Soler joins Mat Classic four-peat fraternity; Bartelson, Zavala win fourth titles, too

Part of the four-peat Mat Classic club waited patiently.

And in the end, Lake Stevens standout Michael Soler did not disappoint.

Soler became the 12th boy to win four WIAA state wrestling championships — and the first in Class 4A — to highlight an eventful close to Mat Classic XXVIII in the Tacoma Dome on Saturday night.

But it wasn’t an easy finale. After jumping out to a big lead over Moses Lake’s Hudson Mauseth, a tiring Soler surviving a few stressful moments in hammering out a 14-6 victory in the 170-pound championship match.

History was made in all corners as Puyallup’s Jordyn Bartelson (pin over Naches Valley’s Kaylee Moore at 120) and Grandview’s Desiree Zavala (pin over Kamiak’s Ally De La Cruz at 145) also became four-time champions, joining Kiona-Benton’s Sheridan McDonald as the only girls to do so.

All nine of The News Tribune’s “Untouchable” wrestlers — Central Valley’s Bryson Beard (4A boys 126), Clarkston’s Dylan Beeler (2A boys 195), Kent-Meridian’s Emmanuel Daigbe (4A boys 195), Deer Park’s Trevor Eicher (1A boys 220), East Valley of Spokane’s Trey Meyer (2A boys 170), Orting’s Hunter Mullins (2A boys 285), Lakeside of Nine Mile Falls’ Dalton Young (2A boys 132), and Soler and Bartelson — won Mat Classic titles Saturday.

Twenty-five locals were crowned state winners, too. Bartelson, Daigbe and Mullins were three of the nine South Sound standouts to take home multiple titles, joining Kentridge’s Derek Freitag (4A 113), Bonney Lake’s Brandon Kaylor (3A 103), Orting’s Alex Cruz (113) and Ben Gore (145), Vashon’s Chase Wickman (1A 126) and Wilson’s Flor Parker-Borrero (girls 140).

Capped by Soler’s triumph, Lake Stevens finished off a near-perfect showing by clinching its 11th team title. The Vikings pulled away from defending 4A champion Moses Lake, 121-03.

“We had a great weekend,” Vikings coach Brent Barnes said.

Arlington (148 points) won its first state title. Toppenish (154 in 2A), Deer Park (156 in 1A), Warden (176 in 2B/1B) and Grandview girls (92) were also victorious.

Soler certainly saw the irony in his title-match showdown with Mauseth. The Moses Lake senior’s win in the 160 finals clinched the Chiefs the 4A title over Lake Stevens a year ago.

The Vikings’ star immediately went to “Soler Power,” and broke out to a 10-2 lead in the first period.

But near the end of the second round, Soler got noticeably tired.

Moses Lake coaches sensed it, too — because they implored Mauseth to keep attacking.

“I was seeing a little dizziness, honestly,” Soler said. “But I felt good — I controlled the match.”

It wasn’t until Soler got a final takedown in the middle of the third period that the Lake Stevens corner could breathe easy.

As the buzzer sounded, past Mat Classic four-timers — Burke Barnes of Lake Stevens, Martin Mitchell of Tonasket and Brandon Sitch of Kelso — surrounded their newly minted club member to welcome him in.

“It is awesome,” Soler said. “I love Burke. He has helped me so much.”

Bartelson held a 2-0 lead in her finals matchup with Moore before taking out any suspense with a pin in 3:51.

“My freshman year was definitely my favorite,” Bartelson said. “Ever since then, I’ve just been taking it one season and one match at a time. Trying to do this — it all added up (to four state titles).”

Zavala was just as dominant for her four years. She pinned De La Cruz in 5:01 to improve to 160-1 for her career.

Then there is the heartwarming story of Arlington and its 74-year-old coach, Rick Iverson.

Iverson, a former coach at Marysville-Pilchuck, Mount Vernon and Western Washington University, had retired nearly a decade ago without a championship of any kind.

He came to Arlington in 2011 to start a girls program, only to take over the boys team.

The Eagles led contenders Mount Spokane and Bonney Lake from the first sessions. Even though they only crowned one champion — Ruben Crew at 170 — their depth prevailed.

“This was fantastic,” Iverson said. “I didn’t do a whole lot. If I did anything, I held (the team) together.”

Like Arlington, Toppenish wrapped up the 2A title before the start of finals Saturday.

It was a good thing, because Orting went 4 for 4 in the final round — highlighted by Mullins’ defense at 285.

And Mullins’ match started in a thunderous manner. In the first 10 seconds, he picked up 6-foot-7 W.F. West heavyweight Hunter Arredondo and slammed him to the mat.

“Two-point takedown,” Mullins said with a grin.

A minute later, he pinned Arredondo in 1:15, then grabbed and hoisted Soler, who was standing nearby, over his shoulders in celebration.

Mullins said afterward he had accepted an invitation to train at the U.S. Olympics Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, before heading to the University of Wyoming in a few months.

This story was originally published February 20, 2016 at 10:04 PM with the headline "Soler joins Mat Classic four-peat fraternity; Bartelson, Zavala win fourth titles, too."