These two wrestle for Bonney Lake but they’re willing to go anywhere to find competition

Standing on the floor of the Tacoma Dome during Mat Classic is enough to convince a first-time competitor that the building is the center of the wrestling universe.

Thousands of people — wrestlers, coaches and cheerleaders, reporters moving from mat to mat, and a crowd several times the size of a dual meet — travel to Tacoma for the event ever year.

Recognizing how wide the wrestling world outside of Washington is what has helped the Bonney Lake High School’s wrestling team send a pair of defending Class 3A state champions to Mat Classic XXXI this weekend.

With sophomore Yusief Lillie (113 pounds) and senior Brenden Chaowanapibool (120) leading the eighth-ranked Panthers, coach Dan Pitsch has tried to schedule as difficult of opponents as he can.

“It’s hard to get those guys losses,” Pitsch said. “We like to find them situations where they’re not as comfortable as usual — tougher competition or having them move up a weight class.”

The Panthers have wrestled in Nevada and California this season in addition to top-level tournaments throughout Washington.

Chaowanapibool, who will go for his third consecutive state championship. He is 36-4 with only a single loss to an in-state opponent in freshman sensation Abel Nava of Granger, who is the top-ranked wrestling in 1A at 120.

Taking his thirst for challenges a step further, Chaowanapibool trained at the USA Wrestling center in Colorado over the summer, before traveling with Team USA to Zagreb, Croatia, for the Cadet World Greco-Roman Championships.

“A lot of the European guys have a really determined approach to wrestling. Some of them are in it to support their families,” he said. “The pace is so much higher.”

Chaowanapibool rose to the occasion, but fell just a bit short, dropping his opening-round match at 106 pounds, 6-5, to Georgia’s Dimitri Khachidze.

“Going out of state to wrestle shows me a different caliber of competition,” he said. “It shows me how much I can do to get better going into college.”

Lillie has been an All-American at the junior nationals in Fargo, North Dakota. He is 20-0, but missed a large chunk of the season after breaking his hand in the middle of winning a tournament at Eisenhower. He’s been back for two weeks.

Both wrestlers, along with 152-pounder Cody Coffey (ranked fourth statewide after a third-place finish a year ago) and 285-pounder Orrin Brateng (ranked ninth) will often head straight from Bonney Lake’s practices to those at their club, Team Aggression.

In fact, Lillie says the disruption of high school sports caused by the recent snow storms helped his preparation.

“With no school I actually got in more practice time,” he said, which was something he needed after six weeks off waiting for his hand to heal. “My technique was still there, but I’ve been getting tired a lot faster.”

The year-round devotion to the sport by its leaders has helped Bonney Lake as a team.

“What makes them so great is they’ve been doing it for a long time and it’s all they do,” said Pitsch, a former collegiate wrestler at Oregon State. “They set the tone for everyone around them.”

With Chaowanapibool committed to compete at the Air Force Academy and Lillie a solid Division I prospect, the remaining Panthers have two natural leaders to emulate.

“Kids want to be like them,” Pitsch said. “They make winning contagious.”

“Me and Yusief are role models,” Chaowanapibool said. “I feel like our accomplishments inspire younger teammates, passing down our desire to succeed.”

Though each enters the state tournament ranked No. 1 at their weight, Lillie and Chaowanapibool like the idea of the brackets being expanded to 32 wrestlers, instead of the typical 16, after weather led to the cancellation of regional tournaments statewide.

“Honestly, I like the bigger bracket. It gives us a chance to get up earlier, get the cobwebs off,” Lillie said.

“It’s going to spice things up. A lot of good kids usually get shut out of state,” Chaowanapibool said. “There will be some underdogs who show up and make a move. There will be more different styles of wrestlers coming together.”

Pitsch agrees.

“It’s good for the sport, good for the state,” he said. “It gives more guys a chance to win at state. There will be upsets.”

With Chaowanapibool gunning for a third straight championship and Lillie still on target to be a possible four-timer, Pitsch is grateful to be in their corner.

“They’ve both been fun to coach,” he said. “They’re respectful, they listen. It’s fantastic. A lot of coaches would die to coach one guy like that. I’ve got two of them.”

THE NEWS TRIBUNE’S 2019 ALL-AREA WRESTLING TEAMS

BOYS

FIRST TEAM

106: Donnie Krissak, Bethel, jr. (35-3)

113: Yusief Lillie, Bonney Lake, soph. (20-0)

120: Brenden Chaowanapibool, Bonney Lake, sr. (36-4)

126: Aizayah Yacapin, Curtis, jr. (20-2)

132: Austin Cleland, Sumner, sr. (25-6)

138: Gabriel Hawthorne, White River, jr. (32-4)

145: Ryan Wheeler, Curtis, sr. (36-3)

152: Adrian St. Germain, Curtis, sr. (24-4)

160: Nathan Moore, White River, sr. (31-2)

170: Josh Walker, Bethel, sr. (34-4)

182: Michael Gasper, Tahoma, jr. (39-2)

195: Derrick Platt, Yelm, sr. (33-0)

220: Chris Sparks, Graham-Kapowsin, sr. (36-2)

285: Lupeti Sarte, Fife, sr. (32-5)

SECOND TEAM

106: Javar Crockett, Washington, jr. (29-8)

113: Jaden Cassel, Auburn Riverside, jr. (25-5)

120: Yusef Nelson, Auburn Riverside, sr. (24-4)

126: Xavier Eaglin, South Kitsap, soph. (40-3)

132: Joshua Camacho, Washington, sr. (15-2)

138: Steele Starren, Tahoma, soph. (37-4)

145: Marcus Peterson, Sumner, sr. (28-5)

152: Russell Hanson, Auburn Mountainview, sr. (32-1)

160: Shaine Arzberger, Rogers, sr. (39-4)

170: Jack Ervien, White River, sr. (38-2)

182: Max Wheeler, White River, sr. (23-2)

195: Isaac Clark, Puyallup, jr. (25-1)

220: Luke Purcella, Curtis, sr. (35-2)

285: Curtis Hill, Graham-Kapowsin, fr. (41-8)

GIRLS

100: Griselda Cuevas, Jefferson, jr. (17-6)

105: Kayla McKinley-Johnson, Federal Way, fr. (29-1)

110: Salyna Shotwell, Rogers, so. (26-0)

115: Phoenix Dubose, Yelm, sr. (26-3)

120: Payton Stroud, White River, sr. (26-0)

125: Claire Dicugno, White River, so. (35-0)

130: Rachel Poussier, White River, sr. (29-5)

135: Ivy Kraght, Kentwood, jr. (35-3)

140: Mandy Fifield, Rogers, sr. (20-2)

145: Alexandria Sanford, Kentwood, jr. (23-4)

155: Katrina Wangen, Curtis, so. (32-1)

170: Tanya Simora, Puyallup, sr. (26-7)

190: Ofa He Lotu Tuifua, Kent-Meridian, so. (27-2)

235: Goddess Ma’alona-Faletogo, Jefferson, jr. (22-2)

Contributing writer Todd Milles contributed to this report.

This story was originally published February 14, 2019 at 10:48 AM with the headline "These two wrestle for Bonney Lake but they’re willing to go anywhere to find competition."