By Greg Farrar
Conner Small, Liberty High School senior, exults to his supporters in triumph as he wins the 170-lb. state 2A wrestling championship with a 7-3 win over Sedro Woolley senior Jacob Farrell Feb. 21 during Mat Classic XXVII at the Tacoma Dome.

The process was a long and sometimes painful one — Small finished fifth as a sophomore and third as a junior — but it was ultimately rewarding as he captured the Class 2A state crown at 170 pounds to close the Mat Classic XXVII, Feb. 20-21 at the Tacoma Dome.

“Surreal” was the first word out of Small’s mouth after he defeated Sedro Woolley’s Jacob Farrell, 7-3, in the championship bout. He then spoke about the help he received from his dad.

“I can’t even explain what me and him have gone through,” Small said. “I owe everything to him. He’s been there since day one. I couldn’t ask for a more supportive father in my life.”

Small, who will compete at Arizona State University next year, rolled through his final Mat Classic with convincing decisions in his first three matches. It got tougher against Farrell, however, as Small held a tenuous 4-2 lead with two minutes left.

“We’ve been worried about this guy for a while,” Small said. “We’ve known he’s been my target all year, and he proved it out on the mat. He’s a great competitor. I was just there tonight. My head was in it, I knew what I wanted to do and I executed.”

Romney Noel was close — oh, so very close.

The Liberty senior needed points late in his 182-pound semifinal match against Sedro-Woolley’s Quinten Dickman-Roppel. He was able to escape with 35 seconds left, and had his opponent on the verge of a takedown that would’ve tied the score.

But Dickman-Roppel didn’t go down easily, and stayed on his feet long enough that Noel couldn’t complete the move inbounds. The Sedro-Woolley senior then got his own takedown and advanced to the final with a 7-3 victory.

Mental toughness allowed Noel to recover quickly, as he won his next two matches and finished third in the state.

“It’s hard to battle back after a loss, and I’m proud of myself for doing that,” Noel said.

Noel held off Quincy’s Cade Wallace, 5-3, and then took some tough shots from Washington’s Jacob Nelson in his placing match. Nelson was trailing in the third, and he slammed Noel out of bounds in an effort to get points. The move wasn’t dirty, but Noel had to fight through pain the rest of the way before getting a pin with 16 seconds left.

“Wrestling is the toughest thing I’ve ever done,” Noel said. “It’s taught me how to work, how to fight back after getting popped in the face. Wrestling teaches you how to be a warrior. You’re all alone out there, so it’s a good life lesson.”

Liberty senior Joanna Moreira capped her career with a fifth-place finish at 135 pounds in the girls’ division.

Hazen wrestlers win two medals

By Greg Farrar
Raven Svenson (left), Hazen High School sophomore, wrestles Charliann McCall of Centralia at 155 pounds, eventually winning by pin at 2:31 in her first match at the Mat Classic XXVII state 3A championship tournament Feb. 20 at the Tacoma Dome. Svenson went on to win fifth at state.

Hazen High School qualified five wrestlers for the Mat Classic, and two finished the weekend as medalists.

The Highlanders’ highest finisher was sophomore Raven Svenson, who finished fifth in the girls’ 155-pound division. Svenson improved upon her 2014 performance, when she placed seventh at state.

“She sealed the deal with a strong performance in her medal match finishing the match with a textbook throw to a fall,” Hazen coach Rory Magana wrote in an email.

Hazen junior Nik Vargas was the other medalist, placing eighth in the boys’ 3A 132-pound division. Vargas dropped his opening-round match, but fought back through the lower bracket to secure a spot on the podium.

Magana praised Vargas’ performance, saying the junior wrestled with “fundamentally-sound technique.” Both Vargas and Svenson are expected to return next year.

Senior Anthony Scott (106), sophomore Tyson Mowrey (113) and senior Derek Nichols (138) didn’t place, but all three “fought hard and wrestled tough,” Magana said.

Scott made the state meet in what was his first year as a wrestler, Mowrey lost to his division’s third-place finisher, while Nichols got caught in one of the most competitive brackets in the 3A tournament, Magana said.

Derek Nichols, Hazen High School senior (top), wrestles Beamer High School’s Malik Ford.

When the Liberty and Hazen wrestling teams hit the mats Jan. 16, they were tackling more than their opponents.

They, along with Oak Harbor and Highline high school wrestling teams, did all that they could to tackle pancreatic cancer at the dual meet and fundraiser.

Hazen coach Rory Magana’s father Rodney, who died just eight months after he was diagnosed with stage-four pancreatic cancer in 2011, inspired the fundraiser now in its fifth year.

“The diagnosis is a tough one,” Magana said. “The two-year survival rates are very low, and the five-year survival rates are even lower. Pancreatic cancer is the most lethal cancer diagnosis that there is, but not a lot of people have heard about it.”

This year, the Liberty gymnasium played host to the annual meet/fundraiser. In addition to T-shirt sales, pancreatic cancer education and a silent auction, fans were treated to a night of competitive wrestling.

Liberty went 1-1 on the night, defeating Hazen in a close one, while losing to Highline. The Highlanders dropped both of their matches, falling to Oak Harbor after losing to the Patriots.

“The Hazen match was a barnburner,” Liberty coach Wright Noel said. “Liberty won even though we gave up 12 points in forfeits.”

Sean Surowiec, at 126 pounds, Juan Flores (152) and Conner Small (170) each had crucial pins for Liberty, leading the Patriots to the victory.

In the other matches, the Highlanders’ Nik Vargas won by technical fall over Patriot Cooper Murch (132); Hazen’s Derek Nichols won by decision over Liberty’s Ethan Le (138), 7-0; and Leo Palaganas, of Hazen, won by decision over the Patriots’ Alec Bluhm (145), 11-4.

“We won on the strength of our wrestlers refusing to get pinned or give up major points, and the wrestlers we counted on winning were able to pin,” Noel said. “It was a great team win.”

Against Highline, Liberty got pins from Jarmon Joseph (126), Romney Noel (182), Murch and Small.

Magana said that while the Highlanders “wrestled tough,” they struggled to cope with several holes in their lineup due to illness and injury.

Of all the Highlanders’ wrestlers, Magana said he was most impressed with Nichols, who went 2-0 on the night and avenged a previous loss to No. 1-ranked wrestler Jeremy Vester (138).

“After falling behind early in the match, Nichols battled back with a dramatic throw late in the third period,” Magana said. “Nichols would earn the fall over Vester in one of the biggest upsets of the season.”

Admission to the meet was free, though donations, all of which went to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, were accepted at the door. The teams and their fans raised $1,000.

“Over the last few years, our wrestlers have been very excited to compete for such a worthy cause,” Magana said. “They love stepping up to raise awareness for such a good cause.”