Yelm wrestler Smith poised to reach podium at 4A state meet

With a smile and a can of peaches in tow, Jeremy Smith set the bar.

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

Smith, a junior at Yelm High School, won his first 195-pound regional wrestling title at Bellarmine Prep last weekend.

This weekend? He’ll compete at Mat Classic at the Tacoma Dome for the first time.

“He’s got everything,” Yelm assistant coach Tim Beaudin said. “He’s got the quicks. He also has a good shot. He’s tough on top — he’s got everything you need to win it.”

Smith enters the state tournament ranked No. 2 at 195 pounds in Class 4A. Kent Meridian’s Emmanuel Daigbe is No. 1 — and is on the opposite side of the bracket.

“He’s a solid kid, he’s got the right mindset,” Beaudin said of Smith. “We hope he can get to the finals, and if he gets a shot, he’s prepared for it.”

Smith found success this season. He enrolled at Yelm this year after spending his first two years of high school at Bethel.

“I wanted a change, and I knew the program here was really good,” Smith said. “My parents wanted to buy a house, so it kind of all came together this way.”

Smith said the move positioned him in an environment where he could thrive.

“I push myself harder,” he said. “I don’t want to let these guys down. It’s just the environment — I feel so good here. I mold in, I feel like I’m more of a leader here.”

Yelm coach Gaylord Strand said that — despite being a first-year transfer — Smith often fires up his teammates.

“He fit in right away,” Strand said. “His personality is great. Some kids just have that persona about them and they fit in well.”

Smith played football last fall with many of his wrestling teammates — including Bo Campbell (170 pounds) and Tyler Losch (182), with whom he spars.

Yelm is expected to contend for the team title this weekend — it is currently projected as the No. 8 team in the state in 4A. Thirteen Yelm wrestlers advanced to the state tournament.

“We push them to the point where they’re mentally tough,” Beaudin said. “We focus on pinning and finishing and winning that next match.”

Strand said Smith’s surroundings have contributed to the rapid success.

“He’s matured,” Strand said. “He didn’t have a lot of good workout partners at Bethel. If you can surround yourself with good workout partners, you’re going to be pretty good yourself.”

Beaudin, an occasional sparring partner for Smith at practice, is a former state champion for Yelm. He won a 2A title in 1994 at 148 pounds. Beaudin said Smith has the right mentality to compete for a state championship.

“One, you’ve got to believe that you’re at that level, which usually doesn’t happen until you’ve been at state, because you’ve got to get used to that environment,” Beaudin said. “Two, is just having the will to get through it, because you’re going to face adversity.

“It’s not easy — especially 4A. When I wrestled, it was 2A. It’s a whole different monster now, what these kids have to get through just to get to the finals.”

But Smith intends to be there, and molding into Yelm’s winning culture has helped him reach the path.

“It was obviously a good choice, it made me into what I am right now,” Smith said.

This story was originally published February 18, 2016 at 7:56 PM with the headline "Yelm wrestler Smith poised to reach podium at 4A state meet."