North Creek Jaguars grappler Matt Kendrick never forgot the disappointment he experienced at the KingCo wrestling tournament 12 months ago.

He finished in third place and wasn’t happy about it. This year, Kendrick earned a 6-2 victory against Eastlake’s Cameron Knutsen in the Class 3A KingCo tournament 182-pound division championship match on Saturday at North Creek High School.

“Last year I was third (place) and I was really upset about it. This year I won it. It was awesome. I’m glad I got to be here. All the glory is to God,” Kendrick said.

His strategy was to slow down Knutsen throughout the duration of the match, which worked to perfection.

“Today I was leg riding a lot more than I did last year. It really helped me with what I was doing,” Kendrick said. “My goal going forward for sure is to make it to state (tournament).”