TACOMA — Port Townsend’s Dylan Tracer and Chimacum’s Kyle Caldwell each advanced to championship finals matches Saturday at Mat Classic XXXII, the state wrestling tournament.
After a high-scoring first period, Tracer was up 6-5 in his Class 1A 182-pound semifinal against Connell’s Jesus Ramos when he earned a pin at 2:53.
Tracer, who got a late start on the wrestling season after suffering a broken hand in Port Townsend’s final football game, broke his nose in an 11-6 quarterfinal win against Okanagan’s Sterling Ritch and had to don a protective black facemask for the duration of the tournament.
Forks’ Hayden Queen earned two pins to advance to the Class 1A 170-pound semifinal at Mat Classic XXXII, the state wrestling tournament. Queen fell 5-4 to Vashon’s Ryan Nelson in their semifinal match. (Mark Krulish/Kitsap News Group)
He faced Riverside’s Sammy DesRoches (31-4) for the title after press deadline Saturday.
A Tracer victory in the finals would give Port Townsend its second-ever individual state champion.
Heavyweight Joe Harper won the school’s lone state title in 1982.
Caldwell, who competes for Port Townsend as part of the school’s cooperative program during the regular season but earns points for Chimacum in the postseason, controlled his 195-pound semifinal against Nooksack Valley’s Cameron Bauman, winning a 16-8 major decision.
Wearing a Port Townsend red and black singlet, Caldwell nearly pinned Bauman at the end of the first and second periods, but Bauman was saved by the bell marking the end of the period in both instances.
Caldwell earned 10 points out of each takedown and near fall. He gave a couple of points back in the final period on stalling penalties, but picked up a late takedown to earn the major decision.
Assured of Chimacum’s highest-ever individual finish all time at Mat Classic, Caldwell faced Cascade Christian’s Toretto Metzger-Magalei for the title after press deadline Saturday.
Five Forks wrestlers earned medals Saturday.
Hayden Baker was third at 170 pounds, Jake Weakley was fourth at 132, while Ariel Morales (132), Colton Duncan (138) and Hayden Queen (170) all placed fifth.
Morales and Queen and Port Angeles’ Adam Borde (Class 2A 132) advanced to Saturday semifinal contests but all three fell into the consolation bracket with losses.
Morales lost in the semifinals in an 11-0 major decision to Deer Park’s Levi Miller.
Morales advanced by earning a 14-2 major decision win over Nooksack Valley’s Gage Morgan in the first round and a 4-2 quarterfinal win over Zillah’s Dawson Husted.
Morales edged Husted for fifth place 5-4 Saturday.
His teammate Weakley bumped Morales into that fifth-sixth place match with an 8-2 consolation semifinal decision.
Weakley wrestled Sultan’s Aidan Fleming for third place, falling 2-0 to finish fourth.
A sophomore, Weakley won an 18-5 major decision over Vashon’s Alec Macomber-Straig, lost a 4-3 decision to finalist Dominic Martinez of Royal. He then staved off elimination with a 4-2 decision over Aaron Guerrero of Cashmere and a 12-2 major decision win over Warden’s Brenton Cole before beating Morales to make the third-place match.
Queen lost a hard-fought 5-4 semifinal decision to Ryan Nelson of Vashon and forfeited his consolation semifinal to Spartans’ teammate Hayden Baker.
Queen outpointed Connell’s Jakoby Baker 9-4 for fifth place.
Its the second state medal for Queen, who finished seventh as a freshman at 160 last season.
Port Angeles’ Borde ended up fifth after pinning Sehome’s Roman Schroyer at 2:39.
It’s his second state medal after finishing eighth as a sophomore last season.
Borde bested Burlington-Edison freshman Gus Menne in a 9-0 major decision win to open the tournament and beat Jesse Salinas of Selah 7-2 in the quarterfinals.
Toppenish’s back-to-back state champion Haiden Drury picked up a 16-1 technical fall win over Borde in the semis and Borde lost another match by a 15-0 technical fall to Orting’s Owen Cline.
Sequim’s lone state wrestler, 182-pounder Isaiah Cowan went 1-2.
The first-year wrestler was pinned in his opener by West Valley of Spokane’s Gaje Caro but bounced back for an 8-6 decision over Sedro-Woolley’s Sebastian Hanna before being ousted by pin by Ellensburg’s Henry Rinehart.
