Ledezma still smiling even after tough loss

TACOMA -- If this is how Angel Ledezma looks when he loses, maybe Royal's standout senior didn't need to win a state title.

Ledezma's ever-present smile was one of the few bright spots for the SCAC East at Mat Classic XXI on Saturday night.

A league rich in wrestling tradition had just four finalists and one champion in the 1A state tournament at the Tacoma Dome.

Warden finished second in the team race with 127 points, far behind Orting's 201. The Cougars brought home a state trophy despite having just one wrestler in the finals and no champions. However, they placed 11 of the 15 wrestlers to hold off Lakeside by nine points.

Connell's Freddy Herrera provided the league its only title, downing Warden's JP Martinez 4-1 at 103.

Ledezma was runner-up at 160 and Connell's Nato Orozco finished second at 215.

For Ledezma, it was a heartbreaking finish -- a 6-4 loss to Tonasket's Kevin Cruz. It was the fourth time Ledezma has wrestled in a state championship match, and the fourth time he came away empty-handed. But that didn't dour his spirit.

"It was a great match; couldn't ask for better," Ledezma said. "It's overtime, I shot in and slipped off and he got behind me.

"I almost had it."

Orozco lost 7-3 to returning placer Luke Dixon of Forks, who pinned Orozco at state last year.

"Nato's a good, smart wrestler," said Connell coach Chuck Lee. "That kid (Dixon) is just a stud. Nato wrestled a good match; he just came up a little short."

Connell placed six of its seven wrestlers to finish fifth. Trevor Morrison finished third at 125 for Columbia (Burbank) and River View's Chance Watt was fourth at 130.

Team scores -- 1, Orting 201; 2, Warden 127; 3, Lakeside (9 Mile Falls) 120; 4, Omak 105.5; 5, Connell 87; 6, Castle Rock 86.5; 7, Chelan 84.5; 8, Chewelah 77; 9, Cashmere 73; 10, Vashon Island 71.

Semifinals

103 -- J.P. Martinez (Warden) d. Hernan Serra (Connell) 4-0; Freddy Herrera (Connell) d. Jonathan Salcedo (Granger) 8-3.

112 -- Drew Templemen (Orting) d. Michael Baumgarden (Lakeside 9 Mile Falls) 7-0; Sam Chapman (Vashon Island) d. Jose Lopez (Chelan) 2-0.

119 -- Bryan Baumgarden (Lakeside 9 Mile Falls) d. Brady Maris (Orting) 5-3; Samuel Salcedo (Granger) d. Shannon Maris (Orting) 10-5.

125 -- Jacob Lauderdale (Lakeside 9 Mile Falls) p. Eric Meza (Mabton) 1:26; Antonio Brown (Orting) d. Trevor Morrison (Columbia-Burbank) 3-0.

130 -- Matthew Payne (Castle Rock) d. Josh Lauderdale (Lakeside 9 Mile Falls) 11-8; Garrett Mann (Orting) p. Chance Watt (River View) 1:33.

135 -- Daniel Swain (Newport) p. Gerardo Avitia (Connell) 2:44; Josh Vanhoven (Cashmere) d. Robert Pruneda (Warden) 8-2.

140 -- Gage Schmidt (Chelan) d. Nikko Veltri (Orting) 6-2; Rogen Lopez (Vashon Island) t.f. Lupe Landeros (Warden) 15-0.

145 -- John Thompson (Orting) d. Kevin Kreps (Columbia-White Salmon) 10-2; Josh Mason (Cashmere) d. Jacob Rae (Connell) 6-2.

152 -- Andrew Miller (Omak) d. Brett Johnson (Port Townsend) 9-2; Chris Castillo (Zillah) d. Bubba Myers (LaCenter) 10-2.

160 -- Kevin Cruz (Tonasket) d. Jason May (Tenino) 7-6; Angel Ledezma (Royal) d. Andrew Grillo (Tonasket) 4-3.

171 -- Taylor Meeks (Orting) p. Brien Jaksha (Forks) 2:22; Robert Miller (Omak) t.f. Dakota Scott (Warden) 15-0.

189 -- Brandon Hughes (Omak) d. Cody Gunn (Freeman) 9-0; Russell Whitley (Chewelah) d. Davey Anderson (Chelan) 3-2.

215 -- Luke Dixon (Forks) d. Jordan Velasco (Omak) 12-4; Nato Orozco (Connell) d. Geran Webb (Vashon Island) 5-1.

285 -- Ben Fuson (Lakeside 9 Mile Falls) d. Gary Sumerlin (Lake Roosevelt) 16-5; Mychal Woods (Chewelah) p. Tony Martinez (Warden) 3:09.

