Prep Wrestling / Class 4A State Tournament -- Seeking A Perfect Ending

WITH A 98-0 RECORD, BEN VOMBAUR OF EVERGREEN HIGH SCHOOL IN VANCOUVER COULD FINISH HIS CAREER WITHOUT A LOSS AND WITH THREE STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS.

Ben VomBaur was on the road to nowhere.

Bad grades, worse attitude. No drive, no dream, no destiny.

"I was in a lot of trouble at school and at home," VomBaur said. "I was skipping classes, just screwing around and not caring."

Then he started caring about wrestling. He cared enough to become a champion, on the mat and in life.

"When I got into wrestling, it helped me out a lot," VomBaur said. "It made me a better person."

VomBaur might be the best wrestler at Mat Classic X today and tomorrow at the Tacoma Dome. At 98-0, the 112-pounder certainly came in with the best career record of anyone there.

VomBaur, a senior at Evergreen High School in Vancouver, is one of two wrestlers in the Class 4A tournament pursuing a third consecutive state championship. He won AAA titles at 101 pounds as a sophomore and at 108 as a junior.

Tahoma senior Zhon Kuraspediani captured AA crowns at 135 in 1996 and 148 last year. He is wrestling at 141. Kuraspediani is unbeaten the past two seasons, but lost twice as a sophomore, once by disqualification. He missed his freshman season with a knee injury.

VomBaur is believed to be only the third Washington wrestler with the chance for an unbeaten high-school career of at least three years. Jamie Wise of Moses Lake (1978-80) and Jeff Gotcher of

Spanaway Lake (1985-87) were unbeaten three-time state champions. Pat Connors of R.A. Long is the state's only four-time champion (1991-94) but lost four times.

Evergreen is a four-year school, but wasn't when VomBaur was in ninth grade. He doubts he could have won a state championship that season, when he lost three junior-high matches. He had wrestled since seventh grade, but not seriously.

"I wasn't very good," VomBaur said.

But VomBaur went to the state tournament that year to watch. It changed his life.

"I watched with my dad and decided that (winning a championship) was something I wanted to do," he said.

VomBaur joined the prestigious Peninsula Park Wrestling Club in Portland.

"That's where I became great," he said.

VomBaur dedicated himself in all aspects of his life. He cut out junk food and quit cutting class. He stopped running around and started just plain running, now a daily part of his routine. Victories and good grades piled up. VomBaur has a 3.0 cumulative grade-point average, despite a ninth-grade transcript filled with D's. He is on track to qualify for a college scholarship and has visits planned to North Carolina, Oregon and Brigham Young.

VamBaur, ranked No. 2 nationally at 112 by Matside Publications, admits he has felt pressure this season to keep his unbeaten streak alive.

"I get a little nervous going into big matches," he said. "I'll call my coaches at Peninsula, and they just tell me to trust my technique and that I need to know I'm the best wrestler on the mat. It calms me down."

VomBaur handed Tahoma senior J.P. Marinacci his only loss in two seasons last month at Dream Duals III in Auburn. Marinacci, who won the AA title at 108 last season, said he is looking forward to another shot at VomBaur. But the road won't be easy. Marinacci is in the same half of the bracket as Gonzaga Prep's Chris Montgomery, who last year lost the AAA 108 final to VomBaur 2-0.

VomBaur prides himself on mental toughness. His mettle was put to its biggest test Saturday, when he endured the excruciating pain of a staph infection in his left knee and the side effects of antibiotics he was taking. By the time he reached the final against Kelso's Cau Huynh, whom he had beaten by technical fall a week earlier, VomBaur nearly had reached his limit. But he pulled out a 9-7 victory in overtime.

"Afterward, when I went out to get him, he just collapsed in my arms," Evergreen Coach Ralph Bever said. "That shows what Ben VomBaur's heart is all about."

VomBaur refused to default.

"That probably would have been smarter," he said. "It wouldn't really matter where I'm seeded (at state). But I wanted to stay unbeaten through high school. I thought I overcame something big at that tournament. I think it will mean a lot to me in the future."

But even winning a third championship and remaining unbeaten won't necessarily be the perfect end to VomBaur's high-school career.

"I strive for the perfect match, and I haven't reached it yet," he said. "A match against a good wrestler where I make zero mistakes. It doesn't have to be a pin. It doesn't have to be a tech fall. Just to score enough to be satisfied and no opportunity for him to score. I completely dominate."

To VomBaur, that's perfection.