The News Tribune’s 2019 Untouchables — the state’s most unbeatable high school wrestlers

Some wrestlers are good, others are great. Then there are the “Untouchables.”

These are the most unbeatable high school wrestlers from around the state, which The News Tribune has published annually before the state wrestling championships for more than 30 years running.

This year’s class includes eight wrestlers. One is hoping to join the state’s fraternity of four-time champions (Colville’s Trent Baun) and three more are going for their third titles (Toppenish’s Andres Aguilera, Granger’s Frankie Almaguer and Bonney Lake’s Brenden Chaawanapibool).

THE NEWS TRIBUNE’S 2018-19 UNTOUCHABLES

ANDRES AGUILERA (170)

Toppenish (1A), senior, 37-1

Even though he might not have the national-level upside of his higher-profile teammate, Aguilera still has a chance to make history Saturday. If he wins, he will become the Wildcats’ first three-time champion. “He is a great kid — a 4.0 student and at the top of his class,” Toppenish coach Johnny Cerna said. Aguilera is also a standout baseball player, and devotes equal time to that sport. He is the school record-holder in wins with 138 — and counting.

FRANKIE ALMAGUER (152)

Granger (1A), senior, 35-1

If he hadn’t suffered a serious shoulder injury at a New York freestyle tournament that wiped out his junior year, this small-school standout would likely be gunning to join the elite four-peat fraternity Saturday after winning a 1A title at 138 in 2016, and another one at 145 in 2017. He would have joined his cousin in that group — Ziillah’s Chris Castillo (2008-11). “He has actually come to grips with it,” Granger coach Richard Sanchez said. Everybody around Almaguer raves about his work ethic. Old Dominion, Iowa State and Eastern Oregon have been tracking him. Holds a 120-10 career mark.

TRENT BAUN (132)

Colville (1A), senior, 10-1

If there was ever a grandmaster of this crazy Mat Classic puzzle, it is this standout for the Indians, who is vying to become the 16th boy (and 20th overall) four-time state champion in Washington. He won the 113 title in 2016; 120 title in 2017; and 126 title last season. “He is so cognitively aware of everything,” Colville coach Randy Cloke said. “He can see things play out in his head, like a mental chess game.” Baun missed much of the season with a back injury. He signed with University of Providence (Montana) over Wyoming and the Naval Academy to wrestle with his brother, T.J. He has a 121-12 career record.

BRENDEN CHAOWANAPIBOOL (120)

Bonney Lake (3A), senior, 36-4

What he lacks in size, Chaowanapibool more than makes up for with grappling creativity. “He’s not one-dimensional,” Bonney Lake coach Dan Pitsch said. “He can attack you from multiple positions.” After capturing 3A titles at 106 in 2017, and at 113 last season, Chaowanapibool is trying to become his school’s second three-time state champion. But the seven-time Fargo All-American, who won a 106 national title last summer in Greco-Roman, wants to continue wrestling well past college. That is what he had in mind signing with Air Force, which isn’t far from the Olympic Training Center in Colorado.

HAIDEN DRURY (126)

Toppenish (2A), junior, 33-2

Part of arguably the deepest varsity lineup in the state, Drury is the brightest star. Months after winning his first state title at 120, Drury accomplished something nobody has ever done in Toppenish — win a national championship. He dominated the 120 bracket at the Cadet Greco-Roman tournament in Fargo, N.D., going 6-0 with four technical falls. “It didn’t really surprise me,” Toppenish coach Johnny Cerna said. “He is very focused. He is goal-oriented. And he is competitive.” Holds a 118-11 career mark.

BLAKE HANEY (138)

Mount Spokane (3A), senior, 21-0

This Spokane standout has never taken the easy way out. In his first two seasons, he lost in the 3A finals to former “Untouchable” Brandon Kaylor of Bonney Lake, who went on to win four state titles. “I’d like to think he’s gotten better because of it,” Mount Spokane coach Travis Hughes said. Indeed, he has, winning the state 126 crown last season. And nobody will question his toughness. In December, Haney won his first Tri-State title, beating Mead’s Chase Tebbets in the finals — all with a high-ankle sprain that cost him weeks afterward. Haney was also an all-Greater Spokane League defensive back in football.

DERRICK PLATT (195)

Yelm (3A), senior, 33-0

Sometimes you don’t have to train year-round to be elite in wrestling. Platt is — despite also being an all-state linebacker in football, and a top hurdler in track and field. “He’s got some God-given gifts,” Yelm coach Gaylord Strand said. And he’s gone more than a calendar year without losing, including winning last year’s 3A title at 182. This season, he keeps racking up tournament titles (nine) and pins (25 pins in 33 matches). A true team leader with a 3.9 grade point average, Platt is planning on playing football in college.

AIZAYAH “MAKA” YACAPIN (126)

Curtis (4A), junior, 20-2

With an extensive background in judo, this Hawaii native is poetry in motion on the mat. He is pretty impressive in wrestling, too, as the state’s reigning 113 champion in 4A. “He has got everything,” Curtis coach Shawn Gaspaire said. “He is coachable. He loves the sport. He is humble. And he is driven to succeed.” And don’t let his baby face fool you — he is a “whole other level of toughness,” his coach said. Yacapin has already given an oral commitment to Stanford, where he wants to study medicine. Both of his losses are by injury default, including one to fellow “Untouchable” Haiden Drury in the Gut Check finals.

This story was originally published February 15, 2019 at 8:25 AM.