QUINCY — The Quincy wrestling contingent is small in force, but strong in quality and the Jacks are hoping to showcase the progress they’ve made this season at Mat Classic XXX at the Tacoma Dome.

Senior Victor Tafoya will throw his hat into the mix at 170 pounds on Friday in the Dome after finishing third in the 2A Region 4 tournament.

“We wrestle in such a tough region it says a lot for anybody coming out of Region 4,” Jacks coach Greg Martinez said. “Victor set a goal at the beginning of the year that he would finish no less than third in any tournament he wrestles in this season. So far he’s done that and we have one more tournament to go.”

Junior Cynthia Diaz will return to the Dome for another run at the podium. She went last year as an alternate. This season she returns as the No. 4 seed at 110. The Lady Jacks will also be represented by freshman Jaselyn Jones, who wrestled for a 135-pound championship at the regional level. She goes into the Mat Classic as the second seed out of Region 4.

“The thing I’ve noticed with both wrestlers is that they are competing with confidence,” Jacks assistant and girls coach Mark Kondo said. “We want to continue to grow and be moving upwards at the state level.”

Quincy boy

The one thing that has prepared Tafoya for the next level is wrestling in a tournament where he has to go against guys like Kiran Srikanth of Pullman and Carson Northwind of Toppenish just to get out of Region 4.

The Central Washington Athletic Conference has its share of hard-nosed wrestlers at 170. In fact, he and Northwind will be the only CWAC wrestlers at 170 this year at the Dome.

“If you would have told me his freshman year he’d be a leader in the room and a state participant, I would have called you a liar. But the changes he’s made over the past four years and the work he’s put in has really proven to me he’s ready,” Martinez said. “He just wants it. He has a drive about him and I wish I could bottle that up and give it out at the beginning of every year.”

Tafoya finished third at the regional level with a strong showing and a victory over Alan Combs of Cheney in the match for third-fourth.

“He wrestled freestyle this summer and did camps,” Martinez said. “He’s ready to see what he can do at the next level.

Tafoya opens the Mat Classic on Friday against Colton Wheeler of Hockinson.

Quincy girls

Jones is in her first year of varsity wrestling, but she is not new to the sport. Like all junior wrestlers, she is getting used to going against older, more experienced competition in her weight class. But the Jack freshman is holding her own, having won a sub-regional title and finished as the runner-up at the regional level.

“In my opinion, Dempsi Talkington (of River View) is a potential top three in the state this year and that’s who Jaselyn wrestled in the (regional) finals,” said Kondo. “She was actually excited to go against Talkington, just to be able to see how she would do against a top-level athlete. Even though she lost, it was a great experience and can only help her get to where she wants to be.”

For Diaz, it’s one more shot competing at the elite level. She won twice at the regional level before losing to Sophia Dixon of Deer Park in the match for third. She punched her ticket to the state tournament with a decision over Joana Valdez of Toppenish.

“She is very competitive and has done a better job attacking this year,” Kondo said. “She wrestled freestyle last spring and was second at the state freestyle tournament. I think that gave her a little more confidence on her game. She’s thinking offense this year vs. being more defensive last year.”