Nadia Medvinsky notched two straight victories to begin her 4A girls state wrestling journey on Feb. 19.
The following evening, the Redmond High junior competed in the 135-pound semifinals, losing a close match, 3-2, to Gladdys Palma of White Swan High at Mat Classic XXVIII at the Tacoma Dome.
Palma was a returning state champ — who successfully defended her title later that night — and Medvinsky said it felt good to battle her opponent until the end.
“Her coach told me after the awards ceremony that I was the hardest girl she had to wrestle all year,” Medvinsky said.
Medvinsky rebounded from the semi loss with a 5-1 win over Anevay Avila of Auburn, and then the Mustang defeated Makayla Jackson of Lakewood by a dominating 7-0 score to take third place.
“I wanted to finish strong after the loss. It made me focused and I was really set on getting third,” said Medvinsky, who noted that she was a little nervous before each match, but was mainly motivated and confident and had the “will to win” at state.
In her first two matches, Medvinsky pinned Yoshi Gutierrez of Othello in 3:25 and beat Kaylin Wilson of Yelm, 18-13.
Medvinsky felt great kicking things off with a pin. Next up was one of the hardest matches she had all season, a physically and mentally draining contest that had both girls scrambling on the mat and tackling each other on their backs.
“I really wanted it. I dug down deep and gave everything I had,” Medvinsky said of the second match.
Redmond coach Robert Kaneko feels Medvinsky had an outstanding tournament.
“She got better and better as she worked her way through the tournament. That includes her loss in the semis, which was some of the best wrestling I saw all day,” he said. “In reality, the state finals happened in her semifinal match. It was a far closer match than the actual finals where Palma won, 9-1.”
Added Medvinsky: “I’m aiming for a state championship next year.”
In other local girls action at state, Redmond senior Madi McDaniel (145) and Eastlake’s Zohdi Cooperrider Young (105) lost two straight. Cooperrider Young is from Redmond and is a senior at Tesla STEM High School.
