plans for Cascade Christian Cougars 120-pound wrestler Josh Crager.

Crager, who celebrated a state title in 2011 at Red Robin with friends and family, made a beeline for the local eatery again following the Mat Classic after he registered a convincing 10-1 victory against Highland’s Andres Tereza.

Cougars head coach Clay Warren was thrilled to see Crager win back-to-back state crowns.

“Coming back as a sophomore and picking up that second championship is a tough thing to do,” he said. “It was a tough weight class. Josh controlled every single match at this tournament. I’m really proud of him.”

Warren said Crager’s mental approach to his matches makes the difference against his opponents.

“He is a very quiet kid who is extremely focused. He gets in such a zone before every match. I just watch him, and when I see him pacing, I know he is ready,” Warren said. “I love to watch him prepare for his matches. I don’t ever have to worry about psyching him up.”

Crager said he didn’t want to let down more than of a dozen of his friends who came to watch him in the finale.

“I came out aggressive and was ready for the match. I didn’t want to let anybody down,” he said. “I was just so excited.”

PUYALLUP VIKINGS

Jeremy Misailegalu’s determination to medal in the Class 4A 182-pound weight class was on display in all of his matches at the Mat Classic.

Misailegalu lost his first match of the tourney, but battled back through the consolation bracket, earning fifth place after defeating Central Valley’s Kurt Beck in the fifth place/sixth place match. Placing at the state tourney was a dream come true for Misailegalu.

“Getting to state was my goal and now I got to take it a step further and place,” Misailegalu said. “It was all heart and mental. If you’re not in it with the mental game, you’re going to lose. I just had to be there mentally and physically.”

Vikings 160-pound senior Tomas Scholl had mixed feelings about earning eighth place in his weight class.

“I would have liked to place better, but I was just happy to go out and put all of my heart on that mat. I did my very best,” Scholl said.

Scholl said he was proud to see the Vikings become a power in the SPSL 4A after years of mediocrity.

“It is kind of like in football. We turned it around as a senior class, and now we turned it around in wrestling, too,” he said. “I’m really proud of being part of that. It is a good feeling.”

Vikings wrestler Haley Franich (106) earned seventh place in the girls tournament.

CHIEF LESCHI WARRIORS

History was made by Chief Leschi Warriors 113-pounder Cheyenne Kudrin-Mello in the Class 1B/2B tournament.

Kudrin-Mello unveiled a 2-2 overall record and earned fourth place overall in his weight class. Kudrin-Mello was the first grappler in Chief Leschi history to place at the state wrestling tournament.

“I’m the first in my school to do it. I accomplished a lot. I have been here four years in a row, and now I have finally placed,” he said. “Wrestling has made me a better person. It made me a better student in school. In middle school I got, like, straight Fs. Now I’m one of the better students in school. Getting this far feels amazing.”

Warriors head coach Bart Brewer said Kudrin-Mello is the kind of wrestler he will never forget.

“Cheyenne has been great for our program the last four years. He has been so awesome for us,” Brewer said. “To wrestle at this tournament four years in a row and to place in his last year is a remarkable feat.”

ROGERS RAMS

Rogers Rams girls wrestlers Chevelle Woodard (137) and Kendra Smith (100) were the lone state placers for their team at the Mat Classic. Both Smith and Woodard finished in eighth place overall in their respective weight classes.

Rogers girls head coach Tom Tripple said Smith and Woodard have been mainstays at the state tournament since their sophomore years.

“This is their third trip in a row. They fought really hard to get into that medal round. It is pretty exciting for them,” Tripple said.

On the boys’ side, Damian Jackson (145), Dwight Yetter (160) and Brandon Brenenstahl (138) all wrestled on the first day but didn’t advance to the second day of the tournament.

“All three of those guys are back next year. They had a great season,” Rogers head coach David Johnston said. “All three of them will take what they gained from this season and this state tournament into next year on the mat.”

SUMNER SPARTANS

A very important chapter was on display for the Sumner Spartans at the Mat Classic.

The Spartans, who are one of the most improved Class 2A teams over the past two years, saw three wrestlers reach the medal podium as state placers: Jeremy Jackson (132, eighth), AJ Atoigue (152, fifth) and Jed Schilesman (138, seventh).

Spartans second-year head coach Matthew Harshman was excited about what his team accomplished during the season.

“I’m excited for our program,” he said. “Having three state placers is huge. We got to keep working to figure out how to get to that next level. We’re close and doing the right things. Now we just got to go out and beat the best.”


Sports Editor Shaun Scott can be reached at 253-841-2481, ext. 316, or by email at shaun.scott@puyallupherald.com.