PREP WRESTLING: Forks duo of Jade Blair and Ken Daman make history

Published 5:15 pm Tuesday, February 24, 2026

FORKS — Forks has had a lot of state wrestling champions in its history, but Ken Daman and Jade Blair made history this weekend in more ways than one for the Spartans.

They duo both won state championships at the Mat Classic, the first time since 1992 that two wrestlers from Forks won state championships in the Tacoma Dome. Additionally, Blair was the first girl to win a state wrestling championship for Forks High School, though she’s previously been a state champion.

“It’s definitely a good feeling to know you will forever be remembered,” Blair said.

“It’s still kind of unreal to me,” Daman said Tuesday. “I’m very excited [but] it’s still unreal.”

When he won the finals, Daman said, “there was a lot of emotion in there. I was super excited [but] I also felt like I proved a lot.”

“I was in shock” after winning the state championship, Blair said. “I had been waiting for that moment for a long time.”

The duo went a combined 66-0 this season — Daman, who wrestles at 285 pounds, was 29-0 with 29 pins. In fact, not one of his matches all year long even went into the second round. He went into the Mat Classic as the No. 1 seed at his weight.

“It definitely made me feel like I had a target on my back,” he said.

It didn’t matter. Not one of the elite wrestlers at the Tacoma Dome could take him into the second round. He won his championship match in just 43 seconds.

His championship came after a solid fifth-place finish at the Mat Classic last year. Fifth is impressive, but a jump from fifth to first in one year is also rare. The difference?

“The amount of work I put in this year,” Daman said. “It was my senior year and I had to go out on top.”

Daman also said he was much stronger this year. Last year, he dropped 64 pounds off his football weight and didn’t feel as strong.

Daman’s title helped his team finish third overall at the Mat Classic as seven of his Spartans teammates placed — Braden Camacho-Roldan was third, Landon Thomas fourth, Dominick Sanchez sixth, Orlando Camacho sixth, Semeone Jackson-Cruz sixth, Adrian Sanchez eighth and Luis Ornelas eighth.

Blair, a sophomore, finished third at the Mat Classic last year. It’s not her first state championship. She was a state champion in club wrestling as an eighth-grader.

After finishing third last year, Blair went into this season with her goal as a state title. She went 37-0 this season with 33 pins. She won tournaments at the Ilwaco Beach Brawl, the Mascera Madness, the River Ridge Rumble, the Lad and Lasses and the Port Angeles Battle of the Axe.

Blair won at state with three pins and a 22-4 technical fall, but one of her matches was actually quite close. She was trailing 7-5 when Blair ended the match with a pin in the second round.

Daman said Blair helped give him some inspiration. Her championship bout came before his and he watched her win the gold medal.

“That gave me a little bit more motivation,” Daman said. His championship match ended up being the final match of the night.

While Daman is done at the high school level, Blair is already thinking about adding more state championships in her junior and senior years. She plans to attend wrestling camps this summer in preparation for next year. She is also a very good soccer player who once scored 10 goals in one game, and she plans to take a break from wrestling again next fall to play soccer for the Spartans.

Daman would like to continue his wrestling career after high school.

“If I get a good college offer, I would like to do it,” he said.