Rogers powers to podium, Baublits follows as Eatonville earns four medals at Mat Classic XXXVIII State Championships
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The bright lights of the WIAA Mat Classic XXXVIII State Championships once again filled the Tacoma Dome this past weekend, where Eatonville High School sent nine wrestlers to compete against the best in Washington.
By the end of the three-day tournament, four Cruisers reached the podium, highlighted by a third-place finish from junior Ethan Rogers and a fourth-place medal from Najalia “Nala” Baublits. The Eatonville boys finished 25th out of 60 teams in the 2A standings, just one spot off last year’s 24th-place finish out of 61 schools. The girls made a notable jump, placing 28th out of 56 teams after finishing 34th a year ago.
Competing at 215 pounds in the boys 2A bracket, Rogers capped a dominant 48-4 season with a third-place medal after failing to place last year at 190 pounds.
Rogers opened with a first-round fall over Marysville Pilchuck’s Maksim Tchelouchkin in 3 minutes, 20 seconds. He followed with a 15-0 technical fall against Clover Park’s Chase Porter, then edged Washougal’s Michael Camp 4-2 in the quarterfinals.
His championship run ended in the semifinals with a loss to North Kitsap’s Theo Stearns. Rogers responded the way experienced juniors do. He pinned Ephrata’s Peyton Woods in 2:17 in the consolation semifinals, then controlled West Valley of Spokane’s Logan Riley 7-2 in the third-place match to secure his medal.
The finish marked a significant step forward from last season and capped one of the strongest individual campaigns in the program this year.
At 190 pounds, Jarin Ragazzo placed seventh after also coming up short at state last season in the 165-pound class.
Ragazzo opened with back-to-back major decisions, defeating Olympic’s Logan Wilkinson 11-3 and Chief Sealth’s Jessie Gilmore II 12-0. He dropped a tight 7-6 decision to North Kitsap’s Marquiese Vestal in the quarterfinals, then battled through the consolation bracket.
He pinned Toppenish’s Ezequiel Ramirez in 4:41 before falling 2-1 to Othello’s Miguel Zuniga. Ragazzo closed his tournament with an 11-5 decision over Marysville Pilchuck’s Steven Morales in the seventh-place match.
At 120 pounds, Teagan Croppi won his first two matches, including a first-round 7-1 decision over W.F. West’s John Alexander pinned Othello’s Jeremiah Vargas. Croppi’s run ended after losses to Burlington-Edison’s Damian Fernandez in the quarterfinals and Cedarcrest’s Ben Langley in the consolation round.
Stephen Patton, wrestling at 126 pounds, dropped his opening match to Black Hills’ Cash Boos and was eliminated in the consolation bracket by Sequim’s Finn Jones.
At 138 pounds, Aiden Hughey was pinned in both of his matches, falling to Squalicum’s Brenden Ferrall-Garcia and Quincy’s Jace Reyes.
On the girl’s side, Baublits turned in the girls’ highest finish with a fourth-place medal at 100 pounds after failing to place last year at 105.
After a first-round bye, Baublits pinned Kingston’s Lucy Saeed in 3:58 and shut out Lakewood’s Norah Cartwright 6-0 in the quarterfinals. She fell by pin to Prosser’s Alexa Carrasco in the semifinals but answered with a pin over Quincy’s Emiko Kondo in 4:44 in the consolation semifinals.
In the third-place match, Baublits was pinned by Othello’s Janissa Barrera, settling for fourth and a trip to the podium after last year’s disappointment.
Makenzie Ball placed sixth at 170 pounds, improving after not placing in the same weight class last season.
Ball received a first-round bye, then pinned Toppenish’s Octavea John and East Valley of Spokane’s Chloe Bennett to reach the semifinals. She lost by major decision to Toppenish’s Evette Esquivel, then fell 3-2 to R.A. Long’s Raileea Campbell in the consolation semifinals. Olympic’s Maiyah Marner pinned Ball in the fifth-place match.
At 110 pounds, Khloee Young won her opening match with a 9-4 decision over Rogers of Spokane’s Isabella Sanders. After a quarterfinal loss to Othello’s Grayce Mendez, Young pinned Bainbridge’s Josie Otepka in the consolation bracket before being eliminated by Othello’s Brooklyn Hillman.
Abigail Lay, competing at 115 pounds, lost by pin to Port Angeles’ Lilly Lancaster in the opening round. After a consolation bye, she was pinned by Othello’s Yaritzi Flores.
Eatonville’s four medals and the girls team’s climb in the standings offered tangible signs of progress. Rogers’ third-place finish and Baublits’ fourth-place effort set the tone, while Ragazzo and Ball added key team points.
With the team gaining valuable state experience and a pair of podium finishes marking significant improvement from a year ago, the Cruisers left the Tacoma Dome with momentum heading into the offseason.
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