It didn’t take long for the East Jefferson Rivals wrestling teams to shake off the Winter Break rust, with the wrestlers competing in two tournaments recently.

Attending the largest girls wrestling tournament in the United States, EJ’s Mi Amada Lanphear Ramirez placed third in a 64-girl bracket and Melody Douglas earned sixth in her 52-person bracket.

The Rivals headed south for the Kelso Girls Invitational from Jan. 6 through Jan. 7, which brought out almost 100 different female wrestling teams — or 688 individual grapplers — from across the country. Lanphear Ramirez and Douglas represented EJ at the massive tourney, with both providing standout performances on the mat.

Lanphear Ramirez competed in the 115-pound weight class, wrestling in eight matches over two days to compile a 7-1 record with three pins, and finishing with bronze in her weight class. She’s compiled the most matches of anyone in the Rivals wrestling program with a 21-3 record overall this season.

Douglas faced some of the best in the nation in the 155-pound weight class to earn sixth overall in her bracket. She wrestled a grueling nine matches throughout the weekend to finish with a 6-3 record with all wins coming via pin.

Douglas carries a 15-5 record on the year and she and her teammates hope to make a splash at the state level later into the season.

While Lanphear Ramirez and Douglas were taking care of business in Kelso, 15 Rivals grapplers met Jan. 7 in Port Angeles for the annual Battle of the Ax round-robin event.

Eleven boys and four girls competed over 60 matches, with freshman Jameson Henery being the top finisher in the 160-pound weight class with an undefeated 4-0 record.

Senior Ivy Hill won her round robin with a 3-0 record and three pins in the event.