Federal Way High School wrestlers won their first dual of the season on Jan. 14 against Thomas Jefferson High School, 53-18.

Of the matches wrestled, Federal Way won every match but one. The Eagles began their dual season with four straight losses before taking on the Raiders. The matches got started with possibly the most dramatic of all of them.

Josue Flores Ramirez of Federal Way took on Joseph Vidales at the 115-pound division. Flores Ramirez took an 8-1 lead and looked like he would easily handle Vidales, but the Raider 115 pounder had an incredible second period and tied the match at 8-8.

Down 11-8 on the scoreboard and currently on his stomach, Vidales escaped and took down Flores Ramirez to take a 12-11 lead, but the Eagle narrowly escaped and forced a sudden death overtime fourth period. With 32.7 seconds left, Flores Ramirez got the takedown to win the first match of the night.

Josue Flores Ramirez controls his opponent from Thomas Jefferson. Ben Ray / The Mirror

Federal Way’s Cohen Vongsady won 12-1 in his match, followed by Mohammad Pawani, who won due to an injury suffered in the match by David Galvez.

Eagle state placer Ruben Ruiz, who took fifth in the Mat Classic a year ago inside the Tacoma Dome, took on Caden Barclay. Ruiz led 4-1 at the end of the first round, but Barclay made it interesting, tying the match at 4-4 with 40 seconds left in the second round. Ruiz would score eight points in the third round to win by decision 12-7 and increase Federal Way’s overall lead to 13-6.

Myles Atkins pinned Matthew Malabarah in the first round with 57.2 seconds remaining. Atkins was followed by Ricardo Lopez, who also was victorious with a pin over his opponent, James Schoomater.

The Raiders’ lone win of the night came from Kyle Lam, who wrestled Ramil Baryamov. At the end of the first period, Baryamov had a 12-10 lead as the two wrestlers traded near falls and takedowns early. Lam would takedown Baryamov to start the second and run a half-nelson to a pin for the Raiders’ first win.

Next up at 152 pounds was Ibrahim Ilimdar for Federal Way, who won his match over Lucas Hamlin. Ilimdar was down 14-9 in the middle of the third period and outlasted Hamlin, who just ran out of gas, and Ilimdar finished with a pin in the third round.

Kaimani Baker of Federal Way wrestled Miles Andy in the penultimate match of the night, and Baker made it to the Tacoma Dome last year, but wants to make a better impression this time around.

Kylan Lam pushes down his opponent’s head en route to a win. Ben Ray / The Mirror

“I always want to improve. My goal this year is to do better than I did last year. I want a better record and further in state than I did last year. I am putting a lot more effort into each day and I have to do more than just on the mat,” Baker said.

Baker defeated Andy, 14-6, as the horn sounded at the end of the third round. Baker, a sophomore, has seen improvement as a program, but wants to see the Eagles become one of the best programs in the city.

“I’ve seen it improve a lot. Last year we weren’t too concerned about working together, we were more individual. We didn’t support each other as much as we do now. I feel like the team is getting closer together,” Baker said.

Federal Way’s Jaron Tucker pinned Deshawn Hunfen in the final seconds of the first round, capping off Federal Way’s impressive night on the mat.

Adam Salinas (106 TJ), Laurel Lard (165 TJ), Komamoko Fadiga (190 FW) and Will Kurvnick (285 FW) all won their matches via forfeit.