Peninsula’s Casey wins title, Gig Harbor’s Zeitner advances to championship match at Mat Classic XXXII

Nolan Casey’s revenge campaign is complete.

After a third-place finish in last year’s Mat Classic, the Peninsula senior made it his goal to return to the state tournament — and win.

So with what Casey said was “nothing else to lose” and one last chance to claim a state title, he took a 32-5 record into the regional tournament, and won.

Then, he walked into the Tacoma Dome, tore through his opponents to reach the championship match, and beat Snohomish’s Ryan Cote in the finals to claim the Class 3A title in the 160-pound weight class.

The final tally from that match? An emphatic 14-0 decision.

It wasn’t close.

“I knew he couldn’t hold off my attacks,” Casey said. “I really wanted this one. I really, really wanted this one. Nothing means more … winning it for the home team.”

Casey had actually wrestled Cote twice before, with the most recent being a tight, 1-0 victory in Casey’s favor.

With two former meetings between the two, Peninsula coach Gary Griffin said Casey took a different approach to his final high school match.

“He didn’t take chances,” Griffin said. “He didn’t put himself out there. This time, we just capitalized and knew he was staying away.”

And for a goal that Casey set for himself two years ago now comes the reality of accomplishing it. In Griffin’s words, the senior finished his career in the fashion of domination — from start to finish.

“Senior season,” Casey said. “You have everything on the line and not much left. … Go hard every day… that’s why I’m here. Thank God, and thank my family.”

The Seahawks also claimed a ninth place finish at the Mat Classic as a team, and it took more than Casey’s title in the 160 pound division to do it.

Luke Golden and Brock Allen placed for Peninsula in the 170 and 126 pound divisions, respectively, each clinching top-seven spots in their brackets.

For Golden, it was steady incline all season that led him to a fourth-place finish in the Tacoma Dome.

“I think (Luke’s) hard work really helped him know he can hang with pretty much anybody,” Griffin said. “Luke’s a gifted athlete, so he was able to wrestle within himself and wrestle to his strengths in all positions. (Placing in the) top four is a great accomplishment in our state.”

And for Allen, the Tacoma Dome was far from unfamiliar. The now four-time state participant finished seventh in the 126 pound division, and placed for the second time in his high school career, finishing the weekend with three pins.

“Brock’s always dangerous on top,” Griffin said. “In all of Brock’s wins, they were in dominant fashion. The one that gets away sometimes… it’s just a couple of critical errors. Brock really took advantage of his strengths and put himself in dominant positions.”

The success, Griffin says, is a product of the Peninsula program.

“These three guys in particular have grown up with the sport together and have done some off-season stuff together. A couple of them go to the same church. They really take care of each other and it’s a really tight brotherhood. They’ve been super supportive of each other since day one. They’re a pleasure to coach. They’re great young men, they’re great students, great stewards to the community. ... We’re an extended family.”

GIG HARBOR’S ZEITNER ADVANCES TO CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH

The Gig Harbor Tides were represented by Trevor Zeitner, the tournament’s No. 1 seed in the 152-pound class.

But Zeitner’s goal of a state title came up just short, as the senior dropped the championship match to Casey Howerton by a score of 9-5.

It was a rematch of a Zeitner-Howerton clash during last week’s district tournament, which Zeitner had won, 14-12.

“Last week, we had him,” said Jacob Spadoni, Gig Harbor’s coach. “We had his numbers. This week, he changed up what he was doing and it worked out for him and it didn’t work out for us. It was definitely a bummer.”

That’s not to overshadow a successful season for Zeitner, who battled his way to the title match in the Tacoma Dome during his final season.

The senior entered last weekend’s district tournament as the three seed, and defeated both wrestlers above him to enter the Dome at the top.

“He was really fired up all weekend,” Spadoni said. “All of his matches leading up to the finals, he absolutely destroyed everyone. It was not even close. He hasn’t been dominant like that all year. … It’s always been a question mark against good kids.

“But this weekend, there were no question marks. He was showing out and just beating kids.”

This story was originally published February 25, 2020 at 6:00 AM.