By Ed Shepherd
SPORTS CORRESPONDENT

Highline Pirates' wrestler Sophia Munoz took second in the state in girls action in the 235-pound weight class at the 2A Washington State Mat Classic Championships at the Tacoma Dome on Saturday.

However, if events transpired differently four years ago, as, they, really, should have, Munoz probably would have taken a different path than she did with sports.

When Munoz was a Pirates' freshman, she decided she was going to play basketball with her sister, Marissa Munoz, and, so, they were filling out the paperwork at school and something happened that changed everything.

"My sister and I were going to both play basketball," said Munoz. "But we got in this huge fight and I decided to mark 'wrestling' instead of 'basketball' on the paper."

And, that was the best mark Sophia Munoz ever made?

"Definitely, it changed me as a person," said Munoz.

And did Munoz ever thank her sister for that argument that became life-changing?

Munoz paused, laughing, saying, "Thank you for making me angry."

There's more. That mark on that sheet of paper meant something else to Munoz, too -- it meant she would get to go tell someone special the news.

Starting out wrestling her freshman year is a nice thing in itself, as she would be gaining experience so young and just compounding that kind of gain every season, freshman to senior season on the mat, is important.

But, Munoz said her choosing to wrestle over playing basketball was important in a different way, too.
"It was really important," said Munoz. "My grandpa was in the hospital, and he won state when he was in high school. I told him, 'Hi, grandpa. I am going to do wrestling.' He gave me a smile."

Did grandpa's condition change after Munoz announced she was wrestling when a freshman?

"No, he had been in the hospital for two years, and he died right after I made it to regionals," said Munoz. "He was in the VA hospital. I saw him pretty much every day. Parents would drive me there."

But, one can guess, his heart did change from hearing Munoz's words of her doing the sport he had excelled at, something that changed how his heart felt before. Also, to note, wrestling season starts back in October, when Munoz told her grandpa of her choosing to wrestle, so, it wasn't until regionals, which would be about four months later, in February, that her grandpa died. So, he got to hear a lot about her wrestling in that time prior to dying, presumably.

Why did Munoz' grandpa go into the hospital in the first place?

"He, basically, had quit taking care of himself because of family issues," said Munoz. "And he died of a broken heart."

Munoz mentioned that as truth along with heart issues for medical cause of death.

But it can be said with certainty that hearing Munoz, his granddaughter, say she was going to wrestle, was music to not only grandpa's ears, but, also, to his heart.

That all said, of sadness with mixed with some cheering up of grandpa, Munoz really excelled under her coaches while a Pirates' wrestler. She learned under two main coaches, Dave Stark, for awhile, and then current girls head coach, Tim Perales, who works with boys coach Casey Rice.

"As a freshman, I won one match, lost two, at state," said Munoz, who's telling everyone now she's always made it to state, even, when she was a frosh. "Then, as a sophomore, I took fifth in the state."

Last year, her junior season, Munoz hurt her arm during a match prior to state and so she was not her healthy self and she won one, lost two. So, this was a year to make a statement at the big meet at the T-Dome and that she did. Because the path to getting to the championship, to have all eyes on her, as all the different boys classifications -- five of them -- were also being watched by thousands of people when she made the final.

But, starting back at Munoz's opening match, she faced a girl from Sehome, from the Bellingham area, and, Munoz used her sheer power and strength to end that match quickly.

"I did a drive, a power half," said Munoz. "She twisted and hurt her shoulder."

So, that was round one, a win for Munoz by injury default, as that girl could not continue.

To note, a lot of girls this season Munoz was to face just would forfeit the match.

"Sophie has a reputation for being tough, and a lot of girls don't want to get on the mat against her," said Perales, when Mount Rainier hosted 'The Highline Invitational,' back in early January, and her teammates, like Mykayla Birdseye wrestled, but Munoz had no one who wanted to wrestle her.

So, maybe, that "power half" reason is a good reason why people shied away from stepping into the ring with Munoz.

Some of Munoz' excited fans, actually, teammates, were there after she took second in the state to make her smile from a loss in the final -- they were Birdseye an, Makey Adanech.

Adanech heard the words, "power half" said by Munoz and chimed in, emphatically, "Her power power half. Don't get in that situation."

So, all those out there that might ever wrestle Munoz, maybe, in college somewhere, who knows, because Munoz is graduated from high school wrestling time now, hear these words. Do not get put into a power half move by Munoz. Won't be pretty.

So, moving to round two, the quarterfinal, for Munoz, she won that over a girl from Warden, from the Moses Lake area.

"She was tough," said Munoz, who beat her, 8-4.

Next up was a dandy of a wrestle in the semifinal for Munoz, who went against a three-time state champion who moved up in weight class to wrestle this season.

It was a win, 3-1, for Munoz, holding her foe, Ryan Gibbons, down, for much of the match, of the three, two-minute rounds. But, there was also some good skill by Munoz, breaking a 1-1 tie with a take-down early in the third round. Then, later, with a minute left, as, Gibbons' coaches were shouting from their chairs in the corner, outside the mat, "Be aggressive, you got to go," it was Munoz who was ready.

"I knew she was going to try and throw me, and that would be the end," said Munoz.

Birdseye and Adanech, standing nearby, were quick to give a few details of what happened next.

"You popped the elbow," they said.

"Yes, I popped the elbow..." said Munoz.

That kind of move is kinda ,like, where a wrestler is holding foe's arms and jerks down violently, and, makes a foe's elbow buckle, go in a direction downward. Munoz did that kind of movement as Gibbons was in the process of preparing to throw Munoz, which means Gibbons was going to try and arm-grab or trip Munoz however she could. She was desperate to jerk Munoz around and to the ground, being behind by two points getting late into round three, only a minute to go in the match.

Continuing to explain, after popping the elbow move, Munoz said, "...and then her momentum took her down, even though I was behind her."

That was it, there, as, Munoz stayed on top of Gibbons and rode around on her, trying to get her turned over, wrestling hard, but then time ran out and it didn't matter. Munoz was in the championship!

In it, Munoz was trying to beat a girl she beat once this season and who beat her once this season. So this was the rubber match. Munoz would get pinned at 1:38 of round one. But Munoz didn't lose until she got to the final, and what could one ask for more than that, really.

Munoz's dad, Eddie, was around, too, afterward, after Munoz had wrestled in the final against KC Moulden, from Enumclaw. Sophia's dad had no problem putting his daughter's senior, state-run, season in a great light.

"She was unranked all year and beat every girl in her bracket at state," said Eddie Munoz. "Very proud. I couldn't ask for anything better."

Birdseye added of Sophia Munoz, "She is a role model for everyone."

That probably means the guys' too, as, there were guys from the Pirates who made state and were looking forward to Munoz in the final. Jimmy Matta, a Pirates senior leader, on the boys side who took seventh at 152, had these words to say prior to Munoz wrestle against Moulden in the championship.

"I'm proud of my teammates," said Matta. "All the hard work put in this season. Great way to end it. And, hopefully, Sophia places first."

So, to bet, the boys were all with eyes on her, leading into her final.

Adanech was quick to say her feelings about her friend and teammate, Munoz, after state was over.

"Today shows everything," said Munoz. "Everything she's worked for she's achieved. I honestly wanted her to get first. But she is my opinion the best 235 out here."

Munoz could be seen with a tear, or, two, starting to well across her eyes.

"Ohh," said Birdseye, a sophomore, who made it to regionals, and had a good season though just missing out on state.

Adanech, then, said, looking at Munoz, "She is a punk for crying."

All three laughed at those words.

And, for Munoz, it's important, too, to talk about who helped her get where she's got, one spot from the top of the girl wrestling world in Washington State -- her coaches.

Tim Perales?

"Best coach out there," said Munoz. "Him and Stark. He (Stark) retired, but he coached me my freshman and sophomore years. He played a giant part in helping me in wrestling."

Ever want to quit wrestling, start to second-guess that choosing of wrestling when a freshman?

"I think everyone has those moments when the body aches," said Munoz. "But that's what makes me stronger. I want to thank every single one of my coaches for putting me through hell so I could do well out here."