Gonzaga Prep freshman duo claim first titles, Bullpups take second in team race | Mat Classic 37

TACOMA — Gonzaga Prep’s outstanding freshman class was the talk of the Greater Spokane League throughout the season.

But after Mat Classic 37, they might be the talk of the whole state.

Miro Parr-Coffin (106-pounds) and Austin Schield (138) both claimed their first titles in the Tacoma Dome on Friday night, while fellow freshman Ryder Owen (126) and Karver Peasley (106) were second.

“We’re here to compete and we did that tonight,” Schield said. “We have so many great leaders in the room and us young guys just look to them every day and have learned so much.”

The evening started out with a wrestling-room rivalry for the Bullpups, as Parr-Coffin and Peasley battled it out for the 106-pound title.

The pair were knotted a 1-1 for the majority of the match, before Parr-Coffin was able to earn an escape with four seconds remaining to claim the crown over his teammate and training partner.

“It’s not a position either of us want to be in going against your friend,” Parr-Coffin said. “We know each other so well, every move. It might not be the most exciting match because of that, but it shows that every point matters.”

Schield’s title came via a 10-2 major decision over Kamiakin’s Cannon Meagher, a rematch of the District 6 title bout from two weeks ago — which Schield also won.

But the young pups weren’t the only ones to walk away winners for Prep, as senior Izzy Acosta claimed his third Mat Classic title in a row.

The 150-pounder’s title capped an impressive high school career, which began with a second-place finish and a state title at Pullman, before winning the last two years at Gonzaga Prep.

“It’s felt so good being able to lead a team like this,” Acosta said. “These young guys are just hammers and I know they have bright futures that I can’t wait to watch. Just getting to be a leader this year has been the most fun I’ve had in a wrestling room.”

Gonzaga Prep finished the tournament with 10 wrestlers reaching the podium, taking a school-best second place in the team standings with 251.5 points. Tahoma repeated as 4A champs with 283.5 points.

“We’re coming to get the state championship,” Peasley said. “We are so young and feel like we can only get better.”

Greater Spokane League foe Mead finished third in the standings with 185.5 points and a pair of champions in freshman Duane Leslie and senior Logan Ullah.

Leslie claimed his first Mat Classic title in his first trip to the Dome with a hard-fought 5-1 victory over Chiawana’s Tayten Cissne in the 175-pound final. Leslie said the experience was made easier by the support he had from his experienced teammates.

“I know I have put in as much work as everyone else that is here, and I knew I could do it so I just had to put it out on the mat,” Leslie said. “This team and the guys I train with have taught me so much. At the start of the year I probably thought more about myself, but by the end I realized that by focusing on the team I can help myself more.”

Ullah then added a 190-pound title for the Panthers, the first of his career. Ullah held off Moses Lake’s Eli Anderson to claim the win, giving credit to the work he’s done in the Mead wrestling room with his training partners.

“That room has been everything to me,” Ullah said. “Me, Duane, Ethan (Harvey) and Caden Brooks are a group of four and we do everything together. We have pushed each other so much and you can see the result in the success we had this weekend.”

While Leslie and Ullah walked away with titles, Harvey added a second-place finish at 190-pounds, while Brooks finished third at 215.

Portrey claims her first

Mead freshman Briella Portrey might have been a bit nervous ahead of her first Mat Classic, but there is no better way to shake them off than beating a defending state champion.

“I was honestly a little nervous,” Portrey said. But in the last two minutes before I stepped out for the finals I just had my coaches around me and that really calmed me and let me focus.”

That focus allowed Portrey to claim a third-period pin over defending champ and Sunnyide senior Danica Torres to claim her first state title and finish the season with a 40-1 record.

“I’m just so happy, not much more I can say,” Portrey said.