Forks sophomore Bryan Lucas provided the first opposition in the 113-pound weight division as Xavier Smith of Ilwaco, right, began his quest for a 2023 medal at the state championships. Smith pinned Lucas in the second period to advance.

TACOMA — Introducing the semifinals, the stadium announcer said the athletes were “stepping into the final circles of truth.”

Wrestlers in the next-to-smallest 113-pound division had mere minutes remaining Saturday to determine the color of their medals.

More Coverage

• More photos and earlier tournament stories online at www.chinookobserver.com

Xavier Smith, Ilwaco’s surviving hope at the WIAA 2B state championships, had won twice Friday — one pin and one lopsided points decision.

The two juniors shook hands. Smith moved warily around Adna’s Cameron Thomas before engaging. He rocketed into a takedown in which he lifted his opponent up, twisted his body and dumped him over, scoring two points. Moments later, Thomas wriggled free to score one point for an escape.

In the second period, Smith again powered his opponent off his feet and turned him. Thomas appeared to go down with his hand or forearm contacting the mat.

Then his head hit.

Referees beckoned for medical staff. For long moments, Thomas lay flat, not moving, attended by a cluster of adults. At the mat’s edge, IHS assistant coach Frank Womack sought to keep Smith’s spirits high, giving him a bottle of water, distracting him from the drama playing out behind him.

A medic signaled to the scorekeeper, invoking the 2-minute concussion protocol. The scoreboard moved to 2-2. Then Thomas, still appearing groggy, was helped to his feet. And the official raised his arm.

“He picked the kid up harder than the referee liked,” said Ilwaco head coach Larry Kemmer. “He called it an illegal slam.” That ruling gave Thomas the win, and an automatic second-place medal, even though he would not be allowed to wrestle again.

Xavier Smith would not be crowned 2023 state champion.

The hug

A distraught Smith completed the courtesy handshakes then hurried into the gangway between mats. He tugged off his head protector and stood with his hands on his hips.

Kemmer had traveled with his wrestler more than 2,000 miles this winter; Smith had placed in the top three at every meet.

Then this.

The head coach enveloped him in a hug. The contact stilled the teenager. Kemmer spoke quietly in his ear. A calmness came over Smith as he held the embrace. He held on. After some while, his shoulders ceased to sag. It was more than a minute before they released.

“With the state tournament, the semifinal matches are absolutely brutal,” Kemmer explained later. “Normally when a kid loses, it’s like a 90-percent chance that a kid that loses in the semifinals is going to end up sixth, so you have to get their head back to where they are focusing to move forward rather than backward.”

Another hug

Two hours later, Smith was on the mat again. Darrington, a tiny Snohomish County community, had seven wrestlers in state contention; one had pinned his Ilwaco teammate Jace Linthakhan in the 106-pound division Friday. A freshman, Aiden Cumming, was about to encounter the teen the IHS squad calls “X.” Smith raced onto the mat, adjusted the straps of his leotard, crouching, eager for the official’s signal.

That worried Kemmer — for a moment. “It looked like he was back. It is still questionable, until they actually start to wrestle. I have seen kids run out on the mat after losing a semifinals match and get pinned in 30 seconds.”

A takedown earned Smith a 2-0 lead in the first period. Another score early in the second raised it 4-0. Then Smith curled Cumming over on his back for a pin.

For third- or fourth-place medals, Smith faced his second Folks opponent, Jesus Garcia-Domingue. They had wrestled three times this season, with Garcia-Domingue ahead 2-1. Smith was leading 4-2 in the second period when the Folks wrestler prevailed with a pin.

As the referee raised Garcia-Domingue’s arm, it was Smith’s turn to step in and hug him. The boys left the mat chatting amiably and happily posed for a photo together, both smiling. “We have been really cool ever since last year, we wrestled then,” said Smith.

Kemmer savors that element. “You wouldn’t think these kids going out and batting the way they do that they would be friends, but so many of them are,” he said.

‘Dedicated’

Summing up the season’s positives, Kemmer sparkled as he described his joy in coaching Smith.

“He is really dedicated and puts in a lot of extra time — and a great kid on top of it,” the coach said, “We are so excited to have him back next year, because next year is a clean slate and we start fresh again. And he can be at the top of the podium next year.”

Smith was upbeat, too, commending his coaches for their care and his Fishermen teammates for their support.

“It was such an experience. Great!” he said amid the noise in the Tacoma Dome as medal presentations continued. “I should have been in the finals this year, but next year for sure I am coming back. And coming back hard.”

Instead of accepting the second-place medal following the concussion injury rule, Thomas of Adna was allowed to wrestle. But Tonasket sophomore Gerado Hernandez pinned him to become state 113-pound champion.

• For the record, Xavier Smith’s first day of competition at the 2023 WIAA state championships included a pin on Forks sophomore Bryan Lucas and a 14-2 point win over junior Carter Katz of Columbia Burbank. Details and more photos are online at www.chinookoberver.com.