TACOMA - As Bellingham's Susie Molioo stepped onto the championship mat, Saturday, Feb. 18, she wasn't concerned about soaking in the moment. When she left it after getting pinned in 3 minutes and 38 seconds, she didn't cry, she wasn't upset, she just shook the hand of the opposing coach and smiled.

After all she had been through, losing in the championship didn't bother her. Her only concern was to do her best, to be something more, and to do so for her brother.

Molioo wasn't just competing for herself this weekend. She did it to make her brother proud.

Her brother, Setu Ray Taumaoe, was found dead hanging from a low-level tree branch on Aug. 5, 2011. Molioo said he was the reason she joined wrestling in the first place. This weekend at Mat Classic XXIV was for him.

"He always wanted me to become better than I was," Molioo said. "So that's all I planned on doing."

This memorable weekend nearly didn't even happen. Her grades plummeted as she struggled to cope with the death of her brother. They were so low that it caused her to be ineligible to compete for nearly the entire season.

As the season nearly came to an end, Molioo was short of the number of matches needed to qualify for the postseason.

"She had five Fs and a D going into Christmas," Bellingham coach Tom Hinz said. "His death was really hard for her."

But with the motivation of Hinz, the rest of the coaching staff and her family, she bumped her grades up just high enough to become eligible again. Molioo wrestled in four matches before the season's end - just enough to be eligible for the postseason.

Despite having just four matches under her belt, she ended up qualifying for the state tournament, where she dominated her way to the title match. She first beat White Rivers' Kamy Padgett with a pin in 58 seconds. She then cruised past Mountain View's Rose Eram with a pin in just 39 seconds.

It didn't slow down from there either. Just one match away from the 265-pound championship, she pinned Lynden's Luisa Garcia in 46 seconds.

From trying to deal with the death of her brother, to having wrestled just four matches all season, the Bellingham sophomore was now just one match away from being a state champion.

"Just having her be here is just amazing," Hinz said. "This is a girl that had a lot of stuff to overcome. I like to think her brother was on our side."

Taumaoe wrestled for the Bellingham wrestling team last season for Hinz. He also played on the school's football team and played rugby. He graduated from Bellingham in 2011.

"She did this this weekend for her brother," said Smiley Taumaoe, Molioo's mother. "I know it was hard for her but she did it because of him because he is the one who pushed her to get into wrestling."

But the championship match didn't go as smoothly for Molioo as the previous three rounds. She faced Stanwood's Laura Charboneau, a senior who was undefeated coming into the match.

Charboneau took a 7-2 lead in the second period before finally pinning Molioo for the championship.

Molioo placed eighth last year and Hinz believes she has the ability to become Bellingham's first four-time state placer.

"She just doesn't know how much potential she has," Hinz said. "What she did this weekend is absolutely amazing. We are all so proud of her."

For her to place second in state after the trials she endured coming in, she certainly had a lot of people proud of her - from Hinz, to her mother, the rest of her family who made the trip, and most certainly her brother.

"She never thought she would be in the championship," her mother said. "I'm very, very proud of my daughter. I know it's really hard because my son is not here, but she did very good."

Afterward, Molioo said she plans to claim the championship trophy next season for her brother.

Just another thing that would make him proud.