TACOMA — One year ago, South Kitsap High School wrestling coach Chad Nass said his daughter, Emily, made a special request for her 17th birthday.
"I want you to win me a state title," Emily Nass told her father.
The Wolves delivered in historic fashion Saturday during Mat Classic XXX, becoming the first wrestling team from Kitsap County to win a state championship in any classification. South Kitsap crushed the competition in the Class 4A tournament, amassing 160 points. Runner-up Mead barely finished within shouting distance of the Wolves, finishing with 106.5 points to edge 2016 champion Tahoma (103.5).
"Just amazing," Nass said. "We brought nine kids. Eight of them medaled and all eight medaled in the top four."
Over the course of two days at the Tacoma Dome, the Wolves won 31 of 40 matches, a statistic Nass called "unbelievable." South Kitsap performed especially clutch in the consolation round, winning 12 of 14 matches. Seniors Sebastian Robles (152 pounds), Davonn Keyes (160) and junior Ethan Fragoso (220) each took third, while senior Devin Gentz (120) placed fourth.
Keyes lost his opening match Friday before closing out his tournament with five consecutive wins, Robles went 4-0 after falling in the quarterfinals.
"You've got to come in here with a lot of guys and score with your big guns," Nass said.
Two of South Kitsap's biggest guns on Saturday share the same name. Freshman Xavier Eaglin joined senior Mason Eaglin as individual state champions.
Xavier opened the 4A tournament with an upset win over Mead's Chase Randall at 106 pounds. He scored the first three takedowns of the match to build a 7-2 lead, then held on in the third round to prevail 9-8.
"I kind of weathered the storm a little bit," he said.
Mason, who said Xavier's win nearly brought tears to his eyes, adding that his younger brother put the pressure on him to win his battle with Auburn's Cole Washburn at 170 pounds.
“Everyone’s been giving me crap all day, ‘Your brother got a state championship before you did,'" Mason said.
Trailing 2-0, Washburn nearly cradled Eaglin for a stunning pin in the second round before Eaglin escaped danger. The Duke University signee came away with a 6-5 victory.
“I was having flashbacks of last year, you know," said Eaglin, who lost by pin against Puyallup's Josh Franich in the finals in 2017 after dominating early in the match. "I was like, it’s not happening again. I’m coming back.”
South Kitsap seniors Nathan Marin and Izaiah Davis reached the finals and settled for second place. Marin lost a 1-0 decision to Moses Lake's Hunter Cruz at 160 pounds, while Davis fell 6-2 to Skyview's Jackson McKinney at 195.
Preparing to accept the first-place team trophy with his wrestlers, Nass, who wrestled at South Kitsap and won an individual title in 1992, said the Wolves proved to be more than just a team in the most important tournament of the season.
"This is just a special group of kids," Nass said. "We've always said, 'We're not a team, we're a family.' When they needed to pull together, they stepped it up. Everybody had a piece. It wasn’t just a couple guys that carried the weight. We all did our jobs.”
Putting on a South Kitsap singlet for the final time, Robles said it's not the wrestling he's going to miss the most.
“This will probably be the hardest thing for me," Robles said. "It’s going to be hard leaving the family, hearing their voice every day.”
Two other Kitsap wrestlers reached the finals Saturday and placed second. In the girls tournament, North Kitsap sophomore Holly Beaudoin dropped a 2-0 decision to Zillah's Olyvia Smith. It was an emotional loss for Beaudoin, who placed second at state as a freshman.
"I really didn't come to get second again," Beaudoin said.
In the 2A tournament, Olympic senior Alec Acfalle was no match for Orting's Alex Cruz, who became a four-time champion after a 13-0 victory.
