Mat Classic: High school wrestling championship bigger than ever at Tacoma Dome

Faith Tarrant of Prairie, shown here earlier this season, is hoping to win a fourth state title in girls wrestling. Mat Classic begins Thursday at the Tacoma Dome. Photo by Paul Valencia

There are more than 200 athletes from Clark County and Woodland who will be competing in Mat Classic, which is now a three-day event at the Tacoma Dome, with four championship divisions being completed by Friday night and five on Saturday

Paul Valencia
ClarkCountyToday.com

The end of the season for high school wrestling in Washington has always been one of the biggest events on the WIAA calendar.

Boys and girls wrestling, all classifications, under one roof for one epic event.

We know it as Mat Classic.

Now, it might as well be the Even Bigger Mat Classic.

Mat Classic 2025 in the Tacoma Dome is going to be a three-day event, with championship nights split up, with some classifications going with Friday finals and others on Saturday.

The brackets are larger, too, with spots for 32 wrestlers in each weight class.

“It was getting harder and harder to get enough sites to host regionals with the growth of girls wrestling,” said Mick Hoffman, executive director of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association.

Instead, wrestlers earned spots to state through district tournaments.

“We think it will be cost neutral and twice as many kids get to compete in the Tacoma Dome,” Hoffman said.

It will also make finals a more exclusive feeling for those in championship matches. There are now nine separate championship events to conduct. The 4A boys, 3A boys, 4A girls, and 3A girls will be completed on Friday night. The 2A boys, 1A boys, 2B/1B boys, 2A girls, and 1A/2B/1B girls will finish on Saturday night.

There are more than 200 Clark County (and Woodland) wrestlers who have earned spots to state, which begins Thursday with Class 4A and 3A boys and Class 4A and 3A girls opening round matches.

On Friday, opening round matches will be held for Classes 2A, 1A, and the B boys, as well as 2A girls and 1A girls.

Faith Tarrant of Prairie is looking to become a four-time state champion. There have only been four girls who have ever accomplished the feat. Tarrant is ranked No. 1 in her Class 3A weight class by the Washington Wrestling Report.

There are four other defending state champions from Clark County in the field, as well.

Skyview’s Jonas DesRochers (132 pounds), Mason DesRochers (138), and JJ Schoenlein (175) are all ranked No. 1.

Union’s Noah Koyama won it all at 138 pounds last year. He is at 144 this season.

Connor Crum of Seton Catholic finished second in Class 1A 120 pounds last season. He is the top-ranked 1A wrestler at 126 pounds going into this event.

Another top-ranked wrestler from the county is Aliyah Vargas of Washougal in the 2A girls 145-class.

Camas leads the 4A boys with nine qualifiers. Prairie has 12 qualifiers in 3A boys. Ridgefield has 11 in the 2A boys brackets. La Center has 12 wrestlers in 1A boys. In all, there are 125 boys from Clark County (and Woodland) at Mat Classic.

Union leads the 4A schools with 10 qualifiers in 4A girls. Mountain View has six girls in the 3A brackets. Hudson’s Bay has six girls in the 2A brackets. Fort Vancouver and Seton Catholic each have three girls in the 1A brackets. There are 76 girls from the area at Mat Classic.