Yelm wins 4A regional, sends 13 wrestlers to state

When the referee slammed his hand down on that mat at Bellarmine Prep High School, Bo Campbell stood up, signaled No. 1 with both index fingers, and yelled, “Boom!”

He’d been waiting all week for this.

“I had this mentality going into the match of, ‘I don’t want to lose,’ ” Campbell said. “What I’ve been saying all week is I just want to get to the finals and beat him — I wasn’t looking at anybody else.”

Campbell, a Yelm senior, lost to Gig Harbor’s Max Batanian in the finals in last week’s subregional tournament at Foss High School.

He made up for it Saturday, pinning Batanian in one minute, 53 seconds for the 170-pound title at the Class 4A Region II wrestling championships.

But he had to battle to get to the final round. Campbell fell into a 13-4 hole to Bothell’s Osvaldo Gonzales in the semifinals before rallying to pin him in the final 30 seconds.

So, once Campbell reached Batanian, he was dialed in.

“In the moment, I locked up the throw, hit it, and stuck it,” Campbell said. “I didn’t want to give him a second chance.”

Campbell has something to celebrate before he treks to the Tacoma Dome next week. A place he’s been twice before as a 170-pounder — he took seventh at last year’s Mat Classic, and sixth as a sophomore.

He was one of only two wrestlers to pin opponents in Saturday’s finals. His teammate, Jeremy Smith — a 195-pound junior transfer from Bethel — was the other.

Smith locked up South Kitsap’s Kenny Close in 3:40. He took the title, and earned his first state berth after being an alternate last year.

“I made it this far,” Smith said. “Might as well go out and try to take it.”

As will the rest of his team. Yelm took the team title, besting second-place South Kitsap by 51 points. The Tornados seemingly edged the Wolves for the subregional title last weekend before a postmeet scoring change gave South Kitsap the crown.

This week, there were no questions as Yelm put up 255.5 points. South Kitsap had 204.5, while Olympia took third with 104.

The Tornados advanced 13 wrestlers to state. Four — Ryan Davis (106), Thomas Munoz (126), Campbell and Smith — won individual titles.

“It’s a really big accomplishment,” Campbell said. “This week, to come out here and dominate as well as we did getting into finals, winning (four) matches, getting 13 kids to state, with an alternate? It’s just like the best feeling ever.”

Olympia and Timberline crowned one winner apiece.

Olympia’s Logan Pine didn’t pin Yelm’s Jacob Nolan like he did last week at subregionals, but the senior still picked up a regional title at 145 pounds by a 18-8 decision. The Bears will send six on to state.

Adam Benson narrowly picked up a 160-pound title for Timberline, edging Yelm’s Derrick Platt by a 10-8 decision. Benson is one of two Timberline wrestlers to move on.

CLASS 3A REGION III

Shelton will send three wrestlers and one alternate to state. Colton Paller was the highest placer for the Highclimbers at North Thurston High School.

Paller took second. He lost a 7-4 decision to Peninsula’s Chance Stolz in the 195-pound final.

Alec Manke (145) and Gable Lacy (182) each took fourth.

Capital’s Angus Beaton also took fourth at 285 pounds, and will advance.

CLASS 2A REGION III

W.F. West cruised to the team title. It put up 233.5 points to Tumwater’s second-place 122.5.

The Bearcats sent seven wrestlers to the finals, and crowned three individual champions in three consecutive matches — Damon Thomas (138), Michael Matagi (145) and Michael Anderson (152).

The Bearcats will send 11 wrestlers and two alternates to state.

Tumwater’s two title winners bookended the meet. Matthew Anfeldt bested W.F. West’s Roehre Cunningham by a 3-2 decision at 106 pounds. And Cy Hicks won by injury default over W.F. West’s Cole Miller at 285 pounds.

Five wrestlers and two alternates will move on for the T-Birds.

Mykka McAllister (120) and Joe Finch (182) each won individual titles for Centralia, while Tristan Dickey (152) took third. They’re the only Tigers advancing to state.

Black Hills’ TJ Borden (195) won by injury default over W.F. West’s Braden Bostwick for an individual title. He’s one of two Wolves moving on — Gage Keesee (160) is the other. Black Hills also will send two alternates.

Jacob Paris is the only state qualifier for Rochester, but picked up second place at 120 pounds after a 9-7 loss to McAllister in the final.

This story was originally published February 13, 2016 at 8:56 PM with the headline "Yelm wins 4A regional, sends 13 wrestlers to state."