TACOMA — On day one of the Mat Classic Washington’s best from the 3A and 4A competed at the Tacoma Dome, Thursday. Across the boys and girls teams of the Moses Lake Mavericks, seven wrestlers are headed to the semifinals.  

“I think the kids did great,” Boys Head Coach Jose Tanguma said. “Some matches didn't go our way. Some of our guys thought they were going to go further, but they lost some close matches, but they're holding their heads up high. We’ve got five in the semis right now, and winning in the constellations. All the guys did great today. They all gave points to the team, but we have a young team still.”  

Heading into day two, both teams were ranked in the top five out of about 60 schools. The boys are fifth with 83 points and the girls are third with 102.  

Boys 

Despite having a young team, Tanguma said he was not surprised to see his wrestlers performing so well.  

“It doesn't surprise me at all, because I knew what these wrestlers could do, and they showed it today, and we're going to keep fighting to try to climb up that ladder tomorrow,” he said.  

The semifinalists for the boys are Ian Anderson, Eli Anderson, Conner Duvall, Ian Garza and Jose Villafana. For Eli, making the semifinals in the 215-lb class was an act of redemption. According to him, he just missed out on the placing rounds at last year’s Mat Classic.  

After a 13-3 majority decision win against Corban Patchett from Spanaway Lake, Eli is headed to the semifinals with a chance at a state championship. Since last year’s loss, he has gone to work in the offseason with the goal of making it further this year, he said.  

“A lot of summer practices,” he said. “Just trying to get myself out there (to get) exposure to different kinds of wrestling and wanting to be the best person out here is something that I've worked to achieve. Like my football coach says, he always says, every day, ‘Get 1% better every day.’” 

While he is excited to be heading to the semifinals, Eli also earned his 100th win as a Maverick. Tanguma has watched him work for this moment since last year and was complimentary of him at the end of day one.  

“I'm proud of the kid. For a freshman wrestling at 215 and getting 100 wins his junior year is a very huge accomplishment. His attitude today for this state tournament is exactly what he's been saying. He's going to leave everything on the mat, and he's going to take what he wants,” Tanguma said.  

The long days of competition at the Mat Classic challenges a wrestlers endurance. This something Tanguma said he prepared his wrestlers for throughout the season so they would be ready when the time came.  

“We had a lot of close matches, and what showed in those is that our kids had the heart today. We put them in the situation in the practice room, and they felt comfortable in the situation, they came out on top today,” he said.  

Ryder Janke is the only Maverick competing in the consolation bracket on day two, where he can compete for third place. After a competitive 6-3 decision victory over Eastmont’s Adrik Kiedrowski, the two had a show of respect.  

“Go get third,” Kiedrowski told Janke.  

Girls  

Elyssa Armendariz and Emma Thompson are heading to the semifinals in their respective classes for the Mavericks girls team.  

Armendariz competed in the 100-pound class where she earned three wins throughout day one to advance to the semifinals. Her quarterfinals match was against Belyini Pascasio-Umana from Mariner. It was a slow but competitive battle from the start, with neither wrestler scoring a point in the first period.  

In the second Armendariz earned a point after an escape. From there, the pace remained stagnant. In the third round, she earned two points for a reversal which gave her a 3-0 lead in the match. She was able to milk the clock until it hit zero, which secured her the victory. 

Thompson competed in the 155-lb class where she earned a pinfall victory to advance to the semis. Her opponent Nivayah Henry from Skyview scored most of her points in the first round, which put Thompson in a challenging predicament.  

Thompson managed to score four points in the second round to cut the deficit to 4-7, but with the pinfall victory the points became irrelevant as she now will have a chance to pursue a state title on day two.  

Competing in the consolation brackets are Anahi Garcia, Izzabella Fredley and Naomi Cruz, who all still have an opportunity to earn third place. 

After some rest Thursday night, the Mavericks return to the Tacoma Dome for day two of the Mat Classic as several wrestlers aim to finish strong and bring home some hardware. On day two, the expectations remain the same, Tanguma said.  

“I'm going to expect the same thing. What they did today broke a lot of kids' dreams, and tomorrow they're going to continue doing (that),” he said.  

    The Mavericks’ Elyssa Armendariz, left, resists a takedown attempt by her opponent during the Mat Classic. Armendariz advanced to the semifinals on day one and will have a chance to earn a state title on day two.
  

    Duane Zamora, top, ties up his opponent on the mat during his match at the Mat Classic Thursday.
  

    The Mavs’ Emma Thomspon escapes her opponent’s grasp with a roll through on the mat, which ultimately led to her first victory of day one at the Mat Classic.
  

    Ian Anderson catches his breath between rounds of the Mat Classic in Tacoma. Anderson will compete in the semifinals of the 157-pound class.
  

    Naomi Cruz eyes her opponent during her match at the Mat Classic Thursday.