The East Jefferson Rivals wrestling team qualified a total of ten wrestlers for the Mat Classic state wrestling championships at the Tacoma Dome, which happens Feb. 20-22.

“This may be our largest grouping of kids we have ever qualified for the state tournament,” said coach Joey Johnson. “It was a great weekend, and it was wonderful to see so many of our kids reach this important goal.”

Five boys and five girls qualified for the championships. 

The girls side featured three league champions, including Savvanah “Savvy” Grimm at 105 pounds, Gracee Liskee at 125 pounds and Lenore Geelan at 140 pounds. Best friends Grace Ayer (130 pounds) and Lavender Douglas (125 pounds) both earned second place finishes and will also compete in the Mat Classic. The girls’ team won the combined district event Feb. 3 and earned a first-place team finish with 98 points, squeaking by Klahowya with 94 points. 

“We won as a team because almost every girl finished their season strong, putting it all on the line at their final scheduled event of the season,” said coach Jim Wilcox. 

“Both Gracee Liskee and Lenore Geelan stepped up today. Gracee has been battling injuries this last part of the season, and Lenore is figuring out just how good she can be at this sport,” said Wilcox. 

Four boys qualified at the same events as the girls, with one other boy (Mason Iverson) qualifying earlier in the week for Concrete at his district qualifier where he represented B schools.

On Feb. 5 in Concrete, Quilcene’s Mason Iverson competed in a combined district 1/2/3 qualifying tournament for the Mat Classic. Iverson finished the evening in first place and will be the first representative from the Olympic Peninsula to qualify for this year’s championships. Iverson is Quilcene’s first wrestler ever to qualify for this post-season event.

Iverson currently has an 18-9 record going into the Mat Classic and has faced some tough competition this season, including competing in both the Hammerhead Tournament in Silverdale and the Gut Check Tournament at Showare Arena in Kent. Both events featured more than 1,000 competitors. 

Iverson last wrestled in Kelso as a high school freshman, and for the last two seasons has been a member of the Quilcene basketball team in the winter. He excels in many sports, including football, baseball, track and powerlifting.

Three of the EJ boys earned league titles as follows: Manaseh Lanphear Ramirez at 150 pounds (27-6 season record), Grady White at 157 pounds (28-6 season record) and Rylen Kruse at 175 pounds (22-6 season record). Silas Klontz earned a second-place medal and will represent the Rivals at 190 pounds (16-7 season record).