Championship matches

103 -- Herrera d. Martinez 4-1. 112 -- Templemen d. Chapman 5-1. 119 -- Baumgarden d. Salcedo 8-5. 125 -- Lauderdale d. Brown 5-1.

130 -- Mann t.f. Payne 17-2. 135 -- Swain d. Vanhoven 9-1. 140 -- Lopez d. Schmidt 4-2.

145 -- Thompson d. Mason 6-3. 152 -- Castillo d. Miller 10-8 (OT). 160 -- Cruz d. Ledezma 6-4 (OT). 171 -- Meeks p. Miller 4:21.

189 -- Hughes d. Whitley 4-3 (3 OT). 215 -- Dixon d. Orozco 7-3. 285 -- Woods d. Guson 2-1.

Consolations

103 -- Patrick Mayolo (LaCenter) d. Tyler Cortaini (Forks) 14-2; Dakota Stiles (Orting) d. Javier Tapia (Warden) 8-1; Patrick Mayolo (LaCenter) d. Serra 6-5; 5th/6th -- Serra d. Stiles 10-3. 7th/8th -- Tapia d. Cortani 3-2 (4OT).

112 -- Danny Barajas (Royal) m.d. Austin Hudson (Wahluke) 13-0; Baumgarden d. Barajas 6-2; 5th/6th -- Barajas m.d. Trudeau 13-5; 7th/8th -- Jacob Franco (Rochester) m.d. Hudson 9-0.

119 -- Franky Jiminez (Warden) d. Christopher Chipman (Cashmere) 6-4; Skylor Davis (Zillah) p. Matt McCall (Kiona-Benton) :45; Maris d. Jiminez 8-2; 5th/6th -- Jiminez d. Maris 6-4; 7th/8th -- Chipman p. McCall 4:06.

125 -- Luis Aviles (Mabton) d. Andy Campbell (Kiona-Benton) 10-3; Morrison d. Aviles 11-8; 3rd/4th -- Morrison m.d. Heath Martin (Stevenson) 9-0; 7th/8th -- Jesse Akins (Orting) d. Campbell 9-3.

130 -- Scott Henderson (Warden) p. Chris Kalous (Warden); Watt d. Henderson 13-7; 3rd/4th -- Lauderdale d. Watt 4-0; 5th/6th -- Chris Mayolo (LaCenter) m.d. Henderson 13-2; 7th/8th -- Dillon Miller (Cashmere) d. Kalous 14-8.

135 -- Avitia d. Zach Eastman (Rochester) 7-5 (OT); Nikk Resutek (Tenino) m.d. Pruneda 11-1; 3rd/4th -- Resutek p. Avitia 4:53; 5th/6th -- Pruneda m.d. Eastman 13-5.

140 -- Ethan Fulbright (Chewelah) d. Harris Garcia (Connell) 13-3; Fulbright m.d. Landeros 13-2; 5th/6th -- Steffen Ellison (Newport) m.d. Landeros 10-0; 7th/8th -- Garcia d. Cody Martin (Castle Rock) 14-7.

145 -- Zac Reisenauer (Columbia-Burbank) d. Dillon Ford (Montesano) 4-2; Kreps d. Reisenhauer 4-2; Jose Garcia (Chelan) d. Rae 5-0; 5th/6th -- Rae d. Reisenauer 6-4.

160 -- Jed Lomer (Castle Rock) d. Jose Gonzales (Warden) 6-1; 7th/8th -- Roman Velazquez (Cashmere) d. Gonzales 6-0.

171 -- Garrett Whitney (Connell) p. Kyle Trudeaux (Omak) 4:11; Keegan McCormick (Tonasket) d. Scott 5-1; Jashka d. Whitney 7-6; 5th/6th -- Scott p. Whitney 4:38.

189 --Seth Bell (White Salmon) d. Isaac DeLeon (Warden) 9-2; 7th/8th -- DeLeon d. Gatllin Hanna (Port Townsend) 9-7.

285 -- John Delap (Okanogan) d. Martinez 4-1; 5th/6th -- Ashton Gottschalk (Naches Valley) d. Martinez 8-2.

Class 2A

Grandview's Santos Guillen lost 10-4 to Brad Watson of Elma in the 103 final.

Watson, third at 103 last year, took control with a four-point series at the edge of the mat in the second period. Santos, who got the first takedown, led 3-2 at the time.

"We felt like he controlled the match until those four points," said Grandview coach Jeff Sevigny.

Deer Park almost lapped the field, scoring 1841/2 points to win its second straight title.

