Experience big factor for Royal boys at Mat Classic
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 4 hours, 24 minutes AGO
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | February 18, 2026 10:30 AM
ROYAL CITY — Royal High School boys wrestling coach Darrin Miller said his team’s experience should help them when they get to the Tacoma Dome.
“We have a large group of seniors this year, so I think the consistency of showing up to practice every day for four straight years for a lot of these kids, as well as the underclassmen learning from some of those upperclassmen,” Miller said. “Everybody has just been really committed up to this point, which is what it really takes in the sport to be successful.”
The Knights qualified 13 wrestlers from the boys team for Mat Classic 2026, following a fourth-place finish at the district tournament last weekend.
“Any of them can win a lot of matches,” Miller said. “We're really pretty excited to get 13 guys through the state. Honestly, we couldn't have done any better, essentially. Really proud of those guys.”
Six Royal wrestlers were seeded high enough to get a bye in the first round, and Miller said among the RHS wrestlers to watch will be the five who made the district finals.
“At 106 lbs, we had Stratton Yorgesen. At 132 was Thomas Antonio; 165 was Cael Orth, 175 was Shea Stevenson. And then 285 was Williams Mendoza,” he said.
Yorgesen is the second seed in the 106-pound class; Shea Stevenson is the second seed at 175 lbs. Orth is the third seed at 165. Antonio is the sixth seed in the 165-pound class, and Mendoza is seeded eighth at 285 pounds.
“We have a pretty loaded district, so we're hoping to do well at state. I just told my kids, ‘Win as many matches as you can, wrestle your hardest for the full six minutes. And if we do that, then we'll place as high as we possibly can,” Miller said.
He cited his team’s attitude as a contributor to their success.
“Like I said, we have a large group of seniors this year, so those athletes, they've been consistent throughout the season,” Miller said. “But I've seen a ton of growth from those younger guys, just learning from (the juniors and seniors), and showing up to practice every single day."
Like other Royal High programs, the wrestlers also benefit from community support, he said.
“It's our kids that are competing, and they're showing that they're really committed and able to be successful. But I also think we have both great coaches and great community members that are supporting our programs all around,” he said.
ARTICLES BY CHERYL SCHWEIZER
Experience big factor for Royal boys at Mat Classic
ROYAL CITY — Royal High School boys wrestling coach Darrin Miller said his team’s experience should help them when they get to the Tacoma Dome. “We have a large group of seniors this year, so I think the consistency of showing up to practice every day for four straight years for a lot of these kids, as well as the underclassmen learning from some of those upperclassmen,” Miller said. “Everybody has just been really committed up to this point, which is what it really takes in the sport to be successful.”
Wahluke qualifies two wrestlers for Mat Classic
MATTAWA — The Wahluke High School girls wrestling team advanced two wrestlers to Mat Classic 2026 in what coach Windy Lovejoy said was a learning year. “We have primarily freshmen on the team,” Lovejoy said. “There were three upperclassmen.” Her team adapted to a pretty steep learning curve, however.
Royal girls wrestlers rise to the challenge, have high hopes for state tournament
ROYAL CITY — They’ve had a lot of success on the mat, but it’s still been a tough year for the Royal High School girls wrestling team. Their coach Seth Weeks said the girls have risen to meet the challenge. Jesus Carlos Villa, the head coach who led the Knights to a second-place finish at the 2025 Mat Classic, suddenly passed in a car accident in July 2025. Coach Carlos has been missed, Weeks said.