TACOMA - Lynden's 182-pound star wrestler Jeremy Korthuis has never enjoyed the feeling of having his arm raised after a victory. Even after he became Lynden's first state champion wrestler in 11 years, he winced as his right arm was half raised after claiming a state title.
It's not the natural reaction after a childhood dream comes true, but after suffering eight shoulder dislocations over a six-month period, it's hard to blame Korthuis for not being overly excited to raise his arms in celebration after pinning Centralia's Kyzer Bailey in 31 seconds and claiming the Class 2A 182-pound state title.
"Just the last four years, my shoulders have been really rough," Korthuis said. "The last four weeks I haven't been able to shoot, so I've had to breakdown my opponents with my hands."
The fact that Korthuis wasn't able to use his full bag of wrestling tricks didn't matter at Mat Classic XXIV.
From the first match to the last, Korthuis was simply dominant.
The Lynden senior pinned three of his four opponents in a total time of 2 minutes, 39 seconds and in the only match in which Korthuis didn't earn a pin, he blanked his opponent with an 8-0 decision.
"I would like to take credit and say that I had a big part of (his winning state), but I've really only been around to make him run sprints and make sure he picks up his head gear," Lynden coach Randy Anderson said.
Korthuis became the first-ever Lynden wrestler to place in all four of his varsity seasons (2009, eighth place; 2010, fifth place; 2011, third place; 2012, first place), and Anderson said he believed his stud senior ended his Lynden career with an "unheard of" record of 105-15.
Korthuis wasn't the only wrestler to end his career with a state title. Mount Baker heavyweight Alec Postlewait cruised through the Class 2A 285-pound bracket and ended Mat Classic XXIV with a pin 38 seconds into period one against Cedarcrest's Robby MacNair.
Postlewait's quarterfinal win was a 9-3 decision, but other than that win, the Mount Baker senior recorded pins in his other three matches in a total time of 1 minute, 44 seconds.
"It's everything I hoped it would be," Postlewait said. "Just ever since kindergarten this has been the ultimate goal. It's just been12 years of hard work. Coach has been telling me that I'm a good thrower. I knew what I wanted to do and that's what I did."
Although the Mountaineers, who sent a Class 2A tournament-most 12 wrestlers to the Mat Classic, didn't have as strong as showing as they would have liked, Mount Baker coach Ron Lepper was thrilled to add another state champion to an already storied program.
"I'm just very happy for him," Lepper said. "All the hard work he has put in and all the work he's done during the summer has paid off."
While Postlewait and Korthuis were the lone Whatcom County state champions, Bellingham's Susie Molioo (265), Nolan Takemura (126) and Squalicum's Kara Ebergson (130) all made the state finals in their respective weight classes.
After breezing through the 126-poung bracket, Takemura suffered a 11-2 decision at the hands of Deer Park's Cole Harris.
Takemura, who entered the Mat Classic as a possible favorite to win a state title, was still pleased to settle for a second-place medal.
"I'll just remember the whole experience, really," Takemura said. "It's been my dream to reach the finals since my freshman year. It's a pretty good way to end my season."
Ebergson has wrestled for the Storm all four seasons and finally broke through in the Mat Classic with a riveting run to the girls' 130-pound final, but the Squalicum senior was pinned in the second period by Sedro-Woolley's Jessie Kaech.
"I never thought my last match would be in the state finals," Ebergson said. "It's just amazing."
Molioo dominated the state tournament by pinning each of her first three opponents in less than one minute, but the Bellingham sophomore encountered problems in her championship match, as she lost to Stanwood's Laura Charboneau by way of pin in the second period.
"She has power that nobody can stop," Bellingham coach Tom Hinz said. "She can be Bellingham's first four-time state wrestler. Even the guys on the team can't stop her."
Mount Baker, which entered the Mat Classic with thoughts of a team state title, wrapped up the tournament in 12th place out of 64 Class 2A teams with a total of 47 team points. Bellingham finished 18th with 39 points, Blaine took 20th with 36.5 points, Lynden ended the tournament in 21st place with 35 points, and Sehome took 26th with 25 points.
Squalicum did not place, as the Storm didn't score.
On the girls' side, Mount Baker earned a top-10 finish, ending its tournament in sixth place with 57 points, Lynden took 17th place with 31 points, Bellingham came in 26th with 24 points, Squalicum took 29th with 22 points and Blaine didn't place, as the Borderites did not score.
In 1A, Nooksack Valley took 28th with 19 points and Meridian took 32nd with 12 points. In 3A, Ferndale finished in 36th place with 16.5 points.
