The Union Titans took the team title Saturday night, but the Evergreen wrestlers stole the spotlight.
Evergreen went 5-0 in the finals of the Clark County Wrestling Championships at Skyview High School, capped by a thrilling sudden-victory win by Micah Bagley in the final match of the night.
“Redemption,” Bagley said after he defeated Union’s Max Proudfit in the 285-pound championship, 3-2. “I survived till the end, six rounds of hell.”
There were a lot of Evergreen survivors from this tournament, a favorite among the wrestlers who love to earn bragging rights for the county.
Tim Peraza defended his title at 215 pounds for the Plainsmen. The night started with three consecutive Evergreen champions: Michael Nguyen at 103, Matthew Nguyen at 112, and Peyton Zeller-Av at 119.
Union had two individual champions, and seven other schools each had one champion.
The Titans advanced six to the finals, and it was their depth that landed them their second consecutive county team title.
“This was the first mile-marker on our goal to state, our path to the Tacoma Dome,” Union coach John Godinho said. “This was the first mile-marker for our team goal, top four at state.”
Union totalled 225.5 points. Evergreen was second at 193.5.
The Plainsmen were comforted, though, with that perfect Saturday night.
“I’m pretty amazed with everybody pulling out what we needed to do,” said Peraza, who beat Bryson Page 8-5 in the 215 finals.
Michael Nguyen started it out, pinning Trevor Smith of Union at 103 pounds.
“It’s just one step toward my ultimate goal, to win a state championship,” Michael Nguyen said.
Then his twin brother made it 2 for 2 when he beat former county champion Chism King of Washougal 21-6.
“This is awesome. I think we’re going to get a lot more wins tonight,” he said after his match.
His teammates made him true to his word.
Zeller-Av beat Mason Edlund of Hudson’s Bay 14-1, sweeping the light weights for the Plainsmen.
“We’re all workout partners in the room,” Zeller-Av said. “We’ve worked with each other since middle school.”
For most of the night, the finals of the boys tournament were held on one mat, while the girls were on the other mat. But when the girls tournament ended early, that set up the final two boys matches of the night at the same time.
Peraza shook off a 3-3 tie to take an 8-3 lead early in the third period. He was done in time to watch the end of Bagley’s epic battle.
Proudfit showed his competitive spirit by returning to the mat after taking a hard fall off the mat, on the Skyview court.
Bagley and Proudfit were tied 1-1 after regulation, then each scored a point in the overtime sessions before advancing to the sudden-victory phase. Bagley was in the “down” position and needed to escape within 30 seconds to get the victory. He did it in about 17 seconds.
“I’m so proud of myself with the progress I’ve made,” Bagley said. “This shows that it’s all coming together.”
Dillon Thomas (171) and Tyler Davis (135) won championships for Union.
Thomas won his second consecutive title, this time with a tough match against the previously unbeaten Ryan Kulla of La Center. Thomas got a late takedown for a 6-2 victory.
“I love getting matches like that before state,” Thomas said of quality competition. “It makes you aware of what you have to be working on.”
Davis held on to defeat Nate Williams of Ridgefield 5-4.
“This means a lot to me, but it means more than I could do it for my team,” Davis said, noting there are four seniors on the squad who have been with the program all four seasons. “Makes me happy I could do it for them.”
Emilio Alcantar of Hudson’s Bay also won his second consecutive county championship, this time at 145 pounds with a 12-8 victory over Prairie’s Travis Addy. Alcantar won it as a 130-pounder last season and expects to wrestle at 140 in the postseason. A rib injury that has kept him out of action for much of the last month has hindered his preparation.
“I’m trying to get in the best shape that I can,” Alcantar said. “I’m kind of bummed I wasn’t in the best shape for this tournament, but this is a stepping stone toward the postseason.”
Clint Powers of Skyview did not defend a title, but he is a two-time winner at Clark County. A senior, he won here as a sophomore before an injury ended his junior season. On Saturday, he rolled to an 11-3 win over Patrick Mayolo of La Center at 130 pounds.
“I’m not wrestling to win this tournament. I’m wrestling to train harder for state,” Powers said. “I just want to wrestle well. I did that.”
La Center’s Chris Mayolo also reclaimed a title. He won it as a sophomore, finished second last year, and now is back on top after a 6-3 win over Union’s Matt Rice at 152 pounds.
“It feels good to get this title back,” said Chris Mayolo, who improved to 19-0 this season. “This is a good tournament to win. It’s a pretty tough tournament for everyone.”
Heritage’s Austin Frazier, who missed this tournament a year ago, won at 125 pounds, beating Aaron Blaine of Hudson’s Bay 6-4.
Battle Ground’s Miguel Simon outlasted Ridgefield’s Juan Valencia 6-5 in the 189-pound class.
Ridgefield’s Zach Anderson pinned Bo Smith of Battle Ground at 160 pounds, giving Class 1A wrestlers a second championship.
A.J. Dixon of Prairie won a thriller, topping Shawn Speer of Battle Ground 11-7 at 140 pounds.
For notes on every winner, see The Columbian’s high school sports blog.
