Tahoma makes top 10 at state wrestling for seventh consecutive year | Mat Classic XXIII

He got the match he wanted.

He even got the win he was looking for.

Neither, however, happened when or how Tahoma High junior Steven Hopkins had planned. Hopkins, who won the 103-pound Class 4A state title last year, was looking for a repeat performance – albeit at 119 pounds – Saturday afternoon at the Tacoma Dome during Mat Classic XXIII. The wiry and strong Hopkins has been among the state’s top-ranked wrestlers all season and when state brackets were posted days before the tournament, all bets were on the Tahoma junior meeting friendly rival Bryce Evans of Rogers in the championship match.

Hopkins did meet Evans on Saturday. And for the first time in three tries this season, Hopkins was able to upend the Rogers High standout, doing so 4-3. Yet, the win came in bittersweet fashion. Instead of meeting with a title on the line, both wrestlers were upset in the semifinal bracket in what was regarded as the most difficult weight class at the state tournament, and had to go toe-to-toe in an early consolation match.

“It was a pretty big win (to beat Evans),” conceded Hopkins, who was sporting a mohawk of sorts with blue highlights, a look that many of his Tahoma High teammates also sported. “But I really wanted to beat him in the finals. I don’t know … I guess beating him is beating him.”

Hopkins went on to bring home a fourth-place medal from the tournament, which didn’t go quite as the Bears had planned.

Tahoma ran away with the South Puget Sound League sub-district tournament two weeks ago and continued the trend at regionals last weekend at Shelton High, where the Bears advanced 11 wrestlers to the state tournament. It’s the most wrestlers the tradition-rich Bears have sent to state in more than 10 years.

At state, however, the young Tahoma team hit a bit of a wall. Of the 11 wrestlers who qualified for Mat Classic XXIII, five brought home medals, led by the fourth-place finish of Hopkins (119) and Dan Haniger (135).

“We wanted to make the board this year. We knew if we wrestled our absolute best and everything went our way that we’d have a chance at a trophy,” said Tahoma coach Chris Feist.

Tahoma did, in fact, crack the top 10 for the seventh straight year, taking ninth place with 63.5 points.

Yet, everything didn’t go exactly according to plan for the Bears.

“We had a great first round and then our inexperience started to show,” Feist said. “We lost some key matches and had a hard time rebounding.”

That said, Hopkins rebounded in strong fashion after the semifinal loss by defeating Evans, who entered the state tournament unbeaten.

“He’s wrestled a long time,” Feist said. “He’s wrestled in big tournaments and he’s had a lot of disappointing losses and a lot of really great wins. It wasn’t like this was a first time for that. I think that helped him come back and be able to wrestle strong.”

And though the Bears ran into a stumbling block at state, the silver lining is the fact that all 11 wrestlers should be back next year.

Like Hopkins, Haniger (135) tore through the first two rounds of the tournament, working a pin and earning a 13-11 decision over Anthony Bratcher of Inglemoor in the quarterfinals. Mead’s Jeremy Golding put an end to Haniger’s title hopes in the semifinals, 4-3. Haniger followed Hopkins’ lead in his first consolation match, outlasting Kinsey Johnson of Lake Stevens 2-1 in overtime. Haniger was unable to continue the momentum, falling to Graham-Kapowsin’s Tanner Sturdevant for third place, 5-4.

Other Tahoma medalists included: Tim Whitehead (8th at 103), Jesse Vaughn (7th at 125) and Garret Autrey (7th at 160).