Three East Jefferson Rivals wrestlers, Mi Amada Lanphear Ramirez, Lars Wakefield, and Logan Massie ventured south to Tacoma over the weekend to compete in the Mat Classic XXXIII State tournament.

Massie ended in second place for the boys 1A 170-pound weight class, Lanphear Ramirez ended in the top eight for the girls 115-pound weight class, and Wakefield finished in the top eight as well for the 1A boys 285-pound weight class.

All three grapplers participated between Feb. 18 and Feb. 19 at the tournament, hosted in the Tacoma Dome.

Massie started off the first day with two bye games, then faced opponent Kaleb Hernandez of Eastern Washington for his first matchup of the tourney.

“This was our first test. We didn’t really know how we stacked up against the east side until this moment,” said Steve Grimm, head coach of Rivals wrestling program.

“Logan dominated and ended it with a pin. Logan’s big win was a statement to the East Side wrestlers,” Grimm added.

Massie beat Hernandez of Royal High School by pin (3:43) to move on to the semifinals.

On Day Two, Massie beat Rylin Pavlin of Lakeside High School with a 16-2 decision.

After reaching the finals, Massie battled with Kaiden Kintner of Toppenish High School in the finals to decide the state champion. Both fought hard, but Kintner defeated Massie by fall (2:28).

“[Massie] got ahead 1-0 and then it was 1-2 at the end of Round One,” Grimm said. “In Round Two, Logan went for his signature cradle and got [in a] bad position for a split second and was flipped to his back and unfortunately, could not recover,” Grimm said.

“Round One was so fast and intense with two great athletes battling it out. They were battling each other so hard, they flew off the mat at one point and landed on the concrete.” 

Massie finished as the number-two 1A wrestler in the 170-pound weight class.

Wakefield had two bye matches to start off, then lost by fall in the quarter finals to Kevin Dominguez of Royal High School.

He then lost his second match and was eliminated from the state championships after the first day.

Lanphear Ramirez (115 division) had two bye games, then won by fall in the quarter finals.

“[The] match ended with Mi Amada pinning her but it was super close. She got took down and was behind by two points with
30 seconds left,” Grimm said.

“These are the moments as a coach I love to watch,” he added. “She’s exhausted, wrestling the toughest match of the year and now only has 30 seconds to come back and win. This is where you see what she is made of,” Grimm said of Lanphear Ramirez in her quarterfinal matchup.

“I like to say it as, ‘Let’s see how big her heart is?’ Because at this point, nothing else matters but that. She fired back and won by the size of her determination. She actually ended up pinning the girl before time ran out,” he added.

Lanphear Ramirez lost to eventual state champion Ashley Dayana Naranjo of Moses Lake High in the semi-finals.

Grimm had big praise for all three of his grapplers after their appearances at the Mat Classic.

Although they fell short of a state title, Grimm reiterated his pride in Wakefield, Lanphear Ramirez, and Massie

Wakefield had a fantastic second half of the wrestling season, and put on one of the best performances of his career in Regionals to make it to Tacoma and compete, Grimm said.

“Lars is a junior and will be back next year. He will move into next year with state tournament experience,” he added.

In her first year wrestling at the high school level, Lanphear Ramirez made it to State, and ended in the top four.

“I don’t believe we have ever had a first-year wrestler compete at State. She was one win away from a state medal, too,” Grimm said. “Mi Amada is very gifted in wrestling and has a bright future. I haven’t seen a girl start off this good since Chloe Rogers (one of the most successful female wrestlers from Port Townsend) who started as a sophomore, too,” he added.

Last, but certainly not least, Grimm applauded Massie for a top-notch performance in his final wrestling tournament as a high-schooler.

“Logan was the sub-regional champ, regional champ, and was second in the state; a spectacular high school wrestling career for him. Logan was the hardest worker I have ever seen,” Grimm said. “I have never had someone train that hard, and at the same time, be so happy and kind to others.

“He is truly unique. His work ethic, determination, and happy attitude are an inspiration to us all,” the coach said.