Othello placed all four of its wrestlers, including Kiki Rebuelta, a junior at 130 who was seeded fifth out of the regional tournament and placed fourth. Matt Jordan at 125 and Reuben Lopez at 135 also placed fourth, and Armando DeLeon placed seventh at 140. All four wrestlers will return next season.

Prosser's Jaimez brothers, junior Osmar at 119 and sophomore Irving at 103, finished fourth and sixth, respectively.

Team scores -- 1, Deer Park 184.5; 2, W.F. West (Chehalis) 95.5; 3, Blaine 83; 4, Riverside (Chattaroy) 78; 5, Toppenish 70; 6, Ellensburg 69; 7, Black Hills 68; 8, Burlington-Edison 61.5; 9, Bellingham 57; 10, Clarkston 55.5; 13, Othello 50.

Semifinals

103 -- Santos Guillen (Grandview) d. Daniel Page (Tumwater) 7-6; Brad Watson (Elma) d. Irving Jaimez (Prosser) 12-6.

112 -- Kyler Roden (Mark Morris) d. Enrique Medina (Burlington-Edison) 8-4; Blake Adams (Deer Park) d. Jesse OCamb (W.F. West) 15-11.

119 -- Drew Acorn (Deer Park) d. Osmar Jaimez (Prosser) 11-5; Julian Romero (Toppenish) p. Garrett Montanez (Bellingham) 3:28.

125 -- Dominic Sepe (Ridgefield) p. Ryan Major (Riverside) 3:26; Kenny Sanders (Ellensburg) m.d. Andrew White (W.F. West) 10-1.

130 -- Quinn Gannon (West Valley-Spo) d. Cody McNurlin (W.F. West) 9-5; Nick Burnham (Black Hills) m.d. Miguel Montiel (Toppenish) 9-0.

135 -- Daniel McElhaney (Washougal) p. Cameron Wade (Archbishop Murphy) :51; Manny Ybarra (Quincy) d. Rueben Lopez (Othello) 11-9 (OT).

140 -- Alex Nunez (W.F. West) p. Tyson Foster (Blaine) 1:20; Billy Rhodes (Deer Park) d. Riley Prentice (Tumwater) 11-4.

145 -- Brandon Leliefeld (Deer Park) p. Kyle Reijm (Burlington-Edison) 4:34; Justin Santos (Sehome) d. Quinton Henrickson (Ephrata) 9-4.

152 -- Levi Johnson (Squalicum) d. Tyler Michaelis (Black Hills) 6-3; Cody Miller (Deer Park) p. Jordan Harrington (Hoquiam) 5:49.

160 -- Jimmy Belleville (Black Hills) p. D.J. Darnall (Clarkston) 1:50; Corey Kleppe (Burlington-Edison) winner by forfeit.

171 -- Gabe Hocum (Clarkston) d. Tim Barron (Squalicum) 9-2; Nick Watson (Elma) p. Beau Bridgman (Burlington-Edison) 5:14.

189 -- Reid Chivers (Bellingham) p. Josh Kemrer (Washougal) 2:48; Cameron Smith (River Ridge) d. Niels Brisbane (Lynden) 12-5.

215 -- Jeremy Holdaas (Blaine) d. Justin Krzmarzick (Hoquiam) 6-3; Darrell Price Jr. (Blaine) d. D.J. Hall (Colville) 9-3.

285 -- Shawn Burton (Deer Park) p. Thomas Gallagher (Sequim) 1:58; John Rhodes (Fife) d. Blake Nichols (Ellensburg) 3-2 (4 OT).

Championship matches

103 -- Watson d. Guillen 10-4. 112 -- Adams d. Roden 6-1. 119 -- Acorn p. Romero 3:18. 125 -- Sepe d. Sanders.

130 -- Gannon d. Burnham 7-3. 135 -- McElhaney t.f. Ybarra 20-2. 140 -- Rhoads d. Nunez 7-3.

145 -- Leliefeld d. Santos 6-4. 152 -- Miller d. Johnson 2-0. 160 -- Belleville p. Kleppe :47.

171 -- Hocum d. Watson 11-5. 189 -- Chivers p. Smith 5:26. 215 -- Price Jr. d. Holdaas 3-2. 285 -- Burton d. Rhodes 5-3.

Consolations

103 -- Jose Barrera (Toppenish) d. Jaimez 7-3; 5th/6th -- Nikko Rodriguez (Selah) inj. def. Jaimez.

119 -- Jaimez m.d. Cory Tran (R.A. Long) 9-0; 3rd/4th -- Jake Kreglo (Hockinson) d. Jaimez 6-3.

