Site Logo

WR wrestling takes fifth in state; basketball tips off

Published 12:30 pm Monday, February 23, 2026

By Kevin Hanson

PHOTOs BY KEVIN HANSON Enumclaw High’s Easton Bylin, a freshman, placed fourth after two days of competition at the state 3A championships. One of his victories, shown here, was against an opponent from Tacoma’s Silas High.
1/4

PHOTOs BY KEVIN HANSON

Enumclaw High’s Easton Bylin, a freshman, placed fourth after two days of competition at the state 3A championships. One of his victories, shown here, was against an opponent from Tacoma’s Silas High.

PHOTOs BY KEVIN HANSON Enumclaw High’s Easton Bylin, a freshman, placed fourth after two days of competition at the state 3A championships. One of his victories, shown here, was against an opponent from Tacoma’s Silas High.
Lily Pedersen wrapped up her Enumclaw High wrestling career with a seventh-place finish during Mat Classic XXXVII. In this photo she is on the way to a victory over a Highline foe.
PHOTO BY KEVIN HANSON White River freshman Makella Taggart was a Mat Classic standout during her first Tacoma Dome appearance, placing third in her weight class. Here, she handles a Snohomish High opponent on the way to a Thursday victory.
PHOTO BY KEVIN HANSON Enumclaw High's Easton Bylin, a freshman, placed fourth after two days of competition at the state 3A championships. One of his victories, shown here, was against an opponent from Tacoma's Silas High.

Basketball takes center stage this week with the early, qualifying rounds of state tournament games. The world of prep hoops is the only action remaining from the winter season.

Here’s a look at how the Plateau basketball teams will kick off state play with, additionally, a long look at how the boys and girls wrestling teams did at last week’s state meet.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

The girls hoop squads from both Enumclaw High and White River will bypass the opening round of the Class 3A state tournament, thanks to impressive regular-season records followed by district success.

Each will begin state play this Saturday, February 28, with Enumclaw seeded No. 10 into the tourney and White River No. 12.

Enumclaw: The EHS squad will tip off at 2 p.m. Saturday at Auburn High, taking on either Meadowdale or River Ridge; those two squared off Tuesday with the winner advancing.

Enumclaw’s Saturday game will be of the loser-out variety. The winner advances to the 3A’s four-day run at the Tacoma Dome (February 4-7), playing on opening day.

White River: The Buckley squad opens state play Saturday with a 2 p.m. game at the University of Puget Sound. The Hornets will face the winner of a February 24 contest between Kelso and Gig Harbor.

The Saturday game is a loser-out contest, with the winner advancing to play March 4, another loser-out game.

District tournament: Both Enumclaw High and White River had entered district play with a first-round bye – due to their No. 2 and No. 4 seeding, respectively – meaning they needed just a single victory to lock in a state berth.

They accomplished that feat during home games on February 16, each scoring 66 points while posting double-digit wins. Enumclaw’s girls stepped onto the court at Chuck Smith Gymnasium and whipped Lakes High 66-47. On the other side of the county line, on their rural Buckley campus, the White River girls downed Bellarmine Prep 66-49.

Enumclaw added a second district victory, beating Gig Harbor 51-46, before falling to top-ranked North Thurston 61-52 in the title game.

After whipping Bellarmine, White River moved into the semifinals where North Thurston prevailed 68-54.

BOYS BASKETBALL

The Enumclaw High boys are headed to the Class 3A state basketball championships, fresh off a third-place tie in the district tournament.

The Hornets’ district experience began with a 72-58 victory over the Lakes Lancers. The home-court win guaranteed EHS a spot in the district semifinals and, more important, a berth into the state tourney. The semifinal match against the Lincoln Abes didn’t go the Hornets’ way; after a decent start, Lincoln poured on the offense and walked off the court with a 54-48 victory.

Turning their attention to state play, Enumclaw was seeded No. 14 among the 20 teams in the 3A field. The Hornets opened the tourney Tuesday night, hosting No. 19 River Ridge. It was a loser-out contest; the winner advances to play a Round 2 game against No. 11 Edmonds-Woodway on Saturday, February 28. Also a loser-out affair, tipoff is set for 6 p.m. at North Creek High School in Bothell.

The winner of the Enumclaw/Edmonds-Woodway clash advances to the Tacoma Dome where the 3A tournament enjoys a four-day run.

BOYS WRESTLING

There were two dozen Plateau athletes competing last week in Mat Classic XXXVII, the state wrestling championships staged once again at the Tacoma Dome.

Here’s a look at how the local teams fared after two days (February 19-20) of state competition.

White River: The Buckley boys found themselves among the leaders in the final team standings from the Class 3A division of Mat Classic. In a field of 73 teams White River impressed with a fifth-place finish.

The top placer for White River was senior Josh Hanson who advanced to the championship match at 157 pounds and brought home second-place honors. Also contributing mightily to the team total were fifth-place finishers Josh Wilson, a sophomore 126-pounder, and junior Brayden Thacker at 138. Placing sixth were sophomores Morgan Presley at 126 pounds and Hudson Hoalst at 132.

Additional state qualifiers for White River were juniors Rohnon Cummings, Owen Slaughter, Anderson Fonda, Brendan Fonda, Cooper Clark and Colten Kennedy; sophomores Gaige Cartwright and Tyson Lynch; and freshmen Laedyn Mills and Henry Schweickert.

Enumclaw: The EHS squad was paced by a pair of fourth-place finishers, freshman Easton Bylin at 138 pounds and junior Cole Schumacher at 165. Other EHS placers included junior Romeo Gwerder, fifth place at 132 pounds, and sophomore Bo Bruhn who finished eighth at 150.

Also earning a trip to state and wrestling on the Dome mats were seniors Eddie Cormier-Higgins at 144 pounds, Gaven Gemmell at 106 and Niko Gross at 175; junior Solomon Morales at 150; and freshman Baron Peterson at 215.

In all, there were 73 teams represented at Mat Classic XXXVII and Enumclaw High placed 13th.

GIRLS WRESTLING

Class 3A wrestlers from throughout the state gathered February 19-20 for Mat Classic XXXVII, the season-ending state championships in the Tacoma Dome.

White River: With three wrestlers placing in the top eight and eight making the state trip overall, the White River squad placed 11th among the 64 schools with girls competing in Tacoma.

Leading the way was junior Amanda Lillie who claimed an individual championship while topping the field at 125 pounds. Also placing among the 3A leaders were freshman Makella Taggart, third at 100 pounds, and junior Sydnee Hloshyk, seventh at 235.

Others who had earned a state berth were seniors Julia Wright and Mya Turcott, along with sophomores Annalise Marquiss, Arieana Jones and Natalia Jade Iliwaalani.

Enumclaw: With six girls qualified for the Class 3A state tournament the EHS squad placed 24th in the field of 64.

Tops among the Hornet girls were a pair of fifth-place finishers, seniors Sydney Poe at 190 pounds and Brookelynn Miller at 155. The team’s trio of state placers also included fellow senior Lily Pedersen, seventh at 125.

Rounding out the EHS state experience were junior Makenzie Anderson and sophomores Lily Hammond and Maisy Norton.

You Might Like