Coach Jim Wilcox was talking excitedly about this year’s wrestling season in anticipation of the Mat Classic state wrestling championships at the Tacoma Dome this weekend. 

“We started the high school season with nearly 50 wrestlers,” said Wilcox.  “After three months of practicing and competing six days a week, we are near the finish line with 10 of our best.”

That’s how many East Jefferson Rivals wrestlers have qualified for the tournament.   

All of the state qualifiers were handed a questionnaire with seven questions that could be filled out to describe them. Here are some answers.

Mason Iverson said his favorite food is eggs and milk and he would like to be a Stone Mason when he grows up. 

Silas Klontz said his favorite class at school is Mr. Gambil’s 10th-grade English. He enjoys spending time with friends outside of sports. 

Lavender Douglas enjoys reading and would like to become a pediatric speech therapist in the future. 

Savvana “Savvy” Grimm wants to become an orthodontist, and her favorite food is spaghetti. 

Gracee Liske likes to listen to Kendrick Lamar and Rihanna. Her favorite food is Taco Bell, and that drives her coaches bonkers. 

Rylen Kruse enjoys teaching younger kids, and his favorite class is AP History. 

Grady White has a passion for soccer and would like to become a forensic investigator in the future. 

Manaseh Lanphear loves Waterfront Pizza. One of his passions is being an officer in the Associated Student Body. 

Lenore Geelan enjoys working on her car, and her favorite class is Mr. Behrenfield’s Marine Biology.

Three EJ wrestlers are ranked in the top eight of our state for their division entering this tournament: Lanphear at 150 pounds, White at 157 pounds, and Kruse at 175 pounds.  All three are juniors. 

“What is great about this tournament is that anything can happen,” said coach Stephen Grimm. “We have a handful of kids that look to explode onto the state scene this upcoming weekend.”

While the high school wrestling season will end next weekend, the East Jefferson middle school wrestling program just completed its first full week of practice and is gearing up for the new season. There are currently 45 middle school wrestlers registered for the sport, with daily turnout between 20 and 30 students.   

“All we want is for these kids to experience what hard work is and that success in this sport and life is earned one day at a time,” said coach Kade Wilford. “It’s great to see so many kids trying this sport — I wish all middle schoolers would try wrestling for one season.” 

This year, there are 20 girls registered for junior high wrestling, the largest number in the history of the program. Last year, the team finished the season with eight girls on the team at the league championship in Forks. 

“We are on the verge of girls’ wrestling exploding in our community,” said Wilford. “There is room for more kids to jump on in this season, all you have to do is sign up!” 

The first middle school wrestling meet will be at Port Townsend High School on Thursday,  Feb. 27, with action starting at 4 p.m.

Ryan White is a wrestling coach at Port Townsend High School.