TACOMA — Ilwaco celebrated two wrestlers on the podium at the WIAA 1B/2B state championships.

Both won fifth-place medals.

Senior Wade Smith wrestled at 150 pounds and freshman Mark Ragan at 132 pounds.

Their camera-click moment before a roaring crowd at the Tacoma Dome delighted Larry Kemmer, who earlier in the day had been applauded as state Coach of the Year.

“Mark is starting his career with a spot on the podium and Wade is ending his there,” the coach said.

‘Favorite’

In his first bout, team captain Smith was ahead 5-0 on points against Case Von Kooten of Napavine when he turned his opponent upside down and won with a pin. He pinned his second opponent, Gavin Carter of Newport, to advance to the second day.

In the quarters, he faced Ocosta junior Ronin Rutzer, winning with a pin. That set up a semifinal match with senior Maddox Strobel of Liberty Spangle, who won on points, 12-8. Strobel later won the championship in the final against Goldendale senior Storey Woodbury.

As consolation matches continued, Smith lost in a points decision to senior Lucien Paz of Liberty Bell (who placed third) but recovered to take the fifth-place medal by defeating senior Carson Kubik of Ritzville on points 8-5.

“I am a little disappointed,” said Smith. “I did the best against the guy who got first, but I still lost to him.”

He added that it was a privilege to wear Ilwaco colors. “I have never met a coach as good as Larry Kemmer. He is my favorite coach ever in all of sports.”

The coach was quick to return the compliment.

“Wade has been a pleasure to work with,” Kemmer said. “He is always willing to put the work in. He will be greatly missed. His leadership and drive has been a real asset. He also finished on a high note, winning his final match as a Fisherman.”

‘Heart’

Freshman Mark Ragan was celebrating his birthday at the Tacoma Dome Friday when the public address announcer teased him about it.

He pinned his first opponent, Wilbur eighth-grader Ethan Wyborney, in the first round. His second contest, against Cody Phillips of Colfax, was dramatic. He was down 7-4 after the first period, but pulled back in the second. Escapes and other scoring moves in the third helped him add four unanswered points in the waning 21 seconds to win 19-11.

In the quarterfinal, Ragan faced Lake Roosevelt senior Isaac Circle. He led throughout in a close contest and survived an almost even third period to win 10-8.

The semifinal bout against senior Gerardo Hernandez of Tonasket ended with a pin. Hernandez later won in the final against Goldendale junior Brock Armstrong.

Ragan’s path continued with a loss in the consolation bracket against senior E.K.S. Camel of Okanogan and a win for fifth place against senior Kash Wright of Goldendale. Camel placed fourth.

“Mark had a great freshman season, ending on the podium and with a win,” said Kemmer. “He is great kid with a ton of heart and great deal of drive.”

Family

Three other Ilwaco seniors had also qualified for state.

Blake Bell, in the smallest 106 division, pinned Preston Mackin of Lake Roosevelt in the early stages of his first match. In his second, he survived a middle period where his opponent, Christian Bustamante of Grandview, appeared to dominate. The result was a 15-2 loss.

In his next, against Evan Delaney of Rainier, Bell managed to pin him, setting up an encounter with teammate Colten Vandermeulen, whom he defeated on points. His high school wrestling career came to an end with a loss in the consolation bracket to Collin Christman of Lake Roosevelt, who placed fifth.

“He did really well,” said Kemmer. “He was only a second-year wrestler. Great kid from a great family.” (His older brother, Alec, a 2017 state champion for IHS, is assistant coach.)

‘Tough’

At 138, Claudio Mendez began his campaign with a see-saw match against sophomore Sam Jager of Republic. He was ahead on points after the first period, then behind by one point before he was pinned. Mendez recovered to defeat freshman Andrew Gaylor of Winlock with a pin. In the consolation bracket, he lost to sophomore Porter Wood of Almira-Coulee-Hartline.

“He had a great season,” said his coach. “He came in, dropped a few pounds and got into a tough weight class. He’s a tough kid — harder on himself than you ever could be. He had never been here before and made his presence felt by winning a match, beating somebody.”

Memory

Marcus Lynch, a fixture in IHS sports for four years, concluded his wrestling career at 215.

He began with a loss to Cole Snider of Wilbur. The contest was evenly balanced, with much of the grappling in a standing position including a stalemated second period, After adding points from an escape, Snider pinned him in the third.

But Lynch came back and pinned Liam Regan, a junior from Mansfield, in his next contest. He was eliminated in the consolation round by Landen Pillers of Newport.

“He got here and won a match — and that’s huge. Now he can take that with him for the rest of his life,” said Kemmer.

‘Brutal’

Vandermeulen, a freshman, began his campaign in the 106-pound division by almost being pinned, then turned the tables on his opponent, Nolan Dunivin of Napavine, and pinned him on the edge of the mat.

Against Tonasket senior Miguel Depaz, Vandermeulen worked hard to avoid a pin in the first period, but was behind on points in the second when he was pinned. (Depaz later placed second.)

That put him into a bout with Aden Fletcher of Okanogan that he won, then he faced Bell, losing 17-3. “It is always brutal when you have to wrestle a teammate and it puts you in or out,” said Kemmer. “But he has had a great season. He is a good wrestler.”

‘Promise’

The first day saw early departures for junior Lupe Torres at 120 and freshman Chris Arnett at 157 in the double-elimination format.

Torres came up against strong Lake Roosevelt sophomore Kaden Christman, who was able to pick him up twice and turn him. Christman racked up points before pinning him.

Behind on points after the first period in his second match, Torres scored with an escape against Erik Camacho of Warden but couldn’t avoid being pinned.

Kemmer commended his season. “He is a hard-working kid,” said his coach. “The one thing you can count on from him is he is going to work hard.”

Arnett faced Northwest Christian freshman Hudson Soames, who won with an early pin; his state path ended with a loss to Goldendale junior Caden Sullivan.

As a freshman, Kemmer sees Arnett’s potential. “He has a ton of promise and was in a very tough weight class,” said Kemmer. “He has really progressed from the beginning of the season to the end — that’s what got him here.”

• For the record, Tonasket earned the boys’ 1B/2B state championship team trophy just ahead of Okanogan. Liberty Bell was third and Goldendale fourth; Ilwaco placed 25th.