North Clark County wrestlers competed against other grapplers from across Washington and Oregon during the PAC Coast Wrestling Championships on Thursday, Dec. 21 and Friday, Dec. 22 at the Clark County Event Center.
Both the wrestlers and coaches said they were honored to be a part of a tournament featuring around 1,500 wrestlers from 140 girls and boys teams from Washington and Oregon.
Despite losing in the third round to a former state champion from Toppenish in the 110-pound bracket, Woodland’s Couly McReynolds said the opportunity gave her valuable experience.
“It’s really nice to see some good competition,” McReynolds said Thursday. “It was good to learn something from a match that I should have learned stuff from.”
In her second match of the day, McReynolds defeated another Toppenish wrestler. McReynolds said she was treating the tournament as an early season learning experience, and she enjoyed competing against stiff competition and watching other matches.
“We only see good girls competition when we go to regionals, and so it’s nice to see them this early on in the season because we only see them during the postseason,” McReynolds said. “So it tells us what we need to work on now before we hit the postseason, which is really good.”
La Center’s head coach Jake Johnson said he enjoys watching his wrestlers compete.
“It’s that time of year when we start picking up our training and everything,” Johnson said. “And for them to have an opportunity close to home, where we don’t have to travel and, you know, they’re going to go home and sleep in their own bed and have a majority of their family watch them and cheer them on, it’s really special.”
For some wrestlers, a tournament of this size allowed them to meet new friends from around the region and enjoy bonding with their teams behind the scenes.
“I enjoy meeting new people. I enjoy seeing all the people coming together,” Woodland wrestler Nathan Karchesky said. “I enjoy taking naps and things like that.”
The back area of the tournament was full of wrestlers awaiting their next match on Thursday, Dec. 21, many napping on air mattresses that dotted the floors along with blanket forts.
Battle Ground’s Isaiah Rogers missed last season due to a medical condition, but this year, he’s eyeing a chance at the state tournament. Rogers sees this early tournament as a big learning opportunity.
“It’s just awesome. I don’t have to travel for hours to get somewhere to wrestle with some good kids,” Rogers said, adding sleeping in his own bed during the tournament allows him to feel rested.
Ridgefield’s head coach Tyler Draper said he loves the PAC Coast Wrestling Championships as it has given his wrestlers a chance to learn from their matches against tough opponents.
“You don’t get to see this kind of competition in one place very often throughout the season, so whenever you get the opportunity or the invite to come, you go because, whether your guys win or lose, it’s a great experience,” Draper said.
Final tournament results were not available before press time.
