Yelm High School boys wrestlers Smith and Erickson find the podium in Tacoma Dome

Two Yelm High School boys wrestlers Jonah Smith, 285 pounds, and AJ Erickson, 175 pounds, completed their grueling senior seasons and found the podium at the conclusion of Mat Classic XXXVII.

Smith, who won a 3A 285-pound championship as a sophomore, finished third overall in the 4A heavyweight classification for the second consecutive year. He was defeated 5-1 by Lake Stevens’ Mikey Lawrence in a heavyweight semifinals matchup. En route to a third place finish, he defeated Woodinville’s Aidan Anable and Kentwood’s LeeAndrew Rubin.

His teammate, Erickson, was defeated by Chiawana’s Tayten Cissne in the 4A 175-pound semifinals matchup by a score of 12-8. The senior Tornado ended up finishing in sixth place after medically forfeiting his consolation round matches due to an injury he sustained in the semifinals. He picked up wins earlier in the tournament against Bethel’s William Peterson, Eastmont’s Jacobi Mercado and Eastmont’s Daxton Dixon.

“I’m proud of Jonah’s resiliency and his ability to come back after a tough loss,” Tim Beaudin, YHS head wrestling coach, said on Sunday, Feb. 22. “AJ has been beat up all year and we tried to get him through the tournament. He re-injured his ankle during the semifinals match. He tried to grit and grind it out, but it was what it was.”

Additionally, senior Ashton Carreto, 190, and junior Hunter Holman, 165, won their opening matches and a consultation match later in the tournament — each picking up two wins inside the Tacoma Dome. Their teammate, Hunter Owens, 157, also won his opening match in the 4A 157-pound bracket. Senior Jonas Moreno, originally an alternate for Mat Classic XXXVII, wound up wrestling inside of the Tacoma Dome and picked up two wins in the consolation round. His teammates, juniors Ethan Venuto and Zander Peterson, each appeared in the Tacoma Dome and wrestled two contests.

“I’m super proud of all of our guys,” Beaudin said. “I’m looking forward to Ethan Venuto, Zander Peterson and Hunter Holman coming back and leading the Tornados next season — hopefully bringing home some hardware.”

While the Tornados’ expectations for Mat Classic XXXVII were high, Beaudin said the overall state of the 4A classification creates some of the toughest competition in wrestling across Washington.

“I was hoping for one or two state champions and to place in the top ten. That was the overall goal. The tournament was just tough as nails,” Beaudin said. “There were no gaps in any of the weight classes. I feel like our kids wrestled really well, but the competition was just a little bit better at times. We wish we could go back and wrestle a couple of those again, but it is what it is.”

Going forward, Beaudin noted his Tornados will boast a roster that features a lot of young wrestlers. He said his athletes will need to “put some work in” this offseason in order to improve themselves and compete at the 4A state level.

“I know they’re willing to do that and put in that work,” Beaudin said. “Like I said, I’m super proud of our guys. It wasn’t the outcome that some of us were hoping for, but overall, there was a lot of growth and we saw a lot of success throughout the year.”

Following the conclusion of the Tornados’ season inside of the Tacoma Dome on Friday, Feb. 20, Beaudin said the primary message to his wrestlers was how proud of them he was.

“You win or lose, but the character that these young men have shows there’s no doubt they’ll go out and work hard in life and accomplish great things. I can’t wait to see what they all accomplish,” Beaudin said. “Jonah in football (at Eastern Oregon University) and AJ, Jonas and Hunter Owens in anything they choose to do. I was proud that they took 17th overall. We were shooting for top 10, but they wrestled their butts off all season.”

With the 2025-26 season behind him, Beaudin and the Tornados will now wrestle with another issue: the ongoing financial situation in Yelm. He’s hopeful to see the community begin to back the schools again and going forward.

“It would be nice if our community would get behind the schools and pass a levy so that we can start going in the right direction,” he said. “There’s a lot of things lining up against us with the logistics of everything.”