State wrestling turns in another classic on the mat

Former Columbia Basin Herald Publisher Harlan Beagley called me into his office one day.

“How much do you know about wrestling?” he asked.

The conversation happened about seven years ago, but I can remember the anxiousness building inside of me. I knew he wasn’t referring to the World Wrestling Federation (now World Wrestling Entertainment) or World Championship Wrestling.

I knew plenty about those. I BEGGED my mom to stay up late to watch Goldberg and “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan wrestle on Monday Nitro. I rented countless VHS tapes of old professional wrestling pay-per-views from a crusty video store in Marysville. I knew about Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson when he was Rocky Maivia. I chipped my dad’s tooth performing Triple H’s “finishing move” on him.

That was my wheelhouse.

Not real wrestling. The kind this region holds so dear. My experience with folkstyle wrestling was limited to a foggy memory I had of my dad dragging me to a meet at Edmonds Community College.

Calling me a novice was an understatement.

But I could sense the importance in Beagley’s voice and knew I needed to try my best to learn this sport that so much of our readership revered.

That first season I tried my best to soak up as much as I could. OK, so a major decision is how many team points? You need to be winning by how much for a technical fall? Leg riding? Back points?

I was unprepared for the depth of this grueling sport.

Thankfully, this region is filled with many amazing wrestling minds who were patient with a young reporter completely foreign to something they had years, if not decades, of experience in. I can recall the basics beginning to click late in my first season during a dual between Moses Lake and Othello. The Chiefs were able to squeak out a road win 29-27, but what I remember most is the raucous atmosphere inside Othello’s gymnasium.

My first Mat Classic was in 2014.

Before I embarked on my trip to Tacoma, Mel and Vicki Olson invited me into their home to explain the tournament. I’m sure Mel could see my head spin when he explained the format — six classifications, 24 mats, two days of nonstop wrestling. And you bet with how talented this region is, there were going to be wrestlers to cover from one end of the Dome to the other.

Sitting in his living room in 2014, Mel was breaking down the Chiefs’ chances at a team title. He thought the top-end would represent well, but that there wouldn’t be enough depth to contend with Lake Stevens. He added that next year, 2015, was Moses Lake’s year.

How prophetic he turned out to be. Moses Lake was second to Lake Stevens in 2014 by 16.5 points before capturing its 18th state championship the following year.

My seventh year covering the sport just concluded last weekend. I have a pretty good grasp of things now, although I had to look up a YouTube video to better understand a wrestling move after this year’s Columbia Basin Big Nine district tournament.

Mat Classic has turned into my favorite sporting event to cover throughout the prep season, I must admit. The drama is unmatched, and the skill level is something to behold.

It seems like every year history is being made and, more often than not, it’s someone from the Columbia Basin doing it.

Connor Vanderweyst can be reached by email at cvanderweyst@columbiabasinherald.com. His co-workers would pay good money to see him get in the ring with Hulk Hogan.