Yelm gets three wrestlers to state finals, places third in 3A team standings

Yelm sophomore Logan Platt had a chance to follow in his brother Derrick’s footsteps on Saturday. A year ago, Derrick Platt won the 3A 195-pound state championship as a senior for the Tornados.

Logan had a chance to match big brother on Saturday. He advanced through the bracket all the way to the championship, but ultimately had to settle for second-place, falling to Spanaway Lake’s Blade Gray 12-5 in the finals.

“I think I can keep getting better, but it’s the best I could do (this year),” Logan Platt said. “Every day in practice, I just get better each day.”

Pratt was one of three Yelm wrestlers to make the finals, and the Tornados also finished third in the team scores.

“The team really came together,” Yelm head coach Gaylord Strand said. “After a successful trip to Spokane at the regional meet, they came back and realized what they could do after being tested in the fire over there. They just brought it.”

Pratt may have had a chance to equal his brother’s accomplishment from last year, but he still has two more years to try and fill Derrick’s shoes.

“You get sibling rivalries,” Strand said. “As a sophomore, his brother placed third. Logan’s a sophomore and finished second. He upped him by one.”

Senior Cameron Dubose also made the finals at 220-pounds for the Tornados, but ran into returning champion Dustyn Camacho of O’Dea in the championship. Camacho pinned Dubose in 2:54.

“Camacho is really tough,” Strand said. “We knew that coming in. I thought he squared up to him very well in the first round. He got caught with a good takedown (in the second period) and just couldn’t get off his back.”

Yelm junior Gage Nelson also earned a second-place finish at 126-pounds. Nelson, who was ranked sixth in his weight class coming into the Mat Classic, defeated Shelton senior Cameron MacAlevy 1-0 in the semifinals to earn a spot in the championship match. Nelson was pinned by North Central’s Kenndyl Mobley in 3:47 in the finals.

Senior Eli Osso made it to the semifinals for the Tornados, where he lost to Evergreen of Vancouver’s Denny Roa 11-3. Osso bounced back to make the third-fourth place match where he lost to Shelton’s Robert Allred 15-1.

Rainier’s Klein wins 1B/2B 160-pound title

Rainier senior Brody Klein defeated Kalama sophomore Abram Foreman 10-6 in the 1B/2B 160-pound state championship match. Klein earned a trip to the final by pinning Darrington senior Lucas Reuwsaat in 5:53 in the semifinals earlier in the day on Saturday.

Black Hills senior places second

Black Hills senior Julian Kennedy placed second in the 2A 182-pound weight class, falling in the championship 18-7 Gage Caro of West Valley of Spokane., Kennedy earned a spot in the finals by pinning Selah’s Donald Schmidt in 1:08 in the semifinals.

Olympia’s Martin places sixth

Olympia senior Luke Martin made it all the way to the semifinals in the Class 4A 285-pound division, before ultimately placing sixth. Martin lost to Graham-Kapowsin sophomore Hunter Hill in the fifth-sixth place match, getting pinned in 53 seconds.