‘He knows he’s going to win’: Sumner’s Miller aims for undefeated career at Mat Classic
Cody Miller’s unwavering confidence and indestructible resume instills fear in opposing wrestlers – even the region’s best, where the 157-pound Sumner senior recently stormed to a regional title and secured his spot for the upcoming Mat Classic XXXV in Tacoma.
Some of Miller’s opponents stall, in attempts to avoid the inevitable. Others throw a Hail Mary move, left vulnerable for an impending attack.
And Miller, each and every time, senses blood in the water. Throughout his three-year high school career, 139 wrestlers have attempted what feels like the impossible: to defeat one of the South Sound’s untouchable wrestlers.
All 139 have failed.
“I do sense that. I have noticed,” Miller said. “Especially this year, with my name being known pretty well. A lot of really good wrestlers have been wrestling me to lose by less, rather than to win. When they’re wrestling me, they don’t wrestle their normal game.
“I definitely see that right away, and I try to make what little fear they have explode and become a reality.”
This weekend, Miller controls his destiny. He could join an elite club of wrestlers who never lost a high school match. His Sumner career ends Saturday at the Tacoma Dome’s Mat Classic XXXV, where Miller could stand atop the podium with his third individual title in as many years.
“I always go into my matches visualizing in my mind only success,” Miller said. “I only see myself winning situations, winning moves. I always see my hand being raised at the end of the match, no matter what.”
The pandemic erased his freshman season – and his chance at an elusive four-title career – but Miller raced to an undefeated season and 4A 152 title underneath the Tacoma Dome as a sophomore.
He earned the second of back-to-back titles in 2023, this time in the 4A 145-pound class. And both championship wins were happily convincing, even by Miller’s lofty standards.
Three state titles would be sweet, he said. Finishing an illustrious three-year wrestling career undefeated would be sweeter.
“Being undefeated… I know it’s pretty rare,” Miller said. “I’ve definitely been able to overcome pressure, and it has become my biggest tool. In all my big matches this year, I’ve noticed that I’ve more than risen to the occasion in my own eyes, because the pressure is so high and I know I need to succeed.”
Miller joined the Sumner and Bonney Lake Junior Panthers Wrestling Club by age five, a fitting choice for the admittedly rambunctious kindergartner he once was.
Winning came early for Miller. But his confidence blossomed in front of Sumner wrestling coach Matt Harshman’s eyes.
“There’s never a doubt that (Cody’s) going to win, in his mind,” Harshman said. “He sets the tone. … It’s a different plan for different wrestlers. Sometimes, he wants to be aggressive. Sometimes, he wants to set guys up. He’s always strategic. I call him a very cerebral type of wrestler. He has that plan, and he knows what will work, and he executes his plan very well.”
Sumner teammates joined Miller atop respective podiums at last weekend’s regional qualifiers at Emerald Ridge High School. Sumner’s Elias McDonald outlasted Emerald Ridge’s Nicholas Warren by decision (5-1) in the 132-pound class, and Sumner junior Matt King won the 175-pound class over Cole Torres (Bethel) via third-minute fall.
McDonald, a senior and two-time state champion, could join Miller with a third title this weekend.
“I have an opportunity to end as strong of a career as I could have imagined, and this is the final step to it,” Miller said.
SOUTH SOUND TEAMS, WRESTLERS TO WATCH
Orting sits on the precipice of history: the Cardinals could hoist a third-straight 2A team title this weekend at Mat Classic XXXV.
The Cardinals brought home six individual title winners from the Tacoma Dome both in 2022 and 2023, plus the team trophies in tow. Now, four Orting wrestlers can secure individual three-peats: juniors A.J. Salguero (126-pound class) and Quentin Harding (138), plus seniors Bryan Dickerson (132) and Apollo Cruz (150).
“I don’t think they’re focused on (winning three straight),” Orting head coach Jody Coleman said. “The vibe is fun this year, where… I think they just think of it as another weekend.
“It’s going to be sad when it’s over.”
Salguero was a TNT Untouchables pick in 2023 and remains undefeated this season (17-0) despite missing the month of December with a bone bruise. Harding won the Tri-State 2023 meet in Boise, ID, and was the runner-up at Mid-America Nationals in Oklahoma last December.
“It’s really a special room,” Coleman said. “I think, sometimes as coaches, we take it for granted and lose a little bit of perspective of how lucky we are to have those kids in the room. And how lucky they are to have each other, to push each other.”
The Lincoln Abes swept last weekend’s WIAA 3A Regional tournament, grabbing boys and girls team titles at Todd Beamer High School in Federal Way.
Five Abes boys grabbed individual regional titles and are aiming for the top of the podium this weekend at the Tacoma Dome: Andrew Flores (120-pound class), William Ross (126), Tavarre Lee (132), Dre Tarrant Sio-Fetaui (215), and Bradley Amsden (285).
Lee and his sister, Zeta, both earned first-round byes at Mat Classic XXXV this weekend and could form a brother-sister duo atop their respective podiums.
In 4A, the Tahoma boys won the Region 1 title last weekend and will be a contender in the 4A bracket.
This story was originally published February 16, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
