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The No. 1-ranked Class 3A wrestler at 106 pounds, Harris, a freshman, has been dominating. He is 21-1 with all but one of his wins coming via pin, including a school-record five-second pin in December.
In a marquee 113-pound matchup Thursday night between Harris and Timberline senior Dean Reginio, ranked No. 3 in 3A at 106, Harris continued what he has been doing all year – making quick work of his opponents. He pinned Reginio in 4 minutes, 40 seconds to help spark the host Tornados to a 52-21 3A Narrows League dual-meet victory over the Blazers.
Reginio got the upper hand – and a 4-2 lead – heading into the third round when he gained a two-point takedown in the final seconds to snap a 2-2 tie.
“When he slammed me at the end,” Harris said, “I just got a fire burning inside.”
That burning fire quickly set Harris in motion early in the final round, which lasted all of 40 seconds, as he picked up his 20th pin of the season and 21st victory.
“This was a big match for me,” said Harris, noting it was one of his longest matches of the season.
Coach Gaylord Strand said he shuffled around some wrestlers at different weights, but he was quick to note that Harris will compete in the postseason at 106 pounds.
Harris’ victory set the tone for Yelm’s domination of the light and middle weights, as the Tornados finished the 3A Narrows League undefeated in dual meets. Yelm had six straight victories from 113 pounds (the night’s first match) through Brandon Rochester’s 23-second pin of Timberline’s Seth Ziolowski at 145. At that point, the Tornados had a 31-0 lead.
The string of wins ended there. Just 40 seconds into the 152-pound match between Timberline’s Shane SanNicolas and Yelm’s Landon Koebberling, the match was awarded to SanNicolas by injury default after Koebberling lost consciousness briefly when SanNicolas was in control. Koebberling left the mat under his own power after being attended to for five minutes by Yelm’s coaching staff.
“I got to him and his eyes were kind of rolling,” Strand said. “We don’t want to risk any type of serious injury, especially at this time of the year.”
In all, Yelm picked up 10 victories. Dillon Harris, the top-ranked 3A wrestler at 132 and Darren Harris’ older brother, topped Josh Beam, 8-5, and Jeren Hufford, ranked No. 4 at 126, won by an 11-3 decision over Jordan Frost.
Timberline picked up three of its four victories in the heavier weights from Tyler Saichmopoo (182 pounds), Stone Hart (220) and Cole Stevens (285).
Meg Wochnick: 360-754-5473 mwochnick@theolympian.com
