TACOMA — It was almost as if Chris Mayolo had done this before.
The La Center senior wasted little time in dictating the script for his championship match on Saturday at Mat Classic XXIII.
Mayolo took command with an early takedown and back points, and beat Dalton Evanger of Orting 15-4 to win the 145-pound championship for Class 1A schools.
While Mayolo was finishing off his first title season, one mat over Camas senior Miguel Salamanca was using his quickness to grab a Class 3A state championship, also at 145 pounds.
Saturday’s triumph was the first state title for La Center’s Mayolo in four tries at the Tacoma Dome. He never finished worse than fifth at state, and Wildcats coach Jeff Nevels said Mayolo might have celebrated multiple titles had things played out just a little bit differently in previous seasons.
That history wasn’t part of the visualization Mayolo did before his final high school match.
“I warmed up like I was in the Olympics going for a gold medal,” Mayolo said.
As he warmed up, he went through the motions of a simulated match and saw the way things would unfold against Evanger.
“My game plan from the beginning was don’t do anything risky, the moves would come to me if I just stayed patient,” Mayolo said.
After waiting four years to reach the pinnacle of high school wrestling, Mayolo planned to celebrate by hanging out with friends and enjoying a Slurpee.
“I didn’t think the feeling was going to be this great,” Mayolo said. “It’s better than I imagined.”
For Salamanca, the 9-6 win over Hanford’s Matt Owens for the 3A title at 145 was proof that dedicated effort can pay off when combined with smart tactics.
“My coaches told me to use my speed and take smart shots, and that’s what I did,” Salamanca said.
The Papermaker senior said he became a champion because he turned the sting from five losses to high-caliber opponents during the season — including to Prairie’s Travis Addy at a week earlier in the regional finals — into improved practices.
“That loss (to Addy) made me so much stronger,” Salamanca said.
He said he focused on keeping the tempo of his matches high to create scrambles that produced opportunities to use his quickness to score points.
That’s the way his championship match unfolded.
Salamanca led 3-2 after one round, 6-4 after two, then scored three quick points early in the third round to make sure the title under his control.
“Hard work does pay off,” he said.
Despite their best efforts, the two Clark County girls who reached championship matches ended up with silver medals.
Evergreen junior Stephanie Simon lost in the 145-pound finals by a 2-1 score to Alysia Pohren of Sedro-Woolley.
Pohren won her third consecutive state title by getting a takedown early in the third round to break a scoreless draw. Simon was awarded one point when Pohren was cited for stalling, but couldn’t escape.
Skyview senior Julie Yoshioka lost for the sixth time over two years to sophomore Rachel Archer of Toledo/Winlock. But she left the Tacoma Dome satisfied that her three years as a wrestler concluded with a state championship match.
Yoshioka’s only regret was that she didn’t manage one takedown in the 13-0 loss.
“She’s really strong on top,” Yoshioka said of Archer. “She’s a lot tougher than anyone else.”
Hudson’s Bay had two fourth-place finishers in the Class 3A boys tournament. Junior Emilio Alcantar (140 pounds) and freshman Aaron Blaine each lost in the semifinals, then split two consolation matches on Saturday.
Battle Ground senior Chelsea Reynosa won three matches on Saturday to finish third at 112 pounds in the girls tournament.