125 -- Matt Jordan (Othello) p. J.D. Gorman (Cedarcrest) 4:14; Jordan inj. def. White; 3rd/4th -- Tim Silvas (Quincy) d. Jordan 3-2.

130 -- Kiki Rebuelta (Othello) d. Mikey Varnell (Sultan) 5-3 (3 OT); Rebuelta d. Montiel 5-2; 3rd/4th -- Robert Espinoza (Selah) d. Rebuelta 6-1.

135 -- Lopez p. David Flynn (Steilacoom) 4:27; 3rd/4th -- Wade d. Lopez 8-6 (OT).

140 -- Tait Tucker (Ellensburg) d. Amando DeLeon (Othello) 4-2; 7th/8th -- DeLeon d. Dario Rodriguez (Fife) 3-0.

Girls

Kiona-Benton sophomore Sheridan McDonald stayed on track to become the state's first four-time girls champion, winning her second title at 135 with a first-period pin.

Despite having won a title last year and dominating the bracket this season, McDonald admitted a big case of nerves before the final.

"I was so tense warming up," she said. "You need to worry."

Her teammate, Delene Rucker, finished fourth at 112.

River View's Sam Beckwith, a runner-up last season, placed third at 103.

Team scores -- 1, Sedro-Woolley 109; 2, Kelso 72; 3 (tie), Rogers (Puyallup), Burlington-Edison 55; 5, Enumclaw 54; 6, Fife 49; 7 (tie), Kiona-Benton, Kentwood, Lakewood 48; 10, Mount Baker 46.

Semifinals

103 -- Jomae Alewins (Lake Stevens) d. Madeleine Wolczko (Vashon Island) 4-3; Lauren Richardson (Bremerton) d. Jade Mustappa (Ferndale) 5-4.

112 -- Ricarda Garcia (Mount Vernon) p. Emma Destromp (Kelso) 3:47; Kiana Witt (Kingston) p. Kendra Wilson (Sedro-Woolley) 1:50.

125 -- Alysia Pohren (Sedro-Woolley) p. Liezl Mondoc (Rochester) 1:50; Jocie Weinberger (Federal Way) p. Julia Perry (Monroe) 1:53.

130 -- Kelsey Klein (Hoquiam) p. Keely Caldwell (Lakewood) 3:26; Cassi Curtis (Spanaway Lake) p. Jessica Sokolowski (LaCenter) 1:08.

135 -- Sheridan McDonald (Kiona-Benton) p. Haylee Rabenstein (Sedro Woolley) 5:46; Jessica Cooper (Port Angeles) p. Meghan Dunham (Washougal) 1:01.

140 -- Alexis Willcher (Skyline) p. Teira Graham (Burlington-Edison) 4:48; Jolene Crook-Meyers (Kentwood) d. Jalysse Garcia (Sedro-Woolley) 11-4.

152 -- Christina Ordonez (Lakewood) m.d. Jennifer Law (North Beach) 13-0; Antonia Navejas (Kentwood) d. Brandae Grein (Interlake) 13-5.

160 -- Alyssa Calhoon (West Valley-Yakima) t.f. Christina Alter (Oak Harbor) 17-0; Michaela Ecklund (Montesano) d. Lilia Gudzyuk (Auburn Mountainview) 6-4 (OT).

171 -- Chantelle Bailey (Enumclaw) p. Jessica Christensen (Rogers-Puyallup) 5:47; Betty Granados (Fife) p. Faith Wasmund (Fife) 2:47.

285 -- Chloe Grafwallner (Mount Baker) p. Alisha Beach (Kelso) 1:58; Kendra Cremeans (Bethel) p. Deidra Starrett (Colfax) 1:50.

Championship matches

103 -- Richardson p. Alewine 3:10. 112 -- Witt d. Garcia 9-4. 125 -- Pohren p. Weinberger 2:37.

130 -- Klein d. Curtis 7-3. 135 -- McDonald p. Cooper 1:41. 140 -- Crook-Meyers p. Willcher 1:12.

152 -- Ordonez p. Navejas 1:56. 160 -- Calhoon d. Ecklund 8-3. 171 -- Bailey p. Granados 5:26. 289 -- Cremeans p. Grafwallner 1:24.

Consolations

103 -- Sam Beckwith (River View) p. Andrea Iverson (Sedro-Woolley) 1:49; Beckwith d. Wolczko 5-0; Mustappa d. Cuevas 7-6; 3rd/4th -- Beckwith d. Mustappa 9-2.

