This year, Jody Coleman swapped his all-red suit and sparkling gold slippers for a Naruto robe at Mat Classic XXXVII. The idea wasn’t his at first, but Otting’s head coach quickly fell in love with the stylish black cape with its red cloud pattern. Consider matching team colors a bonus.
“I’m trying to have a theme for this year,” he said Saturday, donning his “Akatsuki” robe in the stands at the Tacoma Dome. “This year’s themes are all about Spartan stories and mottos and stuff like that.
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“I think the kids would just look at me blankly, so I don’t know if they heard me.”
The idea of coordinating outfits at the upcoming state tournament was put on hold when an Akatsuki robe from the popular Naruto anime show appeared on a wrestler’s TikTok feed. They’re worn by one of the show’s most powerful tribes and the main villains of the iconic TV and comic series.
“This just represents us,” Orting’s Arcadius Cruz said.
Coleman found a great deal online, ordered 25 robes for $25 each, and the rest is history. What was the response? A mixed bag. Most of the wrestlers noticed this and offered compliments, even grabbing their phones to take photos. Coaches and referees, not so much.
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“I tell the kids — we can’t just do this and get beat,” Coleman said with a laugh. “They’ll forever talk about how they beat you and how stupid you looked. So you have to win big and they won’t say it’s stupid. They’ll say it’s cool.”
Otting earned the leeway. Before Saturday’s tournament began, they were all but guaranteed a fifth straight 2A team title at the Mat Classic XXXVII — a comprehensive domination that included seven Cardinals finalists. Four of them won individual titles.
Here are the play-by-play details for Otting’s championship finalists at the Tacoma Dome:
113 — Nery Rivas scored 14 points in the first quarter and defeated Aberdeen’s Ryder Lessard (17-1, 2:06) via technical fall. Rivas nearly fell twice in the opening minute and jumped into the arms of his head coach, now a two-time state champion, after the buzzer sounded. “This is normal to me,” he said. “I knew I was supposed to be here. I worked too hard to not be here.”
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120 — Arcadius Cruz defeated Toppenish’s Audon Clark (TF 17-1, 5:24) for his first state title after finishing third at last February’s Mat Classic XXXVI. “My dad told me, ‘He’s going to try to slow you down. You are who you are,'” Cruz recalled. “I have to keep up with him.”
126 — Four state denials: Trevor Anderson defeated Toppenish’s Steve Romero 6-5 in triple overtime in an instant classic between the defending state champions. Romero was seeking his fourth individual title; Anderson won second. “It’s really special,” he said of Otting’s fifth straight team title. “We just have a bunch of hammers in that room. I’d rather suffer in the room than suffer on the mat, so I’m just trying to push myself as hard as I can with (our) top guys.”
138 — Toppenish’s Justyce Zuniga defeated Dominic Thomas 7-3 in a rematch of last year’s Mat Classic XXXVI 2A 132 championship match. Zuniga captured his fourth individual title, Division I Little Rock Wrestling and TNT Untouchables tryout title. “I went in there with the mindset that I knew I was going to win,” Zuniga said. “I could have been more dominant. I could have beaten his brakes like I did last year. Sometimes, that’s not always the case. I knew I was going to win. From the first fall, I knew the race was over.
“All glory to God. I couldn’t have made the changes I did without Him. Hats off to all my best friends, especially Steve (Romero). It’s sad to see your childhood best friend lose, but at the end of the day, it wasn’t his day. … I love that kid so much.”
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150 — Cardinals freshman Dakota Anderson finished with four takedowns in a 13-8 win over Toppenish’s Isaiah Rios.
165 — Michael Fritz defeated Deer Park’s Emmitt Priddy via technical fall (18-0, 3:04) in a fast and clean routine to help the Cardinal senior win his third state championship. “There’s nothing I love more than this. It’s the best thing in the world,” he said of Otting’s fifth straight team title. “The room is full of hammers and it’s great to be around these guys. We push each other to be better.”
175 — North Kitsap’s Luan Bekteshi defeated Amos Voss in a 2-1 decision.
“This group of kids are all younger brothers,” Coleman said. “They stay in the room the longest… they’re so comfortable.
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“It’s fun to win with these guys because I’ve known them forever.”
team champion
2A boy — Orting(395)
1A boy — Wapato(263.5)
1B/2B men — Granger(208.5)
2A girl — Toppenish(297)
1B/2B/1A girls — Royal(262)