Regional champion

She held it in as long as she could.

In the seconds after EliBeth Cervantes became the first girls wrestler from Shelton High School to win a regional title in 14 years, she danced her way through congratulatory fist bumps and short hugs from her teammates and coaches until she reached her father, Henry.

As father and daughter embraced, the emotion flowed.

A dream realized, but a tale not quite finished.

"It feels great; Being able to feel like I've accomplished more and that I'm being a better wrestler," Cervantes said. "Going from barely qualifying (for state) to now being the number one and having that secure spot. It feels pretty great, especially knowing that it's gonna give me a better chance at state."

Cervantes, who wrestles at 145 pounds, pinned all three of her opponents during Saturday's 1B/2B/1A/2A Region 2 championship tournament at the Mini-Dome in Shelton, including a decisive 31-second victory over Washougal's Aliyha Vargas in the championship bout.

"It's definitely just letting them know I'm in control," Cervantes said. "The second you can get into their head, you're going to have more success because now they're scared of you. You scare them right off the bat. You push them hard. You like get in their head, 'Oh crap, they're scary. They're strong.' And that's what they're thinking. They're thinking about surviving. They're not thinking about wrestling."

With the regional title tucked away, Cervantes moves to Mat Classic XXXIV on Friday and Saturday at the Tacoma Dome, where she's one of four seeded competitors in her weight class and receives a bye into the quarterfinal round.

Shelton coach Rodgar Garrick says Cervantes is constantly looking to improve and puts in extra work, including spending time training with the Highclimber boys team.

"She started when she was really young," Garrick said. "She pretty much wrestles year-round. She's always here in the mornings, getting her runs in, getting extra workouts in. She's willing to put in the work and that's what makes her special."

Cervantes qualified for Mat Classic XXXIII in 2022 after finishing fifth at regionals, but went 1-2 at the state meet and was eliminated on the first day.

"She underachieved last year," Garrick said. "She should have been a state medalist. She was good enough to wrestle on Saturday at state. She was good enough, but she let the pressure and a little bit of stress get to her. She's going to high-level tournaments all over the country and I think she doesn't have competition anxiety any more. She used to let that stress and anxiety get to her. She doesn't let that happen any more. She stays calm and composed."

Cervantes says that part of her pre-match routine includes positive self-talk and listening to music.

"I had a lot of problems last year, like, 'Oh I'm not good enough, but I have to win,' " Cervantes said. "So this year, I am really focusing on affirmations. Like, I've worked enough for this. I tell myself, not in a cocky way, but like, I'm the best. I've put all this work in. I understand how I need to wrestle. I tell myself that I know I'm good enough, so I just have to go out and do it."

Cervantes said she listens to "The Stakeout" by Russ before she wrestles because she identifies with the lyrics.

"It's about how you've done everything to be there. I think one of my favorite things that he says is 'let my success make the noise.' I'm not going around trying to be like 'Oh, I'm the best from the best from the best.' I'm proving that I'm the best. I definitely love that song."

Garrick says one of the keys to Cervantes' success is having a strategy and a certain mindset every time she wrestles.

"When you get to the level of competition that she's wrestled at, all over the country against high-level opponents, you have to have a strategy and a mindset when you go out there," Garrick said. "She does have a game plan that she wants to formulate throughout the match. She's also very willing to adapt that game plan if need be. She did that in her finals match today. She has a set group of techniques that she likes to hit and she looks for them, and if they're not there, she's got a backup plan too."

Joining Cervantes at Mat Classic XXXIV is teammate Aurora Marcy, who qualified with a third-place finish at 190 pounds.

Marcy, a first-year wrestler, won three of her four bouts, including two rousing victories in which she trailed in the third period. She pinned her opponent late in both to advance.

"It is very, very hard, especially at those upper weight classes, for first-year wrestlers to even compete at the regional level," Garrick said. "She just keeps getting better and better every day.

"We talk about mindset all the time and you have to have a competitor's mindset at all times and Aurora, she exemplifies that. She's willing to compete for a whole match. A lot of times girls don't want to wrestle all three rounds and she does. She's willing to compete and she's willing to take her opponents what we call 'in deep water.' She's willing to test her conditioning against her opponents' conditioning. She doesn't get tired because she trains really, really hard. She waits for an opportunity to execute what she's really good at and she took advantage of that today."

Shelton's Joy Gattinger and Angela Anderson each finished fifth at the meet, winning their placing bouts with second-period pins.