Moses Lake student sings national anthem at Mat Classic
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 6 months AGO
Moses Lake junior Masen Meek sings the national anthem to begin the Mat Classic wrestling tournament in Tacoma Thursday.
COURTESY PHOTO/JOSH MEEK
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | February 24, 2025 3:00 AM
TACOMA — Nearly 300 schools were at the first day of the Mat Classic wrestling tournament at the Tacoma Dome on Thursday, with thousands of wrestlers, parents, coaches and fans. But one voice cut through the air at the opening ceremonies, and that voice belonged to a Moses Lake Maverick.
“It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said MLHS junior Masen Meek, who sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” to open the tournament. “It's really hard, because singing a song like the national anthem, everyone knows it, so they're going to know if you've messed up.”
“I've heard lots of compliments, especially from his teammates and other people we know in the wrestling community,” said Masen’s dad, Josh Meek. “So, I think it was well received.”
Masen is on the MLHS wrestling team, but he wasn’t one of the athletes to snag a berth at the state tournament. He’s also been singing in the MLHS choir for three years and was in the middle school choir two years before that, so when the opportunity came for him to show his skills in that area, he was happy to.
Masen is planning to major in music education, he said, after he graduates. His goal, Josh Meek said, is to be a choir teacher.
Our national anthem is not an easy song to sing, with a daunting 19-semitone range. Masen, a tenor, was well aware that it would be the largest crowd he’d ever performed for. And because the anthem is traditionally sung a cappella, there was no accompanist to cover up mistakes.
“When I was figuring out what key to do it in it was really hard because it's extreme high notes or extreme low notes,” he said. “You’ve just got to be confident in yourself and know you can do it.”
ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
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