FORKS — In 2016, Forks’ Josue Lucas finished eighth in the 106-pound Class 1A bracket at Mat Classic, the state wrestling meet.

That’s pretty good, especially for a freshman. Many high school wrestlers never even get the opportunity to go to Mat Classic, much less place, much less as a freshman.

But it left a bad taste in his mouth. Lucas didn’t take losing well.

A total change in his outlook resulted in a spectacular 2017 season for Lucas. He not only returned to the Mat Classic, he won his 106-pound weight class as a sophomore, only the second wrestler in the history of Forks High School to win a state title as an underclassman.

While a number of other North Olympic Peninsula wrestlers had great seasons and a few had deep runs at the Mat Classic, Lucas’ championship season stood head and shoulders above everyone else’s. For that spectacular year, he is the All-Peninsula Most Valuable wrestler.

The secret to Lucas’ success this year?

“It was more mental than anything else,” said Lucas’ coach Bob Wheeler. “He was tougher mentally.”

Lucas also runs cross country and distance in track and field, something he credits for helping to give him stamina during his matches. That stamina turned out to be important at the Mat Classic, where Lucas had to go the distance in three out of his four wins.

“He might be one the best athletes I’ve ever had,” said Wheeler.

“He has that ability to keep pushing for a whole six minutes. He doesn’t slow down.”

Lucas said that after last year, he would have trouble getting over a loss. The big change in his mindset this year was that if he lost, he simply had to forget about it and move on.

That approach led to a a spectacular 35-4 record with 22 pins, 112 takedowns, 48 near-falls and 21 reversals. He not only won the state title, he won the regional title, the Evergreen 1A Sub-regionals and the Sgt. Justin Norton Memorial Wrestling Tournament in Rainier.

Lucas said he’s serious about a goal to win three state championships and he knows it won’t be easy and it will take a year-round effort (“I’m lifting a lot,” Lucas said). He also would love to see Forks win a state team championship. The Spartans finished a very solid sixth at state this year.

“I think we could do it our senior year,” he said.

That sixth-place Forks squad is actually surprisingly young. The Spartans had seven wrestlers place at state and only three of them were seniors. The other placers included three sophomores and one junior. A couple of other sophomores who weren’t able to place at state this year also had promising seasons.

Lucas also knows that now that he has won a state championship as a sophomore, expectations will be really high for him for the rest of his school career.

“State is really nerve-wracking. Everyone will expect you to do it,” he said.

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Sports Editor Pierre LaBossiere can be contacted at 360-417-3525 or plabossiere@peninsuladailynews.com.

Lonnie Archibald/for Peninsula Daily News Forks’ Josue Lucas at the Tacoma Dome after he won the state 1A championship in the 106-pound weight class.