Ten months ago, Chloe Willis was the last wrestler standing in the 2B 190-pound bracket at Mat Classic XXXVI in the Tacoma Dome.
Entering her junior campaign at Rainier High School, it’s as if that moment of glory never happened.
“Not many people know I’m a state champ. No one knows who I am,” Willis said.
She’ll take that. For Willis, each match is just about improving physically and mentally, adopting what her coaches call “the mindset of a champion.”
Willis displayed that on Saturday, winning both of her matches via fall to win the 190-pound bracket at the Lady Mountaineer Invitational in Rainier.
Another piece Willis, as well as the whole Rainier girls team, is working on this season is improving stamina, which comes with an emphasis from coaches on cardio activities, including turning off days on Sundays into “Cardio Sundays.” That work has paid off so far, as Rainier is 4-0 in overtime matches so far this season.
Willis noticed a difference on the mat in her stamina Saturday, especially against Tumwater’s Reagan Humphries in the finals. Her day began with a bye in the quarterfinals, and after quickly disposing of Adna’s Olivia Chapman in the semis, Willis persevered through a challenging final match.
“We do a lot of jogging, live wrestling, and stance and motion. It’s helped me a lot, especially with that last match,” she said. “I was able to go a lot longer without being out of breath. In matches, I’m not focusing on my breathing and if I’m going to be able to make it through. I’m focused on what moves I can do and how I can pin them.”
Willis entered the Lady Mountaineer Invitational with two defeats in non-league action, but girls head coach Billy Swann was proud of the way the junior bounced back and dominated on Saturday.
“She’s really strong this year, mentally and also physically. She bounced back really solid with the mindset of a champion,” Swann said.
Willis’ teammate Ryleigh Cruse was also victorious, only needing one match to claim the first-place medal in the 235 bracket. Cruse defeated Quincy’s Abigail Garcia by tech fall after waiting for hours for a match that ended up being the final one of the day on Mat 2.
The junior is no stronger to long gaps before or in between matches. Cruse, with the help of older brother Ryder, has mastered her prep time, especially after a long weekend at Mat Classic XXXVI last winter.
“You have to get warm quickly, and you have to be sweating before you get on the mat or you’re gonna hurt yourself or it’s not gonna go well for you,” Ryleigh Cruse said. “I’ve taken a lot of priority on my warmup.”
Cruse typically starts her prep time 10 to 15 matches before she’s on the mat. She enters her zone, listening to music and running through her game plan for the upcoming match. When she’s about three matches away from hitting the mat, Cruse begins her physical warmup.
The tournament started at 9:30 a.m., and she didn’t take the mat until about 3 p.m. when most of the wrestlers and attendees had already left. But in her first tournament of the season, Cruse executed what she’s been working on in practice.
“I’ve been working a lot of neutral in practices and getting quicker on my feet because, as a heavyweight, you tend to be a little bit slower and laid back,” she said. “But I don’t want to be that way this year.”
Rainier’s Layla Hill, 125, and Gracie Lantz, 235, each placed third in their respective divisions, while Janessa Dodson, 100, and Ayana Elmstead, 135, scored points for the Mountaineers with a win apiece in the consolation round.
Adna eighth grader Kassidy Davis continued her torrid start with a first-place medal in the 100-pound bracket to improve to 10-0 in her first varsity season. A wrestling journey that started when she was in sixth grade as a way to improve in jiu jitsu has turned fruitful through the first month of her varsity career.
Davis is a third-generation wrestler who was inspired to start by her father
“Work pays off,” Davis said. “My dad always says that I was better than him at wrestling, so I’m trying to keep that up to make sure I’m still better than him.”
Out of four Adna wrestlers to compete on Saturday, three picked up medals. Eighth grader Chloe Gelvin, 115, and freshman Olivia Chapman, 190, bounced back with two wins after losing in their respective semifinals to finish third.
Rochester saw three wrestlers advance to the finals, with freshman Emma Mackenzie, 120, freshman Izzabella Crawford, 140, and senior Jayleen Totten, 170, earning second-place medals. Freshman Bree Benner left the tournament with a fourth-place finish, taking Quincy’s Brielle Baughman the distance in the third-place match before falling by decision 3-0.
Tumwater senior Reagan Humphries, 190, followed up a first-place performance in Bremerton last week with a second-place finish Saturday, earning two wins via takedown before narrowly losing to Willis 10-9 in the finals.
With only three wrestlers in the 155-pound class, senior Trinity Stricklett took third while only wrestling one match and receiving three byes. Sophomore Vera Pope, 135, also placed third, and sophomore Sayde Machado went 1-2 to finish fourth.
