PORT TOWNSEND — Few are better acquainted with the challenges of surviving the Mat Classic than the Johnsons.
Port Townsend’s royal family of high school wrestling knows exactly how exacting the two-day state tournament at the Tacoma Dome can be.
That’s why Joey Johnson, longtime Redskins coach and father of three state placers, refuses to heap too many expectations upon his youngest son, Brett.
“You’ve got to be real lucky and everything has to be just right [to win it],” said Johnson, whose two eldest sons, Jason and Keith, fell just short of realizing that goal in the past.
“You’ve got to be prefect that day, and I think that’s really difficult on any day.”
Few more difficult, Johnson said, than those two days under the bright lights of the Dome.
Treading lightly
So even though Brett Johnson (19-1 overall) is the top-ranked 160-pounder heading into this weekend’s Class 1A tournament, and a state veteran visiting Tacoma for the fourth time in his highly decorated high school career, Joey treads lightly on the subject of a state title.
“It’s not the end of the world if we don’t get it,” Joey said, “but it would sure be nice.”
The way Brett talks about it, he’s not just wrestling for himself.
He’s also wrestling for Jason, Keith and his father, all of whom came oh so close to state crowns of their own.
In the case of Jason (Port Townsend in 1999) and Joey (North Mason in the late ’70s), it was midseason injuries during their senior years that derailed their chances.
For Keith, it was simply the daunting task of winning four straight matches in the Dome.
The Port Townsend Class of 2005 graduate made the semifinals twice in his career but could never quite get over the hump, finishing second in 2004 and third in 2005.
“I want to do it for my family,” said Brett, who already has third- (’09) and eighth-place (’08) finishes under his belt entering today’s competition.
“Since watching both of my brothers and seeing them not get that title that maybe we should have had . . . that’s been my goal for this weekend, to get that title for my family.”
In a way, it would be sort of a validation for all the hard work his family has put into the sport, Brett said.
Just like both brothers before him, Brett gets up at dawn three times a week to run five miles to school. Just like them, he always puts in extra time on the mat.
And, just like them, he dons the same head gear his father once wore as a wrestler at Central Washington University.
Look close enough, and the faded letters under the right ear protector still spell out the name “Joey Johnson.”
“Even if I don’t win, I know they will be proud of me, but we’ve all worked so hard in wrestling,” Brett said. “Not to get that medal always kind of hurt.”
Unlike his brothers before him, Brett is more of a physical wrestler who often imposes his brute strength upon his opponents.
Just take his finals victory at the Rainshadow Tournament in Sequim this January as an example.
By the end of that 19-4 blowout, Johnson had his opponent, Paul Johnson (unrelated) of 4A Thomas Jefferson, spitting blood.
“He just goes out there and beats you up,” Joey said. “Brett is a good technician, but he’s very basic and fundamental. He doesn’t do a lot, but what he does is really good.”
Despite injuring his shoulder early on in the season – fittingly, while wrestling his brother, Keith, at the end of practice — the senior lost just one match all season.
And that came to the top-ranked 152-pounder in 2A, Neil Sell of Klahowya.
His stiffest challenges this weekend will likely come from second-ranked Andrew Grillo of Tonasket, a possible semifinal opponent, and third-ranked Roman Velazquez of Cashmere, whom Brett may see in the finals.
“He’s probably got as good of a shot as any of them,” Joey said. “The critical thing is to just wrestle smart. Sometimes he has lapses and would rather go brute strength against someone. He’s just got to remember to wrestle.”
In the Johnson family, that should be second nature.
