North Mason wrestler Mathews wears uncle's 35-year-old singlet, wins region title

North Mason senior wrestler Jake Mathews figures if he wants to win a title at Mat Classic next weekend at the Tacoma Dome, he might as well dress like his uncle Jerry Riggs, a 1988 state champion with the Bulldogs.

Mathews donned his uncle's high school singlet while winning the 152-pound weight class at Saturday's Class 2A Region 2 tournament in Belfair. He'll hopefully have an opportunity to wear it at state, where Jerry Riggs won the 178-pound bracket in the 1B/A tournament 35 years ago.

"It's kind of old school," Mathews said of his uncle's blue and white singlet with red trim. "Surprisingly it fits."

Mathews topped Bremerton's Brennen Galloway for the third time this season in the finals at 152. Mathews won by major decision 14-4 to improve his record to 30-1 on the season, yet it wasn't a straight-forward victory. Galloway had Mathews locked up in a cradle late in the first period, but an out-of-bounds call gave Mathews a reprieve.

"I was on my back pretty good," Mathews said, "I'm not going to lie."

Mathews also had issues with a bloody nose throughout the match. After the fourth stoppage due to blood time, North Mason head coach Shawn Varick finally resorted to wrapping the middle of Mathews' face with a bandage so he could finish the match.

"It's hard to breathe," Mathews said. "It makes you dizzy."

After last year's 0-2 performance at state, Mathews said he'll be aiming to match his uncle by reaching the top of the podium at his final Mat Classic.

"You've got to go out with a bang," he said.

Three other West Sound wrestlers claimed regional titles at Saturday's tournament at North Mason. Bremerton senior Thor Michaelson (40-1) won by forfeit over Orting's Levi DiCugno at 170 pounds, while junior Lars Michaleson (41-2) pinned Orting's Dalton Reed in the 182-pound final, a match featuring two state champions from 2022.

For Lars Michaelson, the victory felt satisfying considering he took down Reed five times in the first two rounds before scoring a pin at 4:38. There were some nerves, but mostly excitement at the opportunity to tangle with Reed in a match that could be a preview of next week's 182-pound 2A final.

"It's an opportunity to wrestle someone else that's a good wrestler and really get a feel for him before the state championships," Michaelson said.

North Kitsap senior Sofian Hammou (28-0) rounded out the title-winners at 220 pounds. He scored a 14-4 major decision against White River's Riley Simmons. Runners-up included North Mason's Pedro Salvador at 145, North Kitsap's Jake Poggie at 160 and Zakaria Hammou at 195, and Kingston's Kingston's Gavin Garner at heavyweight.

The top-four wrestlers in each weight class from Saturday's competition qualified for state. They include: 113: Olympic's Xion Horne (3rd); 126: North Kitsap's Wyatt Trogdon (4th); 132: North Kitsap's Wyatt Sloman (4th); 138: North Kitsap's Jaxon Johnson (3rd); 160: Olympic's Miles Brown (4th); 170: North Kitsap's Morgan Scott Paul (3rd); 182: North Kitsap's Ben Gomez (3rd); 285: Olympic's Kevin Hudson (3rd).

Orting dominated the team standings, finishing with 367 points after crowning eight individual champions. North Kitsap placed second with 145 points. North Mason, Olympic and Bremerton finished sixth, seventh and eighth.

SK, Klahoywa boys combine for five individual titles

South Kitsap's boys placed second at the 4A Region 3 tournament at Battle Ground High School, scoring 152.5 points to finish behind fellow South Puget Sound League foe Sumner (181).

Three Wolves grabbed individual titles: freshman Brennen Williams at 113 pounds, senior Mitchell Neiner at 138 pounds and senior Phillip Chobot at 182 pounds. Other state qualifiers for South Kitsap were Logan Allinson (3rd, 126), Stone Hartford (2nd, 132), Braden Shook (4th, 138), Chase Eaglin (4th, 145) and Gabriel Fragoso (3rd, 170).

Klahowya's boys took third at the 1A Region 1 tournament at Mount Baker High School and crowned a pair of individual champions: freshman Deacon Wintch at 120 pounds and senior Logan Wallis at 160 pounds. Five other Eagles qualified for state: Carson Wintch (3rd, 113), Reece Decourval (2nd, 132), Kano Clare (2nd, 138), Logan Weaver (3rd, 152) and Maryon Stewart (3rd, 220).

Central Kitsap's boys finished eighth at the 3A Region 1 tournament at North Thurston High School. Four Cougars qualified for state: Quinn Lawrence (3rd, 132), Carter Chadwick (5th, 132), Chris Cartagena (4th, 152) and Cole Erickson (170). Bainbridge's boys placed 18th at the 3A Region 3 tournament at Edmonds-Woodway High School. State qualifiers for the Spartans were Wyatt Chabot (5th, 152), Garrett Goade (4th, 170) and Wyatt Goade (4th, 220).

Girl champs: Templeton, Morrison, Kaiser, Stoner

At the girls 1B/2B/1A/2A Region I tournament at Sedro-Woolley High School, Olympic placed highest among West Sound teams, finishing tied for 10th. Trojans senior Ali Templeton won the 120-pound class.

Other wrestlers who finished in the top-three to qualify for state were Klahowya's Mya Young (3rd, 115), Olympic's Gloria Hudson (3rd, 135), North Kitsap's Emily Gomez (3rd, 140), North Mason's Sadie Evans (3rd, 155) and Bremerton's Yzanah Smith (3rd, 190).

Bainbridge senior Alexandra Morrison took first at 130 pounds at the girls 3A/4A Region 2 girls tournament at Todd Beamer High School.

At the girls 3A/4A Region 3 girls tournament at Kelso High School, South Kitsap placed seventh and Central Kitsap placed ninth. Each team crowned one champion: senior Monica Kaiser took first for the Wolves at 145 pounds, while junior Daytona Stoner grabbed first for the Cougars at 110 pounds.

Finishing in the top five to qualify for state for Central Kitsap were Angel Cartagena (4th, 105) and Deijah Diego (4th, 120). Qualifying for South Kitsap were Tayla Abundis (4th, 110), Larissa Barfknecht (4th, 115) and Rosemary Brooks (2nd, 120).