MIHS wrestlers notch state titles at Tacoma Dome

Published 8:30 am Monday, February 23, 2026

After time expired and Luke Sincock knew that he won a state wrestling title, he went crazy.

The Mercer Island High School (MIHS) senior held down his 3A final opponent, Hermiston’s Hayden Larson, for the last 30 seconds of the third round to triumph 6-5 on Feb. 20 at Mat Classic XXXVII at the Tacoma Dome.

“It was probably the best feeling in my life, winning state,” said Sincock, who wrestled in the 175-pound division and fought back from a 5-3 deficit in the final minute of the match to grab the title. Sincock notched one of two state individual championships for the Islanders at the two-day premier meet on Feb. 19-20.

In the 110-pound girls division, sophomore Emerson Woods defeated Kentlake’s Angela Nguyen, 8-2, in the championship final. It’s the first time that a pair of MIHS wrestlers have garnered state crowns in the same season. Also for the Islanders, junior Andy Wei took sixth at 165.

For Sincock, his journey to state glory began after he fell short of qualifying for state as a sophomore. The grappler told himself that he had two years to win state, and the Islander’s six-days-a-week workouts, running and weightlifting paid off at the Dome. Sincock said it was an awesome feeling to stand atop the victory podium.

When reliving the three-point takedown that he achieved against Larson to win state, Sincock noted, “I ended up hitting the moves I always drill, what I do in practice all the time. And it worked — I got him down.”

In what Sincock termed a classic wrestling situation that the Islanders work on in practice, he constrained Larson on the mat until the final seconds ticked off the clock.

“Held on as tight as I could, just put all my weight on him and I got him down,” said Sincock, who noted that having tons of experience in matches and staying calm were two of the keys to his success at state.

MIHS head coach Colton Knebel discussed his star wrestler: “Luke, he’s been the hardest worker in the room. He’s just dedicated. He just outworked all of his opponents.”

woods

Knebel said it was fun to watch Woods triumph at state. She finished fourth last year and overcame an injury to return to the Dome and snag the top spot this time out.

“She’s been wrestling year round for the last four or so years, and so that culmination was really cool,” he said. “Just the perseverance she had fighting back from that injury was just a lot of fun.”

Woods tore the labrum in her right shoulder last year at state, had surgery in July and didn’t return to wrestling until January.

“It was a very quick turnaround to get to state, but my goal was, ‘It’s OK to sacrifice the rest of my season.’ I just really wanted to come back and win state,” said Woods, who fractured her left hand in the semifinals at state and that made her nervous about what would occur in the final match.

The injury affected Woods’ performance and she tried to play it safe against Nguyen. Scoring the first takedown was crucial for Woods to solidify the lead and go from there.

“I just had to find a way to win it all,” Woods said. “Wrestling on a fractured hand was definitely not ideal, but I was able to wrestle through it.”

Overall during the state meet, Woods said she wasn’t as nervous as last year and brought a little more confidence to the mat. When all was said and done and Woods grasped the State Champ sign on the victory podium, she was satisfied.

“It was really relieving,” she said. “It’s like, ‘Oh, I finally did it.’”