Notice: Undefined index: HTTP_REFERER in /home/stparch/public_html/headmid_temp_main.php on line 4394
Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
February 25, 2016     Shelton Mason County Journal
PAGE 47     (7 of 24 available)        PREVIOUS     NEXT      Jumbo Image    Save To Scrapbook    Set Notifiers    PDF    JPG
 
PAGE 47     (7 of 24 available)        PREVIOUS     NEXT      Jumbo Image    Save To Scrapbook    Set Notifiers    PDF    JPG
February 25, 2016
 
Newspaper Archive of Shelton Mason County Journal produced by SmallTownPapers, Inc.
Website © 2025. All content copyrighted. Copyright Information
Terms Of Use | Privacy Policy | Request Content Removal | About / FAQ | Get Acrobat Reader




Thursday, Feb. 25, 2016 - Mason County Journal- Page B-7 MAT CLASSIC XXVlll Shelton High School junior Matti Mecham won her first match at state wrestling. Journal photos by Brianna Loper Lacy goes 1-2, but does not advance to second day of competition By ALEXANDRIA VALDEZ alexandria@masoncoun com Last year, Matti Mecham was an alternate at the state tournament. So she saw the lights, she saw the crowds and she saw the 24 mats spread out across the concrete floor of the Tacoma Dome. But the Shelton wrestler didn't know what it was like to compete on the floor in the heat of the moment. "It's very serious," said Me- cham, now a junior. "Very seri- ous. I always wondered what it was like to be down there warming up for your match. It's intense, you know that everyone's eyes are on you, at least from Shelton." Mecham was one of two ...... Shelton girls wrestlers who competed Feb. 19-20 at the Mat Classic XXVIII state tour- nament. Mecham placed sixth over- all in the 145-pound weight class. She went 3-3 overall. Coach Roger Garrick said the last time Shelton brought two girls to the tournament was in the late 2000s. The other wrestler at the state tournament was fresh- man Quinn Lacy, who com- peted in the 170-pound weight class. She went 1-2 overall and did not advance to the second day for a medal. The final match of Me- cham's junior season came down to the wire when she Journal photo by Alexandria Valdez Shelton High School freshman Quinn Lacy competes during the state tournament against Connell's Caily Mendez. Mecham squirms to get out of a hold by opponent Aniecea Camacho of Mount Baker, have a 5-1 lead. But Nichols wasn't ready to settle for another sixth-place finish. Despite Mecham earn~ ing a takedown after Nichols escaped, she slipped away from Mecham one more time. Then, Nichols launched her- self for a takedown and a near faced Mount Baker senior Ra- chel Nichols. Last year Nichols placed sixth at state. Mecham's first two periods were her strongest. She scored the only points in the first pe- riod with a takedown. During the second period, she earned an escape and a takedown to fall. In the end, Nichols beat Me- cham by an 8-7 decision. "It was not the way I want- ed to go," Mecham said. "But I wrestled hard and I gave it what I could. I'm happy with how I did. Last year, I was only an alternate and this year, I didn't think I was going to get a state medal." One of the toughest match- es for Mecham was her sec- ond match against Grandview High School senior Desiree Za- vala. Zavala was a three-time state champion and won the 145-pound bracket this year. Mecham hung with Zavala un- til the second period when she was pinned. For Lacy, this was the first time she was in the action. Lacy lost her first match to eventual state champion Is- saquah High School senior Kaci Moorehouse. So in order to stay in the hunt for a medal, Lacy had to win her second match against Connell High School senior Caily Mendez. Their first period was scoreless and Lacy found her- self starting on the bottom of the referee's position for the second round. Lacy quickly earned a reversal and put the first two points on the board. Mendez slipped out for brief escape, but Lacy earned a takedown for a 4-1 lead. All she had to do in the fi- nal period was keep Mendez from scoring. Mendez escaped from Lacy's clutches twice, but it wasn't enough as Lacy won 4-3. The final match for Lacy was a double overtime loss to Evergreen High School (Se- attle) senior Luna Tupa. She went on to place seventh over- all in the tournament. Despite the results, Lacy is looking forward to three more chances to compete at state. "It's a great experience," Lacy said. "If you have a chance to experience it then it really just helps you. Even if you just come to watch, it helps in the future for knowing what the state meet is like." Shelton's girls team was also named the academic state champions for the second year in a row. "They are student-ath- letes, emphasis on the stu- dent first," Garricl~ said. "So that's a big accomplishment. I'm proud of them. It's some- thing we're going to strive for every year." The accolade of being state academic champions two years in a row is the topping on a year of growth for the girls team. At the end of December, the girls won their first tour- nament title in school history and had 12 girls for most of the season. They ended with nine girls. With the success of Lacy and Mecham, next year should be full of more gains for the Climbers. "I'm really excited," Gar- rick said. "Quinn and Matti are coming back, almost ev- • eryone is coming back off our girls team. You can expect a little bit of success just from that. But they have to get back to work .... If they want to achieve here at the Tacoma Dome, they need to compete more."