By ERICK WALKER

ewalker@maplevalleyreporter.com

Auburn Riverside’s Michael Turner did it.

Auburn’s Jake Swartz is on the cusp of doing it for a third time.

And Auburn Mountainview standouts Tyler King and Lilia Gudzyuk will enter uncharted school territory this morning at the Tacoma Dome.

All four local wrestlers delivered big Friday during Mat Classic XXI.

For Turner, delivering big simply meant advancing to the second day. One of Auburn Riverside’s most consistent wrestlers the last few years, the 119-pound senior punched his ticket to today’s semifinal round. It’s Turner’s fourth trip to the state tournament. But this morning will mark the first time he’s made it to the second day.

“It’s crazy,” said Turner, who enters today’s semifinals at 10 a.m. with a 36-4 record this year. “It feels weird (to be able to) wrestle on Saturday. I’ve never made it this far.”

Any wrestler who advances through the first day of the tournament is guaranteed of a state medal. The top eight wrestlers in each weight class bring home hardware.

It has been a long time coming for Turner, Auburn Riverside’s level-headed senior who has come up just short in three previous tournament appearances.

“He has done a lot of good things and has nothing to show for it,” Auburn Riverside coach Steve Mead said. “We all feel good for him. We’ve seen him mature more than ever in one year.”

Turner was just one of a handful of local wrestlers to either establish history on Friday or to be on the cusp of it today.

Auburn High’s Jake Swartz (189 pounds) did what was expected of him Friday, winning a pair of matches by pin. The two wins push Swartz, a two-time state champion, into today’s semifinal round. The mild-mannered senior is trying to become Auburn’s first-ever three-time state champion. He already established the school’s all-time win mark earlier this season.

“It would be pretty cool to be the first three-timer,” said Swartz, who is 34-1 this year and 146-12 for his prep career. “(But) I don’t really have that much emotion when I’m out there.”

Swartz will be joined in the semifinals by teammates Chris Young (215) and Nick Conlan (285). Auburn’s Graham Davis (152), Michael Karpstein (160) and Dylan Rutledge (171) also advanced to the second day.

The Trojans finished the first day in fourth place overall in the team race with 42 points, just behind Rogers of Puyallup (46.5) and just ahead of fifth-place Snohomish (40.5). Lake Stevens, the heavy favorite to win a third straight state team title, led the race with 83 points and likely won’t be caught.

And while Turner and Swartz were busy taking care of business, so too did Auburn Mountainview’s King (135) and Gudzyuk (160).

Both punched semifinal tickets. It’s the first time in Auburn Mountainview’s school history that a single wrestler — much less two — have qualified for the semifinals.

“I want to be the first (to win state),” said King, a junior, who improved to 32-5 this year. “I just want to perform as good as I can. I want to win. But as long as I perform good, that’s all that matters.”

In the girls tournament, few were better on Friday than Gudzyuk, who pinned both of her opponents and spent a total of 2:46 on the mat.

“She’s wrestling tough,” Auburn Mountainview girls coach Jerry Bowles said. “She can hang with anybody.”

Auburn Mountainview brought a school-record 10 wrestlers to the tournament. Five advanced through the tournament’s first day.