FREESTYLE CADET national champion Sierra Joner (right) qualified for nationals again this year with a first-place finish at the Northwest Junior Girls Freestyle tournament held this past weekend at Battle Ground High School.
SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON Wrestling Club coach Merle Crockett (left) is shown here instructing Ridgefield High School standout Trevor Newburn on his way to a fourth-place finish at the Northwest Regional Qualifier held this past weekend at Battle Ground High School.
BATTLE GROUND – More than 450 wrestlers from 11 states and two Canadian provinces competed in the NW Cadet/Junior and Women’s Junior Regional Qualifier wrestling tournament this past weekend at Battle Ground High School.
According to match director Merle Crockett the event is the largest regional qualifier in the nation and its participants included many state and national champions. The wrestlers participated in freestyle and Greco Roman competition. Crockett’s Southwest Washington Wrestling Club (SWWWC) has hosted the tournament in Battle Ground for more than two decades.
Wrestlers participating in the event represented Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, Colorado, Kansas, Alaska, Oklahoma, Utah, Illinois and Montana. The Canadian provinces represented were British Columbia and Alberta.
Washington dominated the freestyle tournament with 285 wrestlers earning 265 points. The next closest state was Oregon, with 84 wrestlers earning 68 points. The top three placers from each division of each day's contest qualify for nationals in Fargo, ND, in July.
Freestyle and Greco are wrestling styles used in the Olympics. Folkstyle is the style of wrestling used in local high school and NCAA competitions. The U.S. is the only country that competes in folkstyle.
Crockett is the Washington state women's national team head coach. Last year, the Washington women's team won the national championship under Crockett's guidance.
Battle Ground sophomore Sierra Joner will earned a return trip to nationals, finishing first in her weight division. Washougal’s Abbe Lees, also a member of Crockett’s SWWWC, took second.
Ridgefield's Trevor Newburn placed fourth in both freestyle and Greco. Tommy Strassenberg, of Union, placed first in Greco, and his Union teammate Ethan Rotondo placed first in freestyle. Newburn, Strassenberg, and Rotondo are all members of SWWWC.
