Wrestlers receive warm welcome

When Randy Miller, the Royal High wrestling coach, told me about the Japanese wrestling cultural exchange last summer, I thought it would be cool. It turned out better than I expected.

The biggest wrestling crowd ever at Royal, 700-800 estimated, turned out. They were the nicest sporting crowd I’ve ever seen. They cheered the Japanese and Americans equally, and they gave the Japanese team a standing ovation when it was introduced.

The Japanese were impressed with the outpouring of good will. I was impressed with my community. So was organizer Randy Miller.

“It was just great,” he said.

All four adult leaders of this team had been to America before but always to big cities. In Royal they were impressed with “space.”

The Japanese couldn’t believe the space between farms, between homes, between towns. They noticed no traffic signals. Back home, they have one every 100 meters, they said.

Before the wrestling, the Japanese boys toured the area and got to know small-town America. They said they enjoyed the area and found it to be “pretty.”

One of the stops was at the internationally famous Gorge outdoor concert arena. There was no one performing, of course, but there was a big, untouched snowfield. You guessed it, a big snowball fight broke out.

During the interview, I asked the coaches to tell me about their boys. One of them said: “This is our Dream Team.”

Oh, oh, sounded ominous. And it was.

All 12 boys were 18, all 12 were national champions, three were Asian champs and three were world champs. At least three are expected to make the Olympics of 2020 or 2024.

The interpreters and I just looked at each other as if to say, “Oh boy, this is not good.” In addition to the pedigrees of the Japanese, our boys – all local – were going to wrestle freestyle for the first time.

Then something really cool happened. The Japanese told Randy they wanted to wrestle by American high school rules to prepare for two meets in western Washington on their way home. They knew nothing about American high school rules.

The Japanese boys won all 12 matches against the Columbia Basin All-stars (Royal, Wahluke, Othello, Warden, Moses Lake, Reardan). But as the Japanese learned a new form of wrestling on the fly, our boys were able to compete. All of the matches were entertaining, and most went the distance.

“They are skilled, they are strong, and they are fast,” one of the Basin boys said.

Even though they didn’t win, our boys were happy to have had the experience. They stayed on the mats with some of the best in the world.

The Japanese boys were happy too – happy they came. They beamed as the people of the Basin, mostly Royal, showered them with friendship.

Intermission was mostly a scramble of Basin youngsters seeking Japanese autographs, and the Japanese boys obliged with joy on their faces.