In a clash of two of the most storied wrestling programs in Washington state, it seemed only fitting that Thursday’s dual between No. 3 Lake Stevens and No. 10 Moses Lake went down to the last man standing.

The Chiefs took a 33-30 lead into the final match of the night, having led 24-8 at one point. Moses Lake senior Christien Knopp worked an efficient match with two solid takedowns to beat Talon Tate 4-2 to secure the Chiefs’ 36-30 victory in front of a full-house crowd.

“Our goal is to come out here and perform. I wouldn’t have it any other way than to have the match come down to me,” Knopp said. “I chose down going into the third period (leading 4-2). We’ve never lost to these guys since I’ve been wrestling and I just went out there to wrestle to win.”

Knopp finally put the first points of the final match on the board with a takedown 30 seconds into the second period. He added another with 28 seconds remaining in the period. He gave up a reversal, but the Chiefs 145-pounder closed hard.

“That’s a story he can tell his grandkids 20 years from now. He went out there and took two quality shots,” Moses Lake coach Jaime Garza said. “Those were two quality shots. He shot the single and got the guy’s leg. He’s been working on that for quite some time and it’s nice to see his hard work pay off.”

Moses Lake jumped out to a 24-8 lead with pins by Cruz Vasquez (152), Hunter Cruz (170) and Daiman Vasquez (195). But Lake Stevens stormed back with two wins in the bottom of their lineup to close to 24-11 with a strong top half of the lineup coming.

Moses Lake freshman Jonathan Tanguma overcame a 4-0 deficit in one of the most pivotal matches of the night. Tanguma went down 6-2 in the second period, before fighting his way back with a reversal 30 seconds into the final period and a take down to tie the match in regulation. The Chiefs 106-pounder got the big takedown seconds into the overtime period for a huge win.

“I just want to show that I can be there and compete with the best,” Tanguma said. “The score started getting tighter, so I knew I wanted to do this for the team. It’s going to be tough, he was a senior and ranked No. 1. But it was pivotal for the lightweights to step up tonight.”

Hunter White pinned Ethan West at 5:33 of the 120-pound match and Moses Lake showed a little grit down the stretch.

“I’d rather have it be a close match than a blowout,” Hunter Cruz said. “There’s a lot of history between these two programs and winning tonight means a lot. That 106 match was huge and those guys went out and did their job.

“As for my match, that kid placed at state last year, so it was a good match and good one to beat. I just want go out and put up a lot of points. Tonight, I got the pin and that’s all that matters.

Moses Lake is headed to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho on Friday to wrestle in the Tri-State Tournament, which is the longest-running high school wrestling tournament in the Pacific Northwest.