By Nathan Joyce
MaxPreps.com
Mat Classic just got even bigger.
The state wrestling tournaments in Washington have always been a spectacle. What else can you call 27 mats running concurrently? This year, along with the boys tournament, a girls state wrestling tournament will be held for the first time.
Since 2004, there has been an invitational girls tournament held during breaks in the boys action, but this is the first year the girls will have a sanctioned state tournament. Only two other states, Texas and Hawaii, offer a tournament like this.
Mat Classic is set for Friday and Saturday at the Tacoma Dome.
The new tourney has brought girls out in droves. According to figures from the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, 376 girls from 119 schools turned out.
This new tournament has started Washington down a path where girls will wrestle only girls; it's something that not everybody wants to see.
"I grew up wrestling against guys," Jolene Crook-Meyers, whose 21-5 record this season includes five wins - and all five losses - against boys, of Kentwood told the Seattle Times. "I like the competition."
In college and the Olympics, girls wrestle only girls, something that Jim Meyerhoff of the WIAA points out. The girls tournament was Meyerhoff's brain child.
"The goal is to get girls wrestling girls as soon as we can," he told the Times. "I don't have a crystal ball, but I'd be shocked in five years if we don't have enough girls for at least two different state tournaments [by classification]."
Two girls - Camie Yeik of Olympic and Megan Martin of Willapa Valley - will be allowed to compete with the boys as they were grandfathered in; they competed at the boys tournament last year.
Mat Classic won't be the only state event this weekend. The state gymnastic meet will be across the hall at the Tacoma Dome Exhibition Hall. And the state swim meet will just up Interstate-5 at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way.
Football: Signing Day Comes and Goes
Only a handful of players from the state signed with big-time college programs. There
was Auburn's Kellen Kiilsgaard, who signed with Stanford to play defensive back.
Prosser quarterback Kellen Moore, who completely rewrote the state record book, is headed to Boise State. Olympia tight end Michael Finnerty is headed to Louisville. Mill Creek signal caller Jake Gelakoska is headed to Oregon State, as is Highline defensive back Anthony Watkins. Dozens of others found homes at smaller Division I colleges, Division I-AA and Division II schools.
There's also a few players who stayed close to home. Kennedy teammates Nate Williams (Washington) and Kevin Freitag (Washington State) signed to play for the state schools. Mount Si running back Brandon Yakaboski and Lake Washington tight end Chris Izbicki also picked Washington, as did Rainier Beach stars Emeka Iweka (DT) Vonzell McDowell (DB) and O'Dea linebacker Quinton Richardson.
Washington State signed seven in-state recruits including Eric Block, who quarterbacked Bellevue to two state titles and will play in the defensive backfield, and J.T. Levenseller of Pullman, who also quarterbacked the Greyhounds to a state title.
Basketball: Postseason Ready for Launch
While the 4A classification got an early start on the postseason last week, the playoffs will be in full force across the state this week.
And no game welcomed in the playoffs than a game on Bainbridge Island.
The No. 2 O'Dea Fighting Irish jumped on the ferry to play the No. 1 Spartans with the Metro League Mountain Division on the line.
And apparently people wanted to see the game. The 2,200-seat Paski Gym was sold out well before game time. Over 300 people were turned away at the door.
Those inside got their money's worth. Gonzaga-bound Steven Gray scored 21 points and Austin Wood scored 10 points in the fourth quarter as Bainbridge won 52-42 to claim its first Mountain title.
The always entertaining Metro League, arguably the top basketball league in the state, promises for a entertaining league tourney this week. No. 4 Chief Sealth is at Bainbridge on Tuesday in the semifinals, while No. 5 Rainier Beach is at O'Dea in the other. The winners will play for the league title on Saturday.
Baseball: Top Player Already Sidelined
Kawika Emsley-Pai of Jackson, which went undefeated and won the Class 4A state title last year, will miss this baseball season with a back injury. The catcher, pitcher and outfielder who signed a letter of intent with Texas suffered a stress fracture to one of his vertebrae last spring and it has never healed.
Emsley-Pai never knew the severity of the injury and he was cleared to play football, which worsened it, causing him to miss baseball season.
This and That
Kate Deines, a midfielder for the state champion Issaquah, was named Gatorade state soccer player of the year.Courtney Wetzel, a midfielder at Puyallup, signed a letter of intent to play at Oregon State.Joanne Gilligan, who coached Seattle's Bishop Blanchet to a Class 3A state volleyball title in November, has stepped down because she will move out of state with her fianc‚e. Gilligan coached for 18 years and won three state titles.Dick Nicholl, 61, has stepped down as football coach at Mercer Island. Nicholls racked up a 179-112-3 record in 31 years of coaching. Nicholls also coached at Centralia.