Blaine wrestlers place at state championships

Blaine wrestling returned from the state championships in Tacoma this weekend with two runner-up finishes and a third and fourth place along with a top 10 finish for both girls and boys teams.
Senior Genesis Vazquez and junior Victor Gervol placed second in their respective weight classes. Senior Cael Button placed third after losing to the eventual state champion in the semifinal, and junior Lucyanna Dahl took fourth.
Blaine girls wrestling took eighth overall, finishing the two days of wrestling in the Tacoma Dome with 24 points. Vazquez scored 24 points and Dahl added 20 points to the team total. Toppenish High School won the girls 1B/2B/1A/2A championship with 299 points. White River came in second with 110 points and Royal came in third with 70.5 points.
Blaine girls wrestling head coach Damon Higgins said this was the team’s best overall finish at the state tournament.
“It’s fantastic,” he said. “The girls tore it up this weekend.”
Higgins said Vazquez is a tenacious and gritty wrestler. Vazquez had faced her championship opponent before, he said, and this time she happened to get the better of Vazquez. Vazquez lost by fall at 2:58 to Sophia Torrez of Toppenish.
Higgins said Dahl has finally started putting it all together. She has an amazing shot, or takedown, which makes her opponents stay away from her. She left everything on the mat, he said. Dahl lost by fall over three minutes in to both the quarterfinal and third place match.
“Although wrestlers step on the mat and are individuals, a wrestler is only as good as their team and their practice partners,” Higgins said. “This isn’t just two girls who went to state, this is Blaine girls wrestling that went to state. Although there were two individual placers, this is a team result.”
The boys team finished 10th overall with 49 points points. Gervol and Button scored the team 20 and 19 points with their second and third place finishes. Junior Cal Fitzgerald won a championship round match and consolation round match, adding seven points to the team total, and senior Rahul Chandran won a consolation round match, adding another three points for the team. Fitzgerald and Chandran both tied for seventh in their weight classes.
Toppenish won the boys 1A team championship with 375 points. Mount Baker came in second with 99 points and Omak took third with 86.5 points.
Blaine boys wrestling head coach Tom Hinz said a top 10 finish is consistent with where the team has been over the years, usually bring a strong contingent to the state tournament.
“I was really proud of all the guys that were going,” Hinz said “These six really put in a lot of work this season.”
Gervol lost by a 2-1 decision in the final to Anthony Nava of Toppenish after winning his previous matches by decision. Gervol almost had a reversal with 18 seconds left in the match, which Hinz said could’ve won it for him.
“Second is such a great accomplishment,” Hinz said. “You would loved to be first but it’s still a great result.”
Button lost to eventual state champion Justyce Zuniga of Toppenish by decision in the semifinal. He went on to win the third place match by decision. Hinz said Button was unfortunate to have the state championship match in the semifinals because a loss means third is the best place to take home.
“I’m super proud of how he wrestled, dealing with an injury [at the start of the season],” Hinz said. “He’s such a great example for the rest of the team.”
With multiple returning juniors, freshmen and a strong eighth grade class coming up, Hinz said they should have a strong team next year.
Hinz gave a shout out to local wrestling club the Blaine Barracudas. “Those are the kids that are going to come in and be stars for us,” he said.
He also thanked the Blaine Police Department for the send off February 16 and all those who came down to Tacoma to cheer on Blaine wrestlers.
Wrestling is more than what happens on the mat. Hinz said the accomplishments of these Blaine wrestlers reflects who they are as people, students and community members.