Wrestling was not Katrynia Todd’s first choice.

When she was a sixth-grader looking for a varsity sport to spark her interest, Todd first turned out for the basketball team at Meeker Middle School in northeast Tacoma.

Luckily for Todd and the Auburn wrestling squad, however, the hardwood proved no match for the mat.

“I didn’t like it (basketball),” Todd said. “But the next gym over was wrestling, so I decided to try that. And I fell in love with it.”

Now, six years later, Todd, a 17-year-old Auburn High School junior, is preparing for her second appearance at the state wrestling championships.

Last season, Todd finished fifth in state at 145 pounds.

This year she returns for Mat Classic XXIII, having qualified with a first-place finish at 140 pounds at the girl’s Region III tournament in Shelton this past weekend.

Todd said her aptitude for wrestling was apparent early on.

“As a sixth-grader when I first tried wrestling, I made the boys varsity team,” she said. “That’s when I knew I was somewhat good. But over the years, I’ve gotten better and better.”

After bouncing around the Federal Way school district – including a stint at Federal Way High School, where she wrestled for the girls varsity team as a freshman – Todd found herself at Auburn High School for her sophomore year.

It was a crucial move for Todd.

“Honestly, if I wasn’t going to this school, I wouldn’t be wrestling,” she said. “It’s an amazing school. I’ve gone to three high schools, and this is my favorite. The teachers are nice. Aiken and all the coaches are great. They work with you, and if you don’t get something, they’ll explain it and show it to you.”

Todd said girls team coaches Bobby Brokenshire and Eric Opahl have been critical to her success, last year and this year.

So far this season, Todd has lost just once, to Sedro Wooley’s Haylie Rabenstein. Todd said she hoped to have a chance to avenge that loss at Mat Classic XXIII this weekend.

“Hopefully, I’ll come in first,” Todd said. “The girl that I lost to is ranked first, but I only lost by one point to her. So I’m thinking that I can do that (come in first).”

Although her individual achievements on the mat are a source of pride for Todd, she said the highlight is the strides the team has made this year.

“I help all the girls, and we have another girl who made state, too (Siao Wilson),” Todd said. “I bought her a box of Snickers.”

Wilson qualified for Mat Classic XXIII with a third-place finish in the heavyweight division at the regional meet.

Todd added that she was looking forward to sharing the Mat Classic experience with another girl wrestler.

“I think Mat Classic is crazy,” Todd said. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. There is nothing else like it.”

Todd kicks of the state tourney with an 11:44 a.m. match Friday against Mount Baker’s Lacy Cannon.

Wilson begins her quest for a state title at 12:56 p.m. Friday against Sunnyside’s Adeleny Pacheco.

Elsewhere

Auburn Mountainview junior Alyssa Aguilar also qualified for the Mat Classic XXIII girls tourney, with a first-place finish in the 103-pound division at the Region II girls meet at Shelton this past weekend. Aguilar – who competed but did not place at last year’s Mat Classic – wrestles Camas’ Taryn Lommasson in the opening round of the tourney at 10:08 a.m. Friday.