112 -- Delene Rucker (Kiona-Benton) p. Roxanne Rosas (Mount Baker) 2:40; Rucker p. Destromp 5:50; 3rd/4th -- Britnee Grosvernor (Ocosta-Westport) p. Rucker 3:40.

125 -- Shay Workman (Kelso) d. Sandra Castoreno (Warden) 4-0; 7th/8th -- Castoreno d. Jessie Kaech (Sedro-Woolley) 6-4.

140 -- Amber Rodriguez (Sunnyside) d. Kandie Kujawa (White River) 4-1; Rodriguez d. Graham 3-2; 3rd/4th -- Garcia d. Rodriguez 3-2.

171 -- Tiffany Tackett (Burlington-Edison) m.d. Araceli Cuevas (Warden) 12-0; 7th/8th -- Blair Brown (Elma) p. Cuevas 4:46.

285 -- Marissa Barragan (Connell) p. Chelsea Macri (Fife) 1:43; Starrett p. Barragan 2:52; 5th/6th -- Barragan p. Lauren Watts (Burlington-Edison) 3:00.

Class B

Team scores -- 1, Republic 113.5; 2, Kittitas 107; 3, Pomeroy 97; 4, Reardan 70; 5, Liberty Bell 66; 6, Oroville 59; 7, Concrete 49; 8, Mary Walker 39; 9, Ocosta (Westport) 38; 10, North Beach 33.

103 -- Championship: Kyle Kirkendall (Republic) d. Dalton Dellinger (Concrete) 10-6; 3rd/4th: Gunnar Doggett (Liberty Bell) p. Jeremy Campbell (Wellpoint) 4:24.

112 -- Championship: Bryce Woodruff (Oroville) p. Juan Gomez (Pateros) 4:35; 3rd/4th: Colton Skelton (Liberty Bell) d. Carson Arnold (Kittitas) 8-2.

119 -- Championship: Levi Larson (Republic) d. Luis Padilla (Kittitas) 9-4; 3rd/4th: Johnny Loughan d. Waylen Anderson (Rearden) 2-0.

125 -- Championship: Ryn Rollins (Republic) d. Conan Kalugin (Mary Walker) 4-3; 3rd/4th: Demitri Robinson (Tulalip Heritage) d. Kaare Anderson (Rearden) 10-0.

130 -- Championship: Daniel OShaughnessy (Kittitas) p. Mike Lynch (Oroville) 4:28; 3rd/4th: Herson Rodriguez (Ritzville) p. Austin Rollins (Republic) 4:15.

135 -- Championship: Dalton Collins (Raymond) p. Will Hara (North Beach) 1:38; 3rd/4th: Nick Perez (Oroville) d. Dylan Holden (Kittitas) 4-2 (OT).

140 -- Championship: J.J. Gubler (Republic) d. Ray Tannehill (Liberty Bell) 16-0; 3rd/4th: Wyatt Anderson (Reardan) d. Chris Paxton (Concrete) 13-1.

145 -- Championship: Tye Knebel (Pomeroy) p. Scotty Bacon (Republic) 3:16; 3rd/4th: Cory Bachmeier (Ocosta) p. Jesse Nichols (St. John-Endicott) 4:05.

152 -- Championship: Alex Kalugin (Mary Walker) d. Derek Rice (Concrete) 11-2; 3rd/4th: Kolton Palmer (Darrington) d. Charles Newton (St. John-Endicott) 6-2.

160 -- Championship: Kjell Johnson (Liberty Bell) d. Niko Knezovich (Reardan) 12-5; 3rd/4th: Tory Knebel (Pomeroy) d. Josh Peters (Tacoma Baptist) 11-6.

171 -- Championship: Mike Rehn (Almire-Coulee-Hartline) d. Raleigh Beckstrom (Reardan) 12-8; 3rd/4th: Mat Slaybaugh (Pomeroy) d. Tyler Reisdorph (Pomeroy) 15-0.

189 -- Championship: Klyntin Bott (Pomeroy) d. Russell Jones (Kittitas) 6-4; 3rd/4th: Tyler Williquette (Reardan) d. Brandon Drye (La Conner) 7-6 (OT).

215 -- Championship: Dustin Dean (Kittitas) d. Scott Mosman (Pomeroy) 9-2; 3rd/4th: Josh Mitchell (Tacoma Baptist) p. Reid Ashley (Almira/Coulee/Hartline) 1:29.

285 -- Championship: Kyle Strode (Ocosta) p. Josh Strohl (Liberty) :42; 3rd/4th: Nick Poplin (North Beach) d. Gabe Lucero (Kittitas) 3-1.