What if?<\/p>\n
That thought has gone through the mind of Kentwood High senior Ruben Navejas more than a handful of times since last year\u2019s Class 4A state wrestling tournament, and understandably so.<\/p>\n
Navejas, competing at 103 pounds, entered the title match against Tahoma\u2019s Steven Hopkins as the weight class\u2019 top-ranked wrestler and sporting an impressive 39-2 record. He was the defending state champion and was a favorite to repeat.<\/p>\n
In slightly more than a blink of an eye, Navejas\u2019 back-to-back title aspirations disappeared. Leading the lanky and strong Tahoma wrestler 2-0 with 30 seconds remaining in the final period, Hopkins reversed the Kentwood star. Seconds later \u2014 and with just two seconds left in the bout \u2014 Navejas was pinned.<\/p>\n
Those state title dreams?<\/p>\n
Dashed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was pretty hard,\u201d admitted Navejas, who entered this season earlier this month with a 119-7 overall record to go along with a title, a second-place and a fifth-place finish from the state tournament. \u201cI think back and (wonder) what I could have done different. I worked on what I needed to do after watching it. I just didn\u2019t bring what I needed. I didn\u2019t come with my game plan. I wrestled to his game plan.\u201d<\/p>\n
Needless to say, Navejas\u2019 game plan this winter is in full effect.<\/p>\n
To see just how much, one doesn\u2019t need to look any further than last week\u2019s 5-3 double-overtime victory over Hopkins in the 119-pound bout. Trailing 3-1 with under 20 seconds remaining, Navejas reversed Hopkins to tie the match at 3-3. A takedown in the second overtime clinched the win. Just days after the victory, Navejas continued his winning ways, ripping apart the 119-pound weight class during the Border at the Battle in Blaine, securing the title after working over Squalicum\u2019s Ren Bishop 13-1.<\/p>\n
As for last year\u2019s second-place finish?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a motivator for one of the finest wrestlers to ever come out of the Kentwood High program.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a big motivation for me after losing in the state finals after winning it once,\u201d said Navejas, who will drop down to 112 pounds for the postseason. \u201cI need to stay tough and I have to bring my offense to the table.\u201d<\/p>\n
Offense is something Kentwood has plenty of this winter. As much was evident during last weekend\u2019s Battle at the Border. While Navejas showed he was in midseason form, he wasn\u2019t alone among Conquerors who shined. James Hatfield, a junior, showed he\u2019s ready to emerge as one of the top wrestlers in the South Puget Sound League North Division, dominating the 215-pound bracket. In five matches, Hatfield collected four pins that lasted less than 10 minutes overall. Hatfield pinned Steven Elsner of Mount Baker in 3:35 for the crown.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a very strong kid,\u201d said Kentwood coach Ken Sroka, pointing out that Hatfield has a strong chance of making a state appearance in February. \u201cHe\u2019s just a monster.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kentwood also received a third-place finish out of senior Hayden Peterson at 125 pounds. Peterson took fifth at state last year, a run that included a 29-13 overall record.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is just as explosive as ever,\u201d Sroka said of Peterson. \u201cHe\u2019s going to have that senior chip on his shoulder and we will see where it lands.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kentwood finished second overall in the 20-team tournament with 210 points, just behind first-place Mount Baker (238).<\/p>\n
Adding to the Kentwood firepower is Jose Hernandez (125), Lucas Kelley (171) and Daniel Park (285). Hernandez was a state participant last year and, like Kelley and Park, has a strong shot of advancing to state in February.<\/p>\n
The key for the Conks, however, is Navejas.<\/p>\n
And last week\u2019s win over Hopkins proved pivotal.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was pretty big,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was an important match for me.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
What if?
\nThat thought has gone through the mind of Kentwood High senior Ruben Navejas more than a handful of times since last year\u2019s Class 4A state wrestling tournament, and understandably so.
\nNavejas, competing at 103 pounds, entered the title match against Tahoma\u2019s Steven Hopkins as the weight class\u2019 top-ranked wrestler and sporting an impressive 39-2 record. He was the defending state champion and was a favorite to repeat.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":106,"featured_media":6499,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-6498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6498"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/106"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6498"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6498\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6499"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6498"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=6498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}