Valley’s Kasen “Eddie” Clements, left, squeezed into state as an alternate and ended up gaining experience in the Tacoma Dome, although the eighth-grader lost both his bouts at 132 pounds.

TACOMA — The wrestling semifinal was exhausting.

Tyson Portmann was having a solid season at 165 pounds, with Willapa Valley supporters celebrating his 100th victory in Facebook posts in January.

He faced two juniors on the first day of the WIAA state tournament, Carter Catlin of Napavine and Ayden Grooms of Okanogan. He pinned them both.

Early Saturday, he returned to the Tacoma Dome for the semifinal against Clae Holling, a fellow senior, from Liberty High School in Spangle.

Portmann scored the first points and in the second period had a 4-1 lead when the referee warned him for stalling. He stretched his lead to four points in the latter stages, but Holling clawed back the deficit to 8-7 before time ran out.

The Viking senior shook hands with the Liberty coaches and then turned to his father, Willapa Valley coach Andy Portmann. He straightened up to grin for a father-son moment requested by a couple of photographers before collapsing on his dad’s chest.

Much later in the afternoon, Portmann pinned Kittitas junior Simon Jones and was crowned 2B champion.

The Vikings enjoyed another medal. Cody Strozyk placed sixth in the 190-pound division. The junior’s past two days differed immensely. Friday he won a 9-0 points decision over Reardan senior Conner Kline and followed up by pinning Tonasket junior Kayton Caddy.

In the semifinal Saturday, he was pinned by senior Curtis Winona of Pomeroy, who went on to place second. The consolation final saw a fifth-place medal for Forks senior Nate Dahlgren by a pin, with Strozyk taking sixth.

Sophomore teammate Lucas Swogger had a mixed state competition at 157 pounds. He was pinned by Kettle Falls senior Deacon Madeiros, then regrouped to pin his next opponent, Konnor Pilz, a junior from Pe Ell. In Saturday’s must-win match, he lost by pin to Chub Plank of Tonasket, whose third-place medal helped spur his school to win the team trophy.

One other Willapa wrestler on the mat was Kasen “Eddie” Clements, an eighth-grader who went as an alternate at 138 pounds. He was pinned by eventual third-place wrestler Leonardo Hernandez, a Grandview sophomore, and his tournament ended with a pin by Reardan senior Coen Caldwell.

For the girls, the furthest-progressing competitor from Pacific County was Raymond sophomore Nina Siribun, who concluded state with a 2-2 record.

In the 235-pound division, her first-round loss by a pin to Royal sophomore Analy Castillo moved her in the bracket against her teammate, Rayanna Rose.

Rose, also a sophomore, had been pinned by Alejandria Espindola, an Othello sophomore.

Siribun noted the irony. “It’s kind of sad, especially when you have to wrestle your own teammate to see who gets to continue,” she said.

Siribun prevailed with a pin. In the next round, she faced White Swan sophomore Rainna Jo Castilleja, pinning her in the first round and enjoying an impromptu “ta-da!” moment when the referee raised her arm to signal the win.

The celebrations didn’t last, however, as the next round saw her pinned by Espindola, who went on to place fourth.

The other area representative for the girls was Wahkiakum senior Lilian Hale, who qualified in the 155-pound division.

Unfortunately, the bracket put her up against North Mason High School junior Sadie Evans from Belfair, who won with a pin and went on to become 2B champion, winning every match with a pin.

In the consolation bracket, Hale faced Toppenish sophomore Islah Alcala, who won with a 13-6 points decision and later earned the fourth-place medal.