Chris Smith leads seven state placers for Ephrata

TACOMA — It looked as if Ephrata was going to make Mat Classic XVII the year they finally win a state championship.

After leading all 2A schools heading into the final day of the state tournament, the Tigers collapsed, then rebounded to finish second with 84 team points, trailing Lakeside's 99.5 points for the tournament.

"I don't feel like Lakside came and took it, we just gave it to them," said Ephrata head coach Dave Laird. "Our kids wrestled hard, but we just lost so many close ones that we could have won.

"Lakeside had the same thing and their kids found ways to win and ours didn't."

The Tigers had five wrestlers in the championship semifinals and only got one to the championship match, while two finished third and the other two finished sixth.

The hit during the final day pulled the Tigers out of competition for the state title.

"To come this close just stinks and our goal is to win a state championship," Laird said.

Ephrata took nine wrestlers and placed seven in the process. Leading the way was Chris Smith, who battled to the 2A, 119-pound state championship match to face Brandon Montheith of Mount Baker High School.

Smith came into the final match with a 15-0 record, which included only five regular season matches. Injuries kept Smith off the mat most of the season and used the postseason as his preparation for the state tournament.

"It is just hard to be sharp when you have that many matches," Laird said.

Montheith, who was 38-1 on the season, scored a takedown at the end of the first period and Smith worked for an escape in the second, only to give up a takedown to trail 4-1 after four minutes. Montheith held on through the third to take the 119 crown.

Smith said he replayed the match in his mind trying to figure out how he lost and how he could have won the match.

"I should have won the state title," Smith said.

"I know he is awfully disappointed and we are disappointed for him," Laird added. "I honestly believe that if he had been healthy all year, things would have been different."

Dallas Hintz finished second last year at 103 pounds, then moved up to 125 pounds this year. The move became an almost impossible battle for the sophomore wrestler.

After winning his first two matches, Hintz fell 16-1 to Levi Jones of Lakeside, then lost by pin to Aaron Anderson of Deer Park in the consolation semifinals.

Hintz finished the tournament sixth after losing to Randy Bryson of Elma.

"He wrestled hard and he is an outstanding sophomore who wrestled some outstanding seniors," Laird said. "He wrestled hard and I don't have any complaints."