They’ve been at the top of the 103-pound state rankings all season long and have taken turns beating one another the last two weeks.
Last week, Kentwood’s Ruben Navejas avenged one of the few losses of his prep career, outlasting Tahoma’s Steven Hopkins 7-4 for the regional title.
On Saturday night during the 103-pound championship match of Mat Classic XXII at the Tacoma Dome, Hopkins turned the tables on Navejas in one of the most anticipated showdowns of the tournament.
Hopkins, a sophomore, stormed back from a 2-0 deficit with 30 seconds remaining in the third period to pin Navejas in 4:58 and take the title.
Navejas enter the match as the defending state champion and with a 39-2 overall record this season. The Kentwood standout took a 2-0 lead on a takedown with 36 seconds remaining in the first period. Navejas, however, wasn’t able to build on the lead in the second period despite being in position to do so.
“We had trouble getting away from him (in the second period), and (Hopkins) is long,” said Kentwood coach Ken Sroka. “(Hopkins) used that length to his advantage and he just wrestled Ruben very well, using his leverage and length.”
Yet Navejas held the lead for most of the match. Hopkins managed an escape with 1:17 remaining in the bout, then added a single-leg takedown with 33 seconds left to take a 3-2 advantage. Hopkins rolled Navejas to his back on a half-nelson moments later and delivered the lone pin of the Class 4A championship round.
“If he would have scored (in the second period), that would have made it a little more difficult for me,” admitted Hopkins, who finished the season with a 37-4 record. “If he had scored, my confidence would have gone down a little bit.”
Instead, Hopkins was flying high after the win. Hopkins has been ranked second in the state behind Navejas for most of the year.
“(A pin) didn’t even cross my mind,” Hopkins said. “But when I first got him on his back, I realized he was going over a lot easier than I thought he would, so I thought I would go for the pin and I got it.”
It was a match between two wrestlers who truly belonged in the championship match, Sroka said.
“In my opinion, they’ve been the best two kids at that weight all year,” Sroka said. “My hat is off to Hopkins. He went out there and wasn’t afraid.”
In three years, Navejas has placed fifth, first and now second. With the loss, he has a 119-7 career mark at Kentwood. He was trying to become the program’s first back-to-back state champion since Brandon Hunter accomplished the feat in 2002-2003.
Navejas, who worked a technical fall, a pin and a 9-2 decision en route to the berth in the championship match, chose not to comment after the loss.
Overall, Kentwood enjoyed a solid state tournament as three of the four wrestlers the Conquerors brought to the tournament left with a medal. Heavyweight Nathan Herrick (285) won three of five matches en route to a fifth-place finish. Junior Hayden Peterson, making his first state trip since his freshman year, also added a fifth-place finish. Meanwhile, Kentwood’s Jose Hernandez (125), making his first appearance at state, came away with a win as well.
“I thought we wrestled pretty well,” Sroka said. “We had all four come and all four won a match.”
Kentwood finished in 16th place with 42.5 points, the highest among the four Kent-based schools. Kent-Meridian finished 21st with 23 points, Kentlake brought home 19th place with 16 points while Kentridge tied for 46th with three points.
Kentridge’s Jeff Seid (160), the lone Charger at the tournament, also came away with a win before being eliminated.
