New wrestling coach moved here for family

ROYAL CITY - Friends and acquaintances were surprised, even shocked, when new Royal High wrestling coach Randy Miller pulled up roots in Spokane to move to Royal City last summer. He had just built his wife's dream home in 2007.

But there are things more important than houses. Children, for instance. Miller moved here because he was seeking the "right" school for his own children, who were of high school age.

"There is just a time when you know change needs to happen," he said.

How this change has worked out for Darrin, a sophomore, and Gracelynn, a freshman, may not be fully known until they graduate. But the change has really worked out well for Royal High.

Darrin was the workhorse running back on the state tournament football team last fall. He is the No. 2-ranked 170-pounder among class A wrestlers and should lead a strong contingent to state.

Gracelynn was on the volleyball varsity last fall. She is playing club volleyball now and will be at 400-meter runner on next spring's track team.

Miller started coaching as soon as he arrived. He was an assistant to Wiley Allred on the football team. But wrestling is his sport. He can speak to his athletes about it with authority.

Raised in Sandpoint, Idaho, Miller was a 138-pound wrestler for four years. He placed fifth at state as a sophomore, sixth as a junior and second as a senior.

Miller wrestled for Montana College, a NAIA school, his first year of college. He transferred to Boise State his sophomore year. He was used as a rover, wrestling various weights, as needed, to help the team.

Miller graduated from Boise State 1992. He became a substitute teacher at Riverside High in Spokane, which is about 45 minutes from Sandpoint and fought fires with the Boise Hotshots, as he had done while in college.

"I was young and still unmarried," he said.

Miller married Heidi Peterson in 1996, and it was time to settle down with a full-time position. With the help of former Royal wrestling coach Bruce Jensen, he worked his way here.

Jensen had been the Royal coach when Miller brought his Riverside teams to the Royal Christmas tournament. They got to know each other and became close friends.

Jensen was not an educator. He thought the school would be better served with an educator in the wrestling post. He recruited Miller to Royal and then became his assistant.

"The first day in '96, I had eight kids," Miller said. "It was bumpy. Our only placer at state was Bart Jensen."

The Knight wrestling program grew to more than 30 wrestlers in the second year and finished second in the league. In 1999, Royal finished 10th at state.

The end of 1999 was a time for change for the Miller family. Miller's mother was starting to age, and Miller wanted his children to get to know her. So he moved back to Spokane and Riverside High.

Before leaving, however, Miller recruited a hotshot wrestler out of Central Washington University by the name of Ben Orth to be the new head coach. Orth is now one of the most successful cross country coaches in the state.

Getting back to Royal was a two-year process for Miller. He considered several other schools before making his decision. That came down to his memories of Royal in the 90s and the influence of Bruce Jensen once again.

"Everything is going well for the kids," he said.

As for the wrestling program, it started out much better this time then in 1996. There are more than 40 boys and six girls.

"I think we could walk into districts and do some great things," Miller said.

Miller believes the Knights could take as many as nine wrestlers to state this year. He believes that as many as five could place.

Miller would like to complete his career at Royal, but he knows pursuit of educational posts can take him in any direction. He just finished an internship as an administrator.

"I won't do anything about that until the kids graduate," he said. I am invested here with my kids."