Sibling pairs highlight both Yelm boys and girls teams bound for state wrestling

Wrestling is a family affair at Yelm High School, with brother taking after brother, sister following sister.

This weekend, two Platt brothers will try to join older sibling, Derrick, who won two state titles before playing football at Whitworth University, by reaching the top step of the podium at Mat Classic XXXIII at the Tacoma Dome. A fourth brother, Austin, also wrestled for Yelm and later played football at Pacific Lutheran.

Logan Platt, undefeated and top-ranked in Class 3A at 195 pounds, and Brayden Platt, ranked third at 285, lead fifth-ranked Yelm.

They won’t be alone — a total of 12 Tornados qualified. They won’t even be the only pair of brothers representing Yelm — sixth-ranked Lake Harris is in the field at 132 and his brother Caleb is ranked 10th at 138.

In the girls division, junior Camryn Erickson ranks fourth at 155 and freshman Madisyn Erickson second at 115. Like the Platts, they follow a sister, Bailey, who reached state.

Brayden Platt, a heavily recruited football prospect as a sophomore, watched three older brothers compete and fell right into the family tradition.

“My whole childhood I grew up with wrestling. It was cool seeing Derrick get better and better, wanting to be like him, wanting to beat Logan,” he said. “Now, it’s motivating to see him go out and do his thing.”

Logan Platt reached the state final as a sophomore in 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic began wreaking havoc. He lost, 12-5, to Spanaway Lake’s Blade Gray, but with added experience has come more confidence.

“I just need to focus, match by match,” he said.

Brayden wrestles at 285, but barely weighs 230. Most of his opponents are bigger.

“They’re slower, so I can get around them,” he said.

“He’s quick and he’s strong,” Yelm coach Gaylord Strand said. “He hasn’t been able to get much bigger because of the workouts we do.”

Among Yelm’s other state participants, 120-pounder Jeffrey Myers is undefeated at 24-0 and ranked second behind University’s Tyler Walker. Ray Wright at 195 is unbeaten on the mat, but bowed out of finals match-ups with Logan Platt at subregionals and regionals to avoid battling a teammate.

As for the Ericksons, following Bailey came naturally.

“We were in the mat room with her a lot and it just went from there,” Camryn said.

Their bond extends to strong vocal support during meets.

“You’ll hear us cheering loud for each other, giving each other tips, yelling over the coaches,” Madisyn said. “We only hear each other.”

That might be a problem for some coaches, but Yelm’s Amy Earley sees Madisyn’s love for the sport.

“She’s a really student of it. She’s always watching matches, picking up new things she wants to try,” Earley said. “Offensively, she’s so intense, it’s hard to stop her.”

Camryn reached state as a freshman, but didn’t medal. She learned not to let the scope of Mat Classic and the swarm of humanity at the Tacoma Dome distract her.

“I need to keep myself calm, there’s a lot more going on at state,” she said. “Your mentality can get in the way, so I’m going to definitely try to control that.”

Madisyn didn’t get to watch her sister’s state debut in 2020 because she was playing softball.

“It sounds like it is pretty stressful, but if I just stay to myself and focus on what I need to do, I’ll be fine,” she said.

Earley sees Camryn, who along with her sister won regionals, peaking at the right time.

“Over the last month, we’ve really seen Camryn wrestle the way we know she can,” she said. “She’s just been dominant.”

Though the Yelm girls are also ranked fifth as a team, they won’t have the depth to contend for the team title at state. But the future is bright as none of their six state-bound wrestlers is a senior.

Meanwhile, here is a complete list of the 75 Olympia-area wrestlers set to compete at Mat Classic XXXIII:

4A

182 — Alex Grant, Olympia.

3A

106 — Tate Oberhansky, Y; Kadyn Hagerty, Capital. 113 — Nathaniel Sanchez, NT. 120 — Jeffrey Myers, Y; Tristan Valendo, NT. 126 — Jordan Katona, Y. 132 — Brandon Tenorio, RR; Lake Harris, Y. 138 — Caleb Harris, Y; Tuff Ford, Y. 145 — Charles Parker, NT; Daniel Snyder, Y. 152 — Owen Watkins, Cap. 160 — Caleb Mitchell, Y; Alijah Wiatt, Cap. 170 — William Carreto, Y; Ezekiel McEwen, Cap. 182 — Solid Heaston, Cap.; Bruce Price, NT. 195 — Ray Wright, Y; Logan Platt, Y. 220 — Marcellus Belton, NT. 285 — Brayden Platt, Y; Aidan Anderson, NT, Russell Scholl, NT.

2A

106 — Carlos Juarez-Estrada, Tumwater; Brody Edwards, BH. 113 — Damian Hernandez, WFW; Mikey Johnston, BH. 120 — Jesus Campos, Cen; Kayden Ryan, WFW. 132 — Brady Davis, WFW; Khristian Brandt, Rochester. 138 — Cristo Parriott, WFW. 145 — Blake Ely, WFW; Ty Foister, WFW. 152 — Eathan Labouff, BH. 160 — Henry Jordan, WFW. Hayden Sciera, WFW. 170 — Waylen Land, WFW. 182 — Mario Boxley, S. 220 — Sabastian Bustos, Cen. 285 — Aiden Aguero, Tum.; Daniel Matagi, WFW.

1A

195 — Aiden McCain, Elma. 220 — Austin Salazar, E. 285 — Donovan Bishop, E.

2B/1B

120 — Connor Mounts, Rain. 160 — Ryan Dodge, Rain. 285 — Ryder Cruse, Rain.

GIRLS

100 — Isabella Montoya, Timberline. 105 — Jade Hudson, Centralia; Isabella Moore, River Ridge; Sloane Kruger, Black Hills. 110 — Selena Colo, North Thurston. 115 — Madisyn Erickson, Yelm; Malaya Knighton, NT. 120 — Marie Marbet, Shelton; Morgan Miner, Tenino; Elibeth Cervantes, S. 125 — Destinee Robertson, Tline. 130 — Charlize Pasco, NT; Justise Hodge, BH. 135 — Aimailee Niz, Y; Annika Lee, NT; Analeese McAllister, Cen. 140 — Trinitee Robertson, Tline; Samantha Blank, Y; Lia Homby, W.F. West. 145 — Marie Marbet, Shelton. 155 — Camryn Erickson, Y; Elaina Koenig, WFW. 170 — Kylie Minker, Y; Lily Lawson, Y. 190 — Katherin Kinahan, Rainier; Trinity Tafoya, Ten.