TACOMA — Concrete coach Dave Dellinger didn’t know what to expect when he led a pack of young wrestlers into the state tournament — especially after the Lions stumbled in the first round.

When Mat Classic XX wrapped up Saturday, Dellinger was pleased with how the Lions bounced back.

Monte Benjamin finished second at 119 pounds, Cody Holt was fourth at 152 and three other Lions placed to help Concrete to a fourth-place Class 2B/B team finish.

“I’m proud of the kids. We had a young squad and I didn’t expect us to come out and stay No. 4 on the board,” Dellinger said.

Concrete had a difficult first day as six of its 10 wrestlers suffered first-round losses.

Benjamin, who won last year’s Class 2B/B state championship at 103 pounds, ran into another former champion, Republic’s Ryn Rollins, in the championship match at 119.

Benjamin, who lost handily to Rollins at a tournament earlier in the season, turned in a tenacious performance in a 6-1 loss, coming close to several takedowns, including a double-leg late in the second period.

Benjamin said the secret to the better performance wasn’t too complicated. It was all about hard work.

“I worked a lot harder than I did at the beginning of the year. I got furious because I didn’t think (earlier) that I had to work. But after that I knew I had to work hard.”

Dellinger said Benjamin always brings his best effort to Tacoma.

“Monte brings it to the dome. When he comes here, he’s on fire,” he said.

The most dramatic of Concrete’s matches was Holt’s 7-5 decision over Ocosta’s Alex Bowley.

Holt was down 2-0 early, built a slim 5-4 lead, then created a stunning reversal with 50 seconds remaining to give himself a 7-4 lead and more breathing room.

Dellinger said in the past, Holt has struggled to be aggressive in the third round.

“I think he doubts himself, but today he exploded,” Dellinger said.

Holt lost to Bowley in the regional tournament.

“I was prepared to wrestle him again and change things from last time,” he said.

Holt said he was pleased to be back in the Tacoma Dome.

“I was defenitely ready for this experience again,” he said. “There are hundreds of people watching you from all over the state, but it’s one room, 24 mats.”

Dalton Dellinger, Joe Fallis and Wayne Cress turned in fourth-place finishes. In their final matches, Dellinger was pinned by Liberty Bell’s Colton Skelton at 103, Fallis lost 7-5 in overtime to Raymond’s Dalton Collins and Cress lost a 5-2 decision to Pomeroy’s Kylntin Bott at 189.

• Trevor Pyle can be reached at 360-416-2156 or by e-mail at