TACOMA — The Puget Sound League Wrestling Tournament presented different opportunities for two programs.
For the proven Capital boys, the championships from Friday, Feb. 6 through Saturday, Feb. 7 at Silas High School were a stepping stone to the Mat Classic, as well as a chance to get back on the mat after more than two weeks away from competition.
For the North Thurston boys, the tournament was a chance to make a statement, or even an announcement, to the rest of the league.
Three schools — Capital, North Thurston and Lincoln — earned multiple individual first-placers, with Capital securing four and the others three apiece. North Thurston finished in second place as a team behind Lincoln at 294 points, while Capital took fifth at 177.5 points.
A whopping 15 Rams wrestlers placed in the top eight of their weight divisions. Henry Hovde, 215 pounds; Steven Bligh, 175 pounds; and Jude Sanchez, 165 pounds; took first in their respective classes.
It’s a statement for a hungry North Thurston program that sent nine wrestlers to the Mat Classic last February and came away without a single placer. The league tournament followed up a sixth-place team finish in the state dual championships last week.
“This state knows North Thurston now,” Bligh said. “We’re not just another team that only has some guys medal. Now, we walk away with four finalists at every tournament, maybe more.”
Bligh was a finalist for the second year in a row in the league tournament, and in the finals, he faced a familiar foe in Central Kitsap’s Brayden Turano, who defeated Bligh in the league finals last year via major decision. This time around, the senior was prepared to take his revenge. Bligh knocked off Turano by decision, led by two reversals and a nearfall in the third period for a come-from-behind victory.
“It motivated me more than any of my losses, even the ones I suffered at state,” Bligh said of losing to Turano in the league finals last year. “I beat tough kids and then I lost to him, and I was like, ‘Damn, I’m really not unbeatable.’ I’ve improved tenfold since then.”
Hovde, now a three-time state qualifier, also found himself back in the league finals looking for redemption after a second-place finish last year. He breezed his way through the bracket this weekend, earning three straight byes before winning in the semis and by major decision in the finals.
Success this season for Hovde, who is now 29-3, has come from an improvement in his confidence.
“I lost my matches [last year] because I wasn’t confident. It takes wrestling with better wrestlers,” Hovde said. “I feel like we made a very big statement. Last year, we were an afterthought.”
Sanchez’s first-place victory carries a different story. His triumph marked the first time he’s ever placed first and will be the first time he heads to the Mat Classic.
Sanchez dedicated the success to his late older brother, Joseph, who passed away in 2024 and inspired him to wrestle.
“It meant everything,” Sanchez said of his victory. “I lost my brother last year, and it just threw me off all season. He was my whole inspiration for wrestling. I used to go to his tournaments growing up, and he was my coach my sophomore year. I’m doing it to make him proud because he always told me I can get there, and he believed in me every day.”
Rodolfo Medina, 113; and Zechariah Egrubay, 126; placed second in the league tournament, while Rylan Tranfiguracion placed third in the 120-pound class and Logan Bowles earned fourth at 165.
William Buchholz, fifth at 106; Charles Miller, fifth at 190; Konner Jack, fifth at 280; Joel Whipple, sixth at 144; Aiden Bligh, seven at 126; Amar’e Stark, seventh at 132; Makai Ciramagua, eighth at 138; and Asante Maxwell, eighth at 175; also placed for North Thurston.
Medina and Egrubay both ran into buzzsaws from Capital in the finals. Medina fell short to reigning state champion Lazarus McEwen by tech fall. McEwen enters the state tournament with a 22-1 record as a sophomore.
Haziel Soto, another reigning state champ, defeated Egrubay in the 126-pound finals. His path to success this weekend was fairly quick, as he won by pin in the quarters in 68 seconds, won by forfeit in the semis and pinned Egrubay in under three minutes. The final match was more laborious than most Soto has seen en route to a 41-6 record, but it doesn’t matter if it doesn’t look pretty to him.
“I’m pacing myself and not worrying about how close the match looks because we’re here to win. We’re not worrying about winning in style,” Soto said. “We were more ready for this tournament than any of the ones we’ve had this season.”
Patrick Halpin, 144; and Wesley Fox, 157; also clinched first-place medals. Fox, in particular, pulled off a couple of impressive wins over wrestlers with better records, including Central Kitsap’s Ansel Auernhamer and Lakes’ Benjamin Klein in the semis and finals, respectively.
“The goal is always a state title. I had some good competition today, and I was able to see some of my future competition,” Fox said.
Harland Warrior dazzled in the 190-pound bracket, winning in the second round and quarterfinals before shocking 32-4 Nickolas Near from River Ridge in the semifinals Saturday. In the finals, he fell behind big in the second period to Lincoln’s Kaivone Cooks but fought back with a pair of takedowns, but it wasn’t enough in a second-place finish.
Easton Bramble, fifth at 165; Cameron Jenkins, sixth at 150; and Andrew Hague, eighth at 215; also placed for Capital.
River Ridge’s Nash; Maximus Duran, 106; and Solomon Bailey, 138; all reached the semifinals and earned medals in the top six, with Duran impressing to come in third and Bailey pulling off a pair of upsets to finish sixth. Carson Carolus also picked up a fourth-place finish in the 120-pound bracket, and Marcos Melgoza Galeana clinched seventh at 150.
The Timberline boys were led by 106-pound finalist Alexander Polk and 150-pound finalist Cooper Jones. Renner Pellerin placed third at 215 pounds, Jeremiah Sablan earned fourth at 126, Deegan Devaney took home fifth at 132, Riekyr Melotti secured sixth at 215, and Nathaniel Masters took eighth at 190.
For the girls, Timberline freshman Annalisa Tapasa continued her torrid start to her varsity career by finishing as the lone area wrestler to place first. She wrestled for a combined 56 seconds this weekend, earned a pin in the semifinals in 15 seconds before picking up another pin in the finals in just 41 seconds.
“What worked really well for me was getting in the zone right before my matches. I try to stay very calm and very meticulous and focus on my opponent,” Tapasa, now 34-4 on the season, said.
Her teammate in the 190-pound bracket Addisen Muller joined her on the podium with a third-place finish. All eight Timberline wrestlers finished in the top six, including Aubrey Moore, fourth at 170; Danika Francis, fourth at 120; Isabella Derda, fourth at 110; Khloe Day, fifth at 145; Gabriella Anderson, sixth at 105; and Gabrielle Stalker, sixth at 130. Timberline finished sixth as a team.
Finishing in third in team scoring was River Ridge, led by nine placers and two finalists. Elizabeth Martinazzi, 115; and Sofia Lie; 120; advanced to the finals, while Brennan Gore, 135; Camdyn Almquist, 110; and Aubrey De La Cruz, 100; earned third. Amelia Nolan, 235; Emana Blas, 105; and Isabella Bailey, 100; took fourth. Devora Murziankova also came in sixth at 125 pounds.
North Thurston finished in seventh, fueled by runners-up Lyla Cooper at 100, Azumi Calloway at 105, and Paige McWhorter at 130. Anayah Tarnowski also advanced to the 115-pound semifinals before finishing in fourth. Josephine Sooto, fifth at 140; Valentina He, seventh at 100; Alexandra Gomez-Garcia, seventh at 120; Madison Abrahamson, seventh at 130; and Brinlee Blume, eighth at 105; earned high marks this weekend.
Capital’s lone wrestler Camille Hulet earned a sixth-place finish in the 170-pound class.
