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KENNEWICK One day to realize a dream.
OK, so pretty much every wrestler who will step onto the mats at Richland's Art Dawald Gym for Saturday's Eastern Washington 4A regional tournament will be chasing a dream -- to wrestle in Mat Classic at the Tacoma Dome.
But for Giovanni and Sisto Santana Pia, this truly is a once-in-a-lifetime chance.
"Our plan has been for both of us to make it to state together," said Giovanni, a 171-pound senior at Kamiakin who wrestles just above his 160-pound freshman brother. "This is our only shot to do it."
The brothers have been in the same wrestling room almost since Day 1 of the Pia family's wrestling odyssey, when Giovanni was 5 years old and came across a flier for the Mat Rattlers club.
A year later, he was in full-on wrestling mode, having eschewed basketball -- the sport his father hoped to pass on to his sons -- and gotten over his initial disappointment that this wrestling was not at all like the WWE stuff he saw on TV.
Sisto Santana, at the tender age of 3, found himself tagging along and was soon soaking it up.
Urbie Pia, like any doting father, didn't waste any time learning about his sons' new favorite thing. Until that point, he said, all he knew about wrestling was that it forced them to reschedule his beloved basketball games when he was growing up in Mabton.
"It has taken over our family," Urbie said. "What we do is wrestle. We watch videos of other wrestlers, watch DVDs to get better. Our vacations are scheduled around wrestling events."
Gloria and Urbie Pia took the kids -- daughter Arianna is a sophomore, son Junior is in the eighth grade -- to Reno for spring break last year for the Worlds tournament. This year, it's Fargo, N.D., in July for cadet and junior nationals.
Really? Fargo for a family vacation?
"We'll take 'em to Mount Rushmore," Urbie said, smiling.
But first, they hope, it's Tacoma.
Both wrestlers have enough mat cred to be considered realistic state candidates.
Giovanni won a state Greco-Roman title last spring, then came back in his senior season to go 27-6, finishing second at the CBBN district tournament last weekend.
"Gio needed some motivation," Kamiakin coach Ryan McCallum said, noting this is Giovanni's first regional berth. "His brother's motivated him. There's a little bit of sibling rivalry, and that's good."
Sisto Santana already has an eye-popping wrestling resume. He's won 10 state titles over the years -- he won the triple crown in freestyle, Greco and collegiate for his age group last year -- and was undefeated in freestyle at the schoolboy nationals in Indianapolis wrestling for the Washington team last summer.
He went nearly three years without a defeat -- about 120-130 matches -- before losing in the semifinals in Reno last year.
So it's little surprise that the freshman put together an 18-3 season -- missing much of December with back pain -- and won the district title at a weight where juniors and seniors normally rule.
"With my older brother, I'm used to wrestling guys stronger than me," Sisto Santana said. "I just change it up and try not to lock up with them."
Indeed, a lifetime spent wrestling with each other -- the family has a mat in the garage and, Urbie said, "a lot of holes patched and doors fixed" -- has honed the boys' skills and stoked their competitive fire.
Asked who is the better wrestler, Giovanni quickly says, "Me," which brings a shrug from Sisto Santa, obviously not all that convinced.
Perhaps it's a question for another day. Right now, all the brothers are thinking about is state, and what it would be like to wrestle together under the Dome.
"That would be the best part about all four years," Giovanni said, "getting to state with my brother."
-- Wrestling starts at 10 a.m. Saturday, with semifinals at 11:30 and finals at 4 p.m. But the best matches to watch start at 3 p.m. -- the third-fourth matches, where winners go to state and the losers stay home.
-- The 4A regional is stacked, with eight returning regional champions and eight more runners-up from last year, and a total of 33 wrestlers who earned state berths.
With only 42 tickets to state available this season -- three in each weight, down from four last season -- that doesn't leave a lot of room for new blood.
The returning champions are: Brandon Matlock of University (103 champ, now at 112); Ely Garza of Southridge (119); Brandon Riehle of Ferris (135); Nico Moreno of Moses Lake (130, now 140); Ryan Zumwalt of University (145, now 152); Jordan Rogers of Mead (140, now 160); Jake Mason of University (160) and Brian Chamblerlain of Moses Lake (189, now 215).
Mason and Rogers both are returning state champions, which makes for a potentially explosive final at 160. Rogers won the GSL district title with a 5-2 decision.
Mead's Jacob Trotter is the other returning state champion in the field, winning at 215 last season after taking second at regionals.
In all, 15 state placers will be on the mat this weekend, including three-timers Garza (second 2009, third 2008, sixth 2007) and Zumwalt (second, fifth, sixth).
-- Four-timers: Six wrestlers have qualified for regionals all four years. Along with Garza and Zumwalt -- who have reached the final in their three previous trips and each have one title -- there's Trotter (2nd, 3rd and 5th at 215) at 215, Andrew Valdez of Moses Lake (4th 112, 6th 112, dnp 103) at 119, Tamrich Perez of Southridge (4th 145, 3rd 145, 2nd 145) at 152; and Daimian Adams of Pasco (5th 285, dnp 285, dnp 285).
-- The 3A Region 4 tournament, grouping the CBBN, Greater Spokane League and Wesco, starts at 10 a.m. Saturday at West Valley (Yakima), with the finals set for 6 p.m.
The top four in each weight advance to state.
The CWAC and Great Northern League will square off in the 2A regional at West Valley (Spokane), with five state berths at stake. The SCAC also will battle for five state berths in Zillah.
The Eastern Washington B's and the girls are in Kittitas, with five and two state berths available, respectively.
