TACOMA — It took him three tries to get there. He fell short of state champion in the finals his sophomore and junior years.

“I’m nervous for before every single match,” he said. “I just knew what I came here for, and knew that I worked hard for it.”

But on Feb. 21, an emotionally driven Killian Page sealed his goal, being the best 170-pound wrestler in state.

In fact, being emotional was key to Page’s victory, coach Marysville-Pilchuck Craig Iversen said.

“Our game-plan was that Killian is an incredible athlete, and we just wanted more emotion the better,” Iversen said. “He does better when matches are active.”

That emotion stemmed from the tragedy Oct. 24, when Page lost family member Jaylen Fryberg, and teammate Nate Hatch who was inured in the M-P school shooting.

“Losing the family member pushed me harder, and losing a friend on my team. I know he is here with us right now,” Page said. “I knew by the way he worked, he [Hatch] would’ve won state, too.”

Page squared off with Juanita’s Mason McDaniel in state finals at the Tacoma Dome, after gathering a string of pins up into the semifinals.

“Losing the last two years pushed me harder,” Page said. “Last year I was not very happy with my last loss, especially knowing this was my senior year.”

He took down MacDaniel in the first round to rack up points and then let him escape. He then staved off MacDaniel to a 7-4 victory.

“He’s better on his feet, so that’s a gutsy move,” Iversen said. “He took him down and cut him loose in the first round.”

The win was no surprise to Iversen.

“He’s an outstanding athlete,” Iversen said of Page. “We’ve come away with a win, and it’s pretty darn emotional.”