TACOMA — Despite her incredible success, and the ease at which it looks like she topples her opponents, Alivia White confesses she still gets a little nervous before wrestling matches.
Observers of the Marysville-Pilchuck wrestler could be forgiven for not noticing. Those in attendance at the Tacoma Dome on Saturday night for Mat Classic XXXIV saw White do what she’s been doing her whole career: dominate.
The Tomahawk senior pinned her opponent in under a minute to become the first Snohomish County girls wrestler to win three high-school state titles. She finished her senior year with a perfect 33-0 record, while pinning every wrestler she faced. She was 113-2 for her career.
“I get really pukey before the matches,” White said. “I’ve got to stay in the right mindset and just think, ‘I’m having fun while doing it.’ … I get really nervous when I’m going out there. You know, anything can happen, and I’ve been in the position where something changes just like that, so I’ve got to be on my A-game every second out there.”
White has traveled all over the country for national tournaments and racked up major awards. USA Wrestling has White ranked No. 2 for her weight class.
White started wrestling against her older brother, Minot State University wrestler Cayden White, when she was 6. Alivia credits her older brother for a lot of her success, and says her first title, which she won with him also wrestling at Mat Classic, remains her favorite.
“He was on the mats before I was and I just had to try it,” Alivia said. “The first one as a freshman, alongside my brother, that was a very special moment.”
Another member of the White family, mother Andie, serves as her coach at Marysville-Pilchuck. Andie White cheered with the rest of the Tacoma Dome as her daughter quickly bounced up and flexed her arms after pinning Bellingham’s Isabella Phillips in 50 seconds.
“I’m very, very proud of her,” Andie White said. “I’m so excited for her and her future. She’s wrestled her brother her entire life, and it’s neat to see them both continue their path in wrestling. It’s just lots of emotions.
“She has been fairly successful since the start. She hit the ground running. She wrestled boys for years and then once she could wrestle girls it was pretty (successful).”
Alivia and Andie marveled at the two girls tournaments at this year’s Mat Classic, which for the first time contained a pair of brackets for female wrestlers: 3A/4A and 1B/2B/1A/2A.
“It is incredible,” Alivia White said. “I love that it got split into two divisions this year. I think it’s crazy how far it’s come, especially, since when I was a little kid, we didn’t even have girls tournaments. And now they’re everywhere. Even more, they have them for little kids! It’s awesome! I love it!”
“The opportunities are going to be amazing for girls in the future,” Andie White added. “It’s just flourishing and growing and growing. I love it.”
Next up for Alivia White is the University of Iowa, which is set to become the first NCAA Division-I Power Five school to feature a women’s wrestling program. White will be on campus in time to wrestle on the inaugural team for the 2023-24 season. The Hawkeyes are already a wrestling powerhouse on the men’s side, with 24 national team titles since 1975.
“I’ll definitely be traveling over to Iowa,” Andie White said. “I’m just so excited for her.”