Victorious again: Vashon’s Lena Puz as state champ

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, February 24, 2026

Vashon Island senior Lena Puz left the Tacoma Dome on Saturday a state champion once again.

The top-seeded Pirate capped her high school wrestling career by winning the 1B/2B/1A 155-pound championship at Mat Classic XXXVII on Feb. 21, dominating her bracket with first-period pins throughout the tournament.

Puz breezed through her early-round matches on Friday to set up a semifinal matchup against No. 4 seed Milana Pilkinton of Tonasket. Puz scored seven points in the first 30 seconds and pinned Pilkinton just over a minute later.

In the championship match, Puz faced reigning 155-pound state champion Abbygale Garza of Wapato, who entered the season finale with a 45-2 record. The two were slightly familiar with one another, having met at the Mat Classic two years ago in the 140-pound quarterfinals, where Puz won in the second period by pinfall.

This time, Puz needed just 1 minute, 41 seconds. She scored a takedown 24 seconds in for a 3-0 lead, stayed heavy on top and in control before turning Garza to her back for the first-period pin.

“It truly was a great end to the season,” Puz said. “As my teammates said, we put a nice, big pink bow on top of our wrestling careers.”

Vashon wrestling coach Anders Blomgren said there was a “Lena celebration party” in the center of the Tacoma Dome after her win — large enough that arena security even blocked him from joining it.

“Lena winning the championship last year was more like a dream,” Blomgren said. “This year it was more like a work of Lena Puz art.”

Puz finished the season with a 31-1 record and wraps up her career at 85-11 overall. Her only loss this season came in January at the hands of Peninsula’s Bailey Parker, who went on to win her third consecutive 3A 155-pound championship on Friday night.

Last season, Puz won the 145-pound state title before moving up to 155 this winter. She joins Sylvie Shiosake (2007 and 2008) as the only Vashon girls wrestlers with multiple state championships.

“I’m sad wrestling is over. It definitely was one of the greatest times of my life,” Puz said. She will take a short break before transitioning to the track and field season.

Puz recently signed with Cornell, where she will run track at the Division I level.

Vashon qualified six boys and four girls for the Mat Classic this year, though no others placed.

Eddie Macsalka is a contributing journalist for The Beachcomber.