Bears finish 5th in 2022
The Bears capped off an awesome season placing 5th in the 4A State Tournament, missing out on a 4th place trophy by just a single point. The Bears qualified 14 wrestlers for Mat Classic XXXIII, having a wrestler represented at almost every weight class after winning both the league and regional tournaments this season. The Bears have placed in the Top 10 at State in all but three years since 1990.
Twelve of fourteen wrestlers that qualified for the tournament were able to win at least one match. Tahoma tied the 4A state champions, Chiawana, for the most pins with 14. The best round of the tournament happened on Saturday morning, where the Bears four eventual placers would win four straight matches, all by pin, helping the team to climb the leaderboard.
Chris Neal
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State Champion
The team was led by junior Christopher Neal, who was a state champion at 170 pounds. Chris won the title in overtime taking advantage of the extra work he put in during the season. Chris was also able to make it on to our “All-Time Stats” list with his 31 pins and 35 wins this season.
Joe Sullivan, 2nd Place
Sophomore Joe Sullivan also made it to the finals taking 2nd place at 106 pounds. Joe dominated the league, and region, this year and is poised to do great things for the Bears in coming years.
Nathan Curry, 3rd Place
Junior Nathan Curry took 3rd this season at 126 pounds making him a two-time state placer. Nathan suffered an injury during the regional finals, but was able to rally and have a very impressive tournament, dropping just a single match. He was able to pin multiple opponents without the use of one of his thumbs, as it had been taped together with his other fingers. Curry, who already made the “All-Time Stats” list as a freshman, bested his performance with 37 wins on the season.
Braydon Hanson, 5th Place
Senior Braydon Hanson became a three-time state placer taking 5th place at the tournament. Braydon likely would have been Tahoma’s seventh four-time state placer had it not been for COVID taking away that chance with last year’s tournament not being held. Braydon, the youngest of three Hanson brothers (Sean and Cameron) to go through the program, earned a spot on the ”All-Time Stats” list with 35 wins and 26 pins. He also led the team in takedowns.
State Placers Under Coach Feist
The addition of these four state placers takes Coach Feist over the 100 placer mark as coach of the Bears. He now has 103 state placers in his coaching career. He has coached 24 state champions in his time at Tahoma starting with Ryan Qualls back in 2002.
The Bears plan to “chop wood and carry water” in the off season putting in the necessary work to get better. The team will return 11 wrestlers, including a number of alternates, to this year’s state tournament. The wrestling future is bright in Maple Valley! Go Bears!
