<I>KEVIN HEIMBIGNER photo</I><BR>Bobby Crislip took third place at the regional tournament on Saturday to earn a trip to the Mat Classic state tournament this Friday and Saturday at the Tacoma Dome.

RAINIER – Bobby Crislip won his final match at Regionals in Rainier Saturday and Geoff Hylton lost his, but both Ilwaco wrestlers had already qualified for a trip to the Tacoma Dome and the B/1A state wrestling tournament.

Crislip pinned Kyle Strode of Ocosta in 1:51 to earn third place at Regionals in the 275 lbs. classification. Raymond’s Jared Little decisioned Kalama’s Sean McDonald 7-4 for the 275 lbs. title. Crislip had defeated both earlier this year before a thumb injury, that will require surgery following the season, gave the senior trouble. He finished fifth at state last season.

Hylton, wrestling at 189 lbs., was pinned by Chuck Kaech of Mossyrock in 3:36 to take the fourth and final berth to the Mat Classic. Last season Hylton was an alternate to state, but did not wrestle in Tacoma. Aaron Cornett of Ocosta pinned Rainier’s Ben Sullivan in 1:19 for the 189 lbs. crown.

Crislip pinned Zack Boothby of Ocosta in 15 seconds to kick off his regional tournament and then lost in what Coach Mike Garcia dubbed as the equivalent of the championship match. “Jarod Little of Raymond was ahead of Bobby 2-1 with about 30 seconds remaining when Bobby tried to get a take down for the win,” the coach said. Little countered the move and got the two points instead for a 4-1 victory.

Crislip punched his ticket to state in convincing fashion by pinning Chris Zacker of White Pass in 24 seconds and then pinned Strode for third place. Hylton won his first match 11-6 over Brad Gaffney of North Beach, a wrestler who he had lost to the three previous meetings according to Garcia. He lost to Sullivan by pin, then pinned Rupp Freese from Ocosta in 45 seconds in a bout that earned Hylton his trip to state.

Garcia said of Hylton, “We are very excited to see Geoff meet his goal of going to the Mat Classic. Even though it wasn’t one of his better days he’s exactly where he wants to be and he’s gotten better each week.”

Ikaika Thomas at 275 lbs. lost to Little in 30 seconds via pin and to Strode in 1:35 also by pin. Brandon Vitkoczy at 215 lbs. lost to champion Peter Johnson by pin and then battled Raymond’s Nate Little into the third round before succumbing via pin at the 5:35 mark.

Stephen Berglund (103 lbs.) entered Regionals as an alternate and lost his first match by pin and then was tied with Jesse Braun at 10-10 with seconds remaining when the Ocosta wrestler scored a reversal. Jon Biggs, also an alternate, qualified when another wrestler didn’t make weight and was pinned and then held on to avoid a second pin, but dropped a 0-9 decision against Ocosta’s Tony Oyunbaatar.

“We were hoping to get three or four kids to the Mat Classic, but our three freshmen and sophomore did well and gained valuable experience,” Garcia said. “We are very proud of our junior (Hylton) and senior (Crislip) and we know anything could happen at state so we’re optimistic.”

Kylie Lewis at 135 lbs. will compete in the girl’s Mat Classic division and with a win in three matches could be a state champion. There are currently more than 100 girl wrestlers entered in the Mat Classic, a significant increase from just three years ago.

Kalama won the Regional team event and Ilwaco was twelfth of 16 teams. Team scores were as follows: Kalama 204, Cathlamet 173, Rainier 155.5, Ocosta 151.5, North Beach 93, Raymond 71.5, Onalaska 62, White Pass 53, Toledo 51, Willapa Valley 40, South Bend 39, ILWACO 30, Napavine 22, Mossyrock 18, Winlock 12, Morton 0.