The Puyallup School District is home to four state wrestling champions, including two students who clinched state titles for the second consecutive year.

Students also excelled in the classroom during the winter athletic season, clinching two academic state championships for having the highest combined grade point average (GPA) from among all Class 4A schools in their respective sport or activity.

Puyallup High senior Matt Voss and sophomore Jordyn Bartelson each won their respective weight divisions at the Matt Classic XXVI state tournament in February at the Tacoma Dome.

Voss’s win in the 220-pound division capped an undefeated season and marked his second straight year at clinching a state title.

Bartelson also had back-to-back wins with her first-place finish this year in the 118-pound weight class.

Both Puyallup High School senior Trent Nivala and Rogers High senior Brandon Brenenstahl also clinched state wrestling titles. Nivala took first place in the 285-pound weight class, while Brenenstahl snatched the top medal spot in the 152-pound weight class.

There were also three second place finishers, including Emerald Ridge High senior ShaRaya Quinn, Puyallup High junior Haley Franich, and Edgemont Junior High ninth grader Brooklyn Bartelson.

Brooklyn, whose older sister won a state title, ended her first year on the Puyallup High team with a state medal in the 112-pound division. The two girls’ father, Bryan Bartleson, is the team’s assistant coach.

The combined efforts of student athletes on both teams resulted in a second place state finish overall for the Puyallup High girls team, a seventh place finish for the Rogers High boys team, and a ninth place finish for the Puyallup High boys team.

Puyallup High girls wrestling coach Brian Franich was named the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) Girls Wrestling Coach of the Year. Rogers High boys wrestling coach David Johnston was selected South Puget Sound League (SPSL) South Division Boys Wrestling Coach of the Year.

The school board recognized them, along with Puyallup High gymnastics coach and SPSL Gymnastics Coach of the Year Dorinda Carpenter, at last month’s school board meeting.

Rick Wells, director of athletics, health, and fitness, shared a wrap-up of the winter sports season during that same meeting.

In addition to the girls and boys wrestling team accomplishments, Wells shared that the Puyallup High Vikings Special Olympics basketball team also claimed a state championship this year.

The purple team brought home a gold medal, with the white team winning bronze in the Unified Division at the 2014 Special Olympics Winter Games in Wenatchee.

Students also excelled in the classroom during the winter athletic season, Wells said, clinching two academic state championships for having the highest combined grade point average (GPA) from among all Class 4A schools in their respective sport or activity.

The Rogers High School girls wrestling team and the school’s band won the State Academic Champion award, which is the highest academic award given in the state. This is the second straight year the Rogers High band won the title.

The girls wrestling team, coached by Tom Tripple, had a combined 3.256 GPA, while the band, directed by Stephen Pickard, earned a combined 3.613 GPA.

“I was delighted to not only see many remarkable performances by our teams and athletes at various winter post season venues, but also to see the stellar performance in the classroom as represented by two state academic team champions and several outstanding overall team GPAs by other Puyallup School District teams,” Wells said.

Other winter season athletics and activities highlights include:

• Puyallup High took fourth place at the state girls gymnastic championship. Several gymnasts from all three district high schools also finished in the top eight medal positions.

• The Emerald Ridge High bowling team tied for first place in the SPSL tournament. Junior Elisabeth Couch placed seventh in the individual standings at the state bowling tournament.

• The Emerald Ridge High gymnastics team won the SPSL South Division Championship.

• Emerald Ridge High junior Alex Baier set a new school record in the 100-meter freestyle (52.58) on the swim and dive team. Several other students from all three high schools placed in the top eight medalist positions at the state swim and dive championship in February at the King County Aquatic Center.

• Puyallup High School Special Olympics basketball team member Jeffrie Depping, a senior this year, won a bronze medal in the individual skills category at the 2014 Special Olympics Winter Games in Wenatchee.