They were small in numbers, but it could be argued per capita Oak Harbor wrestlers showed more heart than any of the 26 teams at the 4A Region I tournament on Saturday.

All three Wildcats, Sean O’Brien, Karlson Miller and Jeff Lang battled their way into the 27th Mat Classic state tournament this weekend at the Tacoma Dome by placing in the top four in the region.

“The guys are really hard workers and they stepped it up and took it,” OHHS head coach Brian Farmer said.

Perhaps most surprising of all OHHS performances in Snohomish Saturday was the second place at 171 pounds from O’Brien. A junior, who sat out his entire sophomore year, O’Brien wasn’t even on the radar at the end of the season.

“He came from a point where he wasn’t even seeded in the divisional tournament,” Farmer said.

O’Brien worked his way to his first ever state appearance on Saturday by gaining a dominating 20-8 victory over Jason Healy of Auburn in the first round, then pinning Jake Allen of Stanwood just over a minute into the third. The two wins guaranteed him a spot at state and lined him up for a regional title match against returning 160 pound state champion Michael Johnson of Tahoma.

After battling toe-to-toe through the first round, Johnson slowly began to display his experience, before pinning O’Brien with 13 seconds left in the third round.

Although he didn’t win the regional title, O’Brien is elated to take part in the state tournament — something he got to watch his brother Patrick do two years ago.

“It was pretty fun watching him, now it’s pretty exciting to actually go down there and be a part of it this time,” he said.

Senior Karlson Miller nabbed a third place finish at 112 pounds, earning a third straight trip to the Mat Classic.

The day started off strong for Miller with a 21-11 win over Maurice Lopez of Auburn, but Miller faltered a bit in his second match. Michael Mangrum of Auburn-Riverside received a 20-5 technical fall in the third, putting Miller in a loser-out situation.

The senior stepped up, however, and defeated Andy Duncan of Cascade 9-2 and Maurice Lopez 6-3 for his third place finish.

Jeff Lang had the toughest route to the state tournament at 135 pounds, sliding in through the back door.

After pinning his first-round opponent Zach Anderson of Enumclaw early in the third round, Lang suffered a 2-0 decision to Enumclaw’s Brad Parker.

His next task wasn’t an easy one.

Facing a familiar foe in Michael Irwin of Everett, Lang knew he was in for a tough elimination match. The two had split decisions earlier in the year, both decided by two points.

“Him being a senior, he’s got to go all out,” Lang said. “I had to get pretty pumped up for that match.”

Trailing 2-0 late in the third, Lang’s adrenaline kicked in. With 15 seconds to go in the match he earned a takedown and tied the match. He then received a quick takedown in the overtime period that assured a state appearance.

Lang lost his next match 5-0 to Juan Escalante of Marysville-Pilchuck, 5-0, placing him in fourth.

The double-elimination state tournament begins Friday, Feb. 18 and runs through Saturday, Feb. 19 at the Tacoma Dome. For complete brackets log on to www.wiaa